Hello all you rotor heads. I have an 87 N/A rx7 daily driver. 5 speed from the beginning. I was driving tonight when suddenly all of my interior lights and tail lights went out. I understand that the pop up headlights are on their own somehow so what I need to know from you, my friends… is what to look for now and what solutions you can give me. Ask me any questions and I shall do my very best to answer them. Thanks very much guys! Take care!

 

First thing to check is the illumination fuse.

 

Ok illumination fuse was bad but now since I am in tucson it is too sunny to see the lights on for the taillight, however the center dash lights did come on so that is a good sign

 

I had a similar scare not to long ago as well, but the blown fuse is only the result of another problem.
In my case when i blew a tire drifting it took out one of the rear sidemarker wires and they shorted out on the car causing the fuse to go. A fuse generally doesnt pop for no reason

 

ok so what should I be looking for next? Any loose dash wires?

 

You can look at the FAQ next and search for info about headlight switch failures. Your question has been answered hundreds of times already!
Remove and inspect/clean all marker lights and sockets, get a rebuilt headlight switch and hope your short headlight patch harness isn't melted.

 

if you have any problems with intermittent light function that would be a good place to start. every car has its quirks so hard for me to tell you one place where the failure is likely to be. Its not always a headlight switch failure that causes the fuse to go but its not a bad idea to have a look at that as well while your snooping

 

Ok I see nothing wrong with anything here. The headlight switch does work intermittently though. However is there a way to check if the headlight switch does have a malfunction in it besides just buying another one? They are rather pricey...

 

Which part of the lights is intermittent? Is it all of the headlight functions or just part of them? Your problem could be the switch itself or the ground for the switch. The ground is located at the foot of the steering column near the firewall. There are 6 grounds in this plug and all are Black wires. Remove,clean and add some dielectric grease. Also make sure the wires are pushed into the back of the plug properly. And a used switch can be had on the parts for sale forum for much cheaper than a new one will cost you.

 

^^^ this is so true. Much cheaper.

I'm about to have to check mine too since my interior lights are intermittently working, I think when I do I may make a thread with pictures detailing everything I saw/did.

 

Still no running lights and hmmm still no burnt wires anywhere. Maybe just bad switch? Is it bad even if the headlights go up and down?

 

The headlight retractors working is just one aspect of the headlight switch.

When you say running lights do you mean the tail lights, the side markers, the front parking lights or all of them. These lights are powered by the Red/Black wire of the headlight switch that should have power when the **** is turned to the first position. If it doesn't and the illumination fuse is good then the switch has a fault.

 

Ok he headlight switch works with the headlights popping up… but now tail light or side marker lights whatsoever. So headlight switch is bad??

 

Post #12 explains what to check.