The comical problem: I believe I already know the solution to this problem, but would like some input in case something is actually going wrong.

Whenever I take semi-sharp turns at a decent speed, my washer fluid light comes on (which makes me laugh). My belief is to just refill it because it's getting low and the sensor is reading that it's empty because all of it is going to one side during the turn. Am I correct or is something wild and crazy happening under the hood of my FC?


The question: Is there any way to open the flash-to-pass "lights" without breaking them? One of mine has a serious moisture problem and looks pretty shitty since the other one does not. Or is there a way to stop it all together?

and on a final note, my mazdatrix short shifter came in and my friend and i installed it last night. it is quite nice.

 

the FTP's are pretty much sealed units.

You *can* pull the lens off, there are litttle tabs on it you need to push, and probably a bit of sealant in the groove.

However you'd need to take them right out of the car to dissassemble them to that point, and more than likely if they're aged/yellowed a bit - the lens will be more brittle than a 100 year old man's knees.

Its probably worth a shot.


Your washer fluid problem is probably exactly what you describe, however I have had quite a number of FC's and the only one that had no washer fluid light ever come on (some of them would just come on randomly) was my 87 TII with 116,000kms. It just seems that either the idiot light panel itself gets shorts/ bad connections, or that the senders are prone to failure.

 

I emptyed the WF tank once & when I re-filled it, the light wouldn't turn off..
rather annoying when people are all like "Duh ..Why's your check engine light on?"

Where's the sensor for that, & can it be disabled?

 

Well, since the person who had the car before me was seemingly an idiot, the FTP lights pop right out. After I took them out the first time I noticed that I should have had to unbolt them, but at least they sit safely so they won't fly out while driving. I noticed those tabs, too, and tried going at them with a flathead, but they didn't budge so I decided to not mess with them anymore! I wonder if I could find a good pair of used ones or something, since Mazda wants 130+ for ONE because you have to buy each individual piece.

I've heard about the light panel having problems, but other than this I haven't had anything with mine.

 

Why don't you just pop a hole in the FTP lenses with a small drill bit, so there is a place for the moisture to go?

 

haha my washer light does the same thing when i make a hard right

 

drill a few & hit it with a hair dryer, then silicone the holes up.

 

You ake a heat gun to the FTPs to take them apart.

 

interesting. i think i'll try out the drilling + hair dryer technique!

DimLuck13 we can be washer light buddies

 

Go thorough the bottom of the lense at the lowest point if you put a hole in it. This way the water accually drains. I took mine part cleaned them, sealed them up and put new lil rubber hoses on them and they havnt fogged up since.

 

How hard is it if you actually take a heat gun to them? And what do you mean by a heat gun? And is it a pain to put back together or does it snap right back into place or what?

 

cool shifter!
lol

 

The heat gun softens the plastic enough to where when you pry up on the tabs they dont snap off. You can pick up on at harbor frieght for like 30$, its also usful for removing glued on badges, gum, and heating up shrink wrap.

 

Don't blame me if your soldering iron gums up and shorts, and your FTP lense blackens or catches fire BUT the easiest way I've seen to punch holes in plastic is with a soldering iron. Use a cheap soldering iron or soldering iron tip, as the tip will no longer be usable for soldering. Experiment on another hunk of plastic first and again, try this at your own risk. Oh, and hole will not be clean. Hmm... maybe just drill the hole.

When I bought my rx-7 I had the same problem with the washer fluid light... except it was my oil light. For a while I thought it was some kind of power steering buzzer until I turned hard and looked for the light at the same time. I was down 2 quarts. The last owner probably didn't know about it, as he had 1-1/2 quarts in the back which I used to refill it. Thankfully it has not been leaking oil since, outside of the quart every 3000 miles. The last owner had it parked at the DMV for a long time, maybe that did it.