i noticed in a friends FC(88 N/A) that when he goes to start his car all of his idiot lights come on, but when i start mine(87 N/A) they dont come on, but i know most of them work because they come on.. or at least a few of them have come on from time to time (ebrake, gas, door, hatch, low washer fluid, low coolent). and my clock doesnt work. are my lights supposed to come on like his?

 

They should all come on, with the key in the ON position but the engine not running. The seat belt light will turn off after about 15 seconds.

If they are not, you probably need to re-solder it (or I can do it for you- my webstore/site is in my sig) or replace it, or the CPU needs resoldering.

 

This has been covered a few times. Searching as usuall will answer your question mostly.
My idiot lights do not come on at startup either, but they do work, I have seen the trunk and coolant lights come on a few times, so I know that they are functional. My clock also doesnt work worth ****.

Searching will tell you that its a CPU problem, as they were poorly constructed at the factory and have shitty assed solder points, wich break over time. Theres a guy here who sells rebuilt mazda CPU's, btw, this is not to be mistaken with the ECU. The CPU controlls almost everything interrior and the horn.

 

The wiring and layout should be the same, hmmm...

I believe it's the alt warning light relay that gives them a ground to all light up before the alt voltage kicks the relay off (or on), to kill the ground circuit...

Could be a cold solder joint in the panel, also...

 

Actually the CPU is a pretty good design, it just very common to see 10-12+ year old automotive electronics have cold solder joints develop.

Heck, you should see all the Lexus climate control and gauges that I have been rebuilding lately. These Lexus- (by far) best built cars in the world have the same electrical issues when they get 10+ years old. Or the $60K (when new) Porsches with Bosch cruise control brains that have the same problems. Or even look at most new BMWs. I would hazard a guess that at least 10% of them have had electrical issues before they have 30K miles on them.

I wish more people would understand this. The problems in a FC are no different than any other OLD car.

 

porsche DMEs (ECU) relays have the same problem, i knew what the problem would be if it was broken, i just wasnt sure if it was broken

oh, and thank you master icemark!