grinder

Hiya chaps

and before any one says - yes i have searched and come up with nothing hence this thread

car is a 1991 Turbo Cab ( Jap Spec ) and i have headlight issues

i will try and cover everything to save confusion

1 - headlights will not raise
2 - using either the maintenance switch or the light switch
3 - side lights work fine
4 - all relays are OK - tested off the car
5 - if you bridge the relays - then the lights work - but dont raise
6 - i have tried 4 different switches
7 - dash lights work OK and all other interior lights
8 - both retractor fuse and main fuse ( both 30a ) are fine and have continuety ( using a tester )

so is there something im missing here - is there another fuse somewhere ?

is there a way to bridge the block connector in the dash to see if the wiring is OK and not just a faulty switch

i have checked the earth under the fuel relay ( under the air box ) and this is fine ( cleaned up , re tapped the thread etc.. )

i have spent about 50 hrs now on the car - it came to me as a non runner ( new ecu fixes that) , the abs light was on ( new abs ecu fixed that ) so the only thing i need to sort is the lights before i can get her on the road - but me and my mate are really confused now - so guidance is need

Big thanks in advance

Stu / Grinder

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

Have you touched the ground behind the trailing coil?

prof

Can you raise them and lower them manually Stu ? - maybe the motors are shot

Cheers,

Prof.

sintri

if everything works, could just be stuck brushing up against the sides, I had my fenders mounted before, and one side wasn't mounted properly so the headlights wouldn't pop up, jiggled it a bit and now it's bit more lose now, haveta get the fenders remounted in a bit though.

WingsofWar

haha i got one headlight that doesnt rise..but once i turn the **** at the bottom of the car on the motor it pops up. You cant do that with yours?

grinder

hiya chaps ( and prof - what are you doing on here !! )

right then try to cover stuff again

1 - i can manually lower and raise them - although one is bit tight
2 - even with the battery connected and the fuses in - the ***** do not kick back
3 - ground behind the trailing coil has been removed - cleaned and refitted
4 - thing is - i get nothing via the dash switch - no lights ( apart from side lights ) and no up and down of motors
5 - by jumping the 2 relays at the front i can get the lights to come on - but they just come on but dont raise - i suppose this proves that the relays work - they just arent working correctly via the switch
6 - i can turn the lights on and move the manual dials - but the lights just raise and dont come on

this is the last prob with the car - once this is sorted i can get it on the road

if the motors are burnt - i would still expect the lights to work - just not raise - maybe all 4 switches are dead ???

Stu

andysmee

There is a good chance that the loom from the dash to the hood is damaged. On later cars the loom was routed through the driver's side wheel arch and was subject to damage from the wheel itself as well as burning out if the headlights have failed in some way. Check as much of the visible loom in the engine bay as you can, if there is signs of heat damage then you will have to take it further.

prof

Have we all migrated over here ! LOL

Stu - I came on here to pick some brains on the emanage - I've nearly got that licked - but no car to install it in yet !

Back to your lights - it's possible the motor brushes are shorting out the loom or something, and holding the relay off that would normally pop the motors up/down.

There is a switch in the light assembly to turn off the motor at each extreme - works a lot like the wiper motor - with a 'homing' function. The relay is used to start the motor moving by interrupting the circuit. Can you trace the wires from the 4 pin plug at the rear of the lights - should be low down near the motor unit - follow that back into the loom - the wire colours should correspond to the bottom of one of the relays. That will be the headlight motor relay. It's controlled from the light switch and the headlight raiser/cleaner switch (parallel), so the control wire comes from the lights switch in the dash.

The wiring looms are crap though - so probably a faulty wire/connector in there somewhere !

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

I missed it if you said you did this...

Can you jumper the headlight motors and see if they work?

If the cluster switch does nothing for the headlights (coming on or raising), I'd say it's shot.

buju2003tt

Try the wires at the bottom of the dash sometimes they overheat and melt together and cause alot of problem's this same thing happened to my 88TII

grinder

i can get the lights to light by jumping the relays - i just cant get the lights to raise

so this leads to another question

1 - should the lights raise and then turn on
2 - should the lights come on and then raise

should i be looking at the fact that they have to RAISE this then allows power to the relays ??

is there a way of raising the lights by jumping some pins - just to prove that the motors will work ?? i have checked the FSM and there is nothing in about this

hummm nothing but problems with this sodding car

Stu / Grinder

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

I think my lights turn on about half way up through the raising process. At least that's how it seems.

The W/G wire appears to be the one that goes to the battery. Jumper that one.



Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if your car blows up.

grinder

well still no closer with this - but i will keep trying

is there anywhere on the net that shows the front relay bank and what each one does ??

in very simple terms and how to fool them to come on ??

or is this something i will have to create myself once i have worked it all out ??

Stu

GTUser

good luck, I was going to make a suggestion but I went back and read your diagnostics and you've already tried new cluster switches.

Akota

I THINK I have the same issue. They don't raise or turn on. The only way I getem to turn on is manually giving it power through wiring and alligator clips. I haven't had the chance to work on anything yet. I know the wipers don't work either.. Or the dome lights.

I think that its fuses and relays though.

Can I take a switch from another RX-7 that works and put it in?

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

Yes, but I think it might have to be from the same series.

grinder

yeah i dont think the s4 and s5 are interchangable - only prob here is how do you tell which one is which ??

going on holiday tomorrow - so it will be a week on sat before i get chance to look again

i will keep you all posted

Stu

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

FSM 50-51 has a diagram of the light switch connector for the S4's. Match up the wires.

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

Well that answers that.

Akota

Awesome. Time to go steal the neighbors >.<

eviljoel

i solved my headlight problem by resoldering the connections in the switch. BE CAREFUL when doing this, a lot of the switch interior is old made of palstic thus it will crack easily as i learned the hard way.

FCguy

i had a problem like this once. Toasted switch, then after replacement toasted the wiring, found out later the fog lights were wired to the headlights drawing a HUGE load, damn that previous owner

grinder

free bump for me

right then - after much playing with the light switch - still nothing

1 - jumper the relays at the front and the lights work
2 - apply 12v to the dash connector and i can get the lights to come up and down - so proves that the motors are OK
3 - i can get full beam to work and the sidelights by applying power to the connector on the dash

the prob i have know is that even when you flash the lights - i get nothing - nadda - no full beam and no headlight movement

so a few questions

1 - is the headlight flash switch a completly seperate system from the normal lights
2 - cause its a jap car - do i need jap switches
3 - should a S4 jap switch be the same as the s5 jap switch
4 - is there a jap spec FSM anywhere - the stock FSM isnt right for the car ( pins missing etc.. )
5 - why wont the retractor switch work at all
6 - when jumpering the relays at the front - why dont the lights pop up and down - or would i need to apply power at more than one point ?

Stu

Black_Knight

Sounds like you have a problem Stu.

I know it's not the same, but in my SA the lights and motor are separate components ie the lights work regardless of how raised the lights are. That's why the 'sleepy/lazy eye' mod works, and also why you can drive around with your lights up but not on.

As for fixing your problem, I can't help mate. I'm currently struggling trying to work out why my left headlight won't raise but my right one will. I think the motor's fried, but I can't work out why only one side is busted. But enough of my thread-jacking. Continue to solve Stu's issues peeps.