jc79c

Both of my headlights will not retract after I turn my lights off. Everything else seems OK except for this problem.
I retract both using the manual control **** and trun the light switch on, after about 10 secs or so, both lights pop up, all lights are working, low and high beams but will not retract when the switch is in the off position.
I tried switching the fusible links around and the fuses in the fuse box are OK.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

MyRxBad

sounds like someone unbolted the mechanism where the motor is connected to headlight arm in the wrong position. Probably just needs re-adjusting... I'd take pics for ya if I had a digital camera.

pratch

Double check the fuses and the fusible links. What you're describing is exactly what happens when one of the links goes bad.

racermike

I have seen this when the switch (on the stalk) is screwed up inside the column. Also check the overide switch (the one that brings the headlights up without turning them "on") for a short. If BOTH sides work or don't work together then it has to be someting in common to both of them (fuses, links, switches).

jimmyjoejoe

i've noticed something funny on my sa22... i was taking the gauge face (the one by the air controls) apart, an in order to do so, you have to remove the switches for the headlight popup, the defroster, and the power antenna... however, when i did this, i noticed when i had the headlight switch disconnected, the headlights would turn on and pop up when the switch on the column were on, but when i'd turn it off, the lights would turn off but they wouldn't pop back down. reattaching the switch in the middle remedied the problem. sounds like there was a half-*** wiring job... those mazdas were probably made by lucas as far as i'm concerned. disconnecting those switches aslo played games with other electrical things along in the car.

jc79c

I finally fixed my headlights, both are working fine now. The problem was one of the 2 pin connector next to the motor was corroded, so I cleaned the dust coating off with an electronic cleaner and grease it with dielectric grease.
I still can not figure out why cleaning the connector solved the problem, since the headlight would popup but not popdown. Well anyway its working. Thanks to all.

pratch

has to do with resistance. Too much resistance will cause the fusible links to go poof. Cleaning the contact made a better connection and dropped it to a reasonable level.

Or else I'm talking out of my *** and need to be corrected

LongDuck

Had a similar problem with my 84SE - headlights would go up, but no go down. Confused me enough to take it to the local Mazda delaer (Showcase in Phoenix, AZ), and they told me that 1) it had a blown engine - which it didn't, and 2) it needed a new control stalk/wiper/turn/cruise, etc. at a cost of $400, plus labor.

Don't ever go to the dealer. You've been warned.

Dug into the job myself and in the course of working with the 'headlight cleaning' switch (the aux switch for headlight control), I found a way to wire it such that with the lights ON, the headlight retractor motors would run non-stop, i.e., both headlights going up and down, up and down, headlights on the whole time, kinda like a police cruiser's flashing lights.

After I got over the sheer hilarity of this situation, I fixed the switch and replaced the headlight fusible link on the driver's side wheel fender. Problem fixed.

Start there, go to your local pick-a-part and grab any fusible links that you can find. The link tested okay via multimeter, but putting a good one in fixed the problem 100%, so you can't always trust what your ohmmeter is saying with these fusible links - the ohmmeter doesn't provide enough current to make it fail like the headlight motors do.

The fusible link works on the principle that it will carry a large amperage load for an initial period, then carry the lower, static load as long as needed. When the link goes bad, it will not carry the high resistance load, but will test okay for a low amperage load, i.e., your ohmmeter. HTH,