Hi all. I have an '86 S4 with turbo conversion. About half a year ago I found that occasionally on very hot days the electric windows didn't work. Not stuck, but an electrical problem. There was no 'click' when I messed with the switch as if there was no power going to the windows. Then they would work a few hours later. This happened gradually more and more until a month or two ago I found that the stock standard radio began to not work when I switched it on occasionally also. For a while it seemed that if the windows worked the radio didn't and visa versa. When driving the other night I tried the radio and noticed that the back lighting on the display came on half strength but no LCD display info and no sound. Aerial goes up and down but radio doesn't work. Everything else electrical works fine. Could a fuse be faulty or something? I don't know much about how these things work obviously. If anyone has any idea what is going on I would hugely appreciate your input. Ta.

 

The early 2nd gens were notorius for electrical problems like cold solders. Go to websites like www.fc3s.org for more info.

 

A bit of development on this subject - and hopefully a bit of a clue as to the cause of the problem. Many people have suggested re-soldering all the electrics in the car (!) which I am not capable of doing and can't get my mechanic mate to do (sounds like a big boring job), so I have been putting up with it for a while and trying the odd thing to try and figure it out. Recently I found that if I turn the radio on before I crank the key to startup, whaddaya know? It works!:eek: If I then turn the radio off and on again while the car is going it won't come back on. If I turn off the car and turn it on again - bammo! It works!:eek: So what confuses me now is, could it really be a bad solder if it works every time on startup? Is there some sort of higher voltage surge that gives it the necessary power to come on at startup? What could it all mean? Can anyone of you RX7 geniai give a novice any clues? Thanks.

 

(damn, those 'eek' smilies didnt work so I'm stuck with those gay **** 'eeks' in there)

 

you have a simple problem of a bad connection.
theres no way to help, just start inspecting everything from the most accessable things to the least.

the back if the fuse box might be corroded?

check for corrosive fluid leaks. follow them.

 

on the windows.........u could try taking the switches apart and then clean and sand all the contacts.....then put the switch back together..........i had the same prob w/ my windows and that solved it.....don't know about the radio though.......good luck

 

thanks dudes. I really don't want to have to take the dash off - do you think I'll have to for any reason? If the dash doesn't have to come off, I will ask my mate to see if he can fix it - otherwise the job will be too hard and the friendship won't stretch far enough .
By the way, the windows have been working everytime for a few months now - ever since the radio stopped working .

 

Anyone know why it should work on startup? Why would a bad connection come good only at startup? Its got me stumped.

 

We I think there is just a conicidence that the radio died or has anything to do with the windows unless someone has modified the cars wiring.

But I agree with earlier responses that a cold solder joint or a loose connector is the likely culprit. The days (hot or cold) temp can easily affect bad solder joints or weak connections.

The only other thing I would perhaps be considering would be the cars actual temp, for there is a thermo-breaker in both the doorlock motors and window motors that could be cycling. But it would have to be very very hot for that to happen.

As to the radio, pull it out and see if the 12V+ and 12V switch leads are going hot when the switch is on.

and finally check you battery voltage with the car off and make sure that it is resting at 12+ volts. You could have a bad cell in the battery and that battery could be at only 10 or even 8 volts (which I have seen RX-7s still start be able to at).

 

thanks Icemark. Taking the radio out will be hell won't it? Oh well.