88 vert headlights
 

The headlights will turn on and off as they should. If I use the override to move pop the lights up and down that works as it should also -lights on and lights off.

The problem is that when I turn on the headlights, the lights do not pop up like they should. When I turn them off, they do not go down like they should. Any thoughts?

Clearly, I can just put the lights up and down with the override switch and turn them on and off with the headlight switch. I was just looking for a quick fix and wondering why they suddenly stopped working like they were designed to.

Thanks in advance for your guidance and help!

Never had that problem, and it may seem obvious but I suspect that the headlight switch is faulty. Maybe the contacts need cleaning.

^ Yep. The relay is clearly working, so it simply isn't seeing a signal from the headlight switch. It could also be some plastic part is broken inside the switch rather than a bad contact since the override switch is also working. Regardless, you're best bet is to borrow a switch and check.

BE SURE AND STAY IN SERIES WITH THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH. S4 and S5 switch's look and plug the same, but are wired different. But a headlight switch from ANY S4 will do the job for you.

Good luck.

Excellent and helpful insight!! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out!

Ironically, I have Icemark's old vert and it appears that he put an S5 dash (original redline at 8K rpm but he put red tape at the 7K mark) in the S4. Is there any easy way to tell if the switch is an S5 versus an S4? I will now take the switch apart with much more confidence, thanks to your experience.

You know, hard to tell by your description. Mark may have changed the headlight switch harness to go with the S5 dash, or stayed with the S4 harness so the S4 FSM would remain meaingful.

As I knew Mark, I would bet the latter and try an S4 switch. However, better not to bet.

As memory serves me, the S5 has a white back cover plate, S4 black cover plate. But the plates are interchangable, so even then not exactly a firm indication.

Your best bet is to check the online S4 or S5 FSM wiring schematic to the plug and confirm what color coded wire is going to what pin in comparison to the color code to the plug for your headlight switch. Clearly the Mazda engineer that changed the wiring design for the S5 was in an evil mood.

How the heck did Mark's Vert get all the way to Katy, Texas? :) Regardless, glad it's in the hands of someone that appreciates it for what it is.