Problem with hatchback, clock and stereo
 

First off, let me say the search engine on this forum is totally useless, and the Haynes book on this car is similarly useless. I'm takin it back and get my 18 bucks back! All these questions are for an 87 RX-7 non-turbo.

When I pull the latch to open the hatchback, shouldn't it open just a crack so I can get my fingers in there and lift it up? I seriously broke a nail trying to open it. This is totally uncool! I can not find any obvious problems like a missing spring or something, and the latch is releasing completely.

Second problem... dashboard clock will not keep time. I set it, and when I shut the car off, it comes back with a completely weird time, like not 12:00, which I would assume if it totally lost power, but like different times. Seems to run a little off too, when I drive for a long time, it will eventually show a totally wrong time. This is only a little annoying, and I realize it's not a critical part, but I'd like to be able to look up and tell what time it is without interrupting my driving attention. That's why the clock is up by the windshield in the first place :)

Third thing is: I would like to install a stereo myself, but the guys who stole the old one were kind enough to cut the wires that go to it, removing the little pluggy things that usually make a new stereo a no-brainer. I've got 14 wires now that I would like to wire up to new pluggy thingys. They come in one bundle of 3 (I'm assuming hot lead, on and ground), one single black wire (another ground?), one obvious antenna plug, and another bundle of 9 wires(assuming 4 speakers and another ground, but there's only 2 speakers in the car?). Can anyone list what these are?

I can photograph these tomorrow if it will help.

ok for the hatch, that would be the shocks that lift it, they are SHOT so when you try to pop the hatch they arent lifting anymore, replace them and you're troubles are over

second, fuck the clock, that thing is a peice of crap and i wont even go into diagnosis of that

thirdly, if you need some help figuring out the stereo PM me, i can help you if you are serious about doing it yourself,i have alot of experiance in it, but explaining everything on this thread is kinda monotonous(sp?)

4 wires = power, accessory, constant, etc.
black wire = ground
other 9 = 8 are speakers (grey, green, purple and white) and power antennae (blue or blue w/ white stripe)

The cylinders seem to be fine. They will hold the hatchback open all day. I don't think they should provide any initial pressure when the hatchback is suddenly popped after it being closed. On my Nissan, there were two small, but powerful little springs that popped the hatchback open. This worked even after the cylinders were fried and I had to use a broomstick to keep the thing open :D

I'm thinkin these little springs are gone, but I can't find anything about that in the book or anywhere online and can't see a spot where they would go if they would go somewhere...

I added you to my Yahoo list, and I'll try to contact you tomorrow sometimes about those stereo wires.

The clock probably needs to be taken apart and have the solder joints redone.

A couple people offer the service on here, and I know theres a write-up on it somewhere too.

My fix for the clock was simply to bend the prongs that connect it and the harness. This of course, was after checking all the solder joints.

Oh thanks, I will try that! It does seem like an intermittent connection issue.

Your hatch problem is the cylinders! There are no springs.

Old 'beat' cylinders have more than tension left to hold the hatch open, but not enough to raise it off the deck (its an angle thing). New ones will raise the hatch to fully open in about 1 second.

Since it seems like everything else is covered, I'll throw up the Wiring Schematics for the stereo. One thing that will be of interest to you: int he FAQs up at the top of this section, there's link to the FSM (Factory Service Manual). These are the complete MAZDA repair books, and contain everything that a dealer would have had access to. download them :)

Now, what my recommendation is for a stereo: Go to a junkyard, and cut the plug-side ends off of a junked car (in my case, I used a 92 MItusbishi Eclipse). . go to someplace that sells stereo stuffs, and buy the connector to plug into that.. then you don't have to worry about stripping/soldering the stock wires if you ever change your stereo again.

After that, look in the Factory Service Manual under the wiring section (50), and just match up colors.

or you could rewire the stereo yourself, which would be better, since you can put better wire in there. not hard to do, little more expensive and more time consuming, but a good sunday project. then you just need the new stereo wire diagrams to wire everything up, this is what i have done in all three of the 7 i have owned over the years.

Yeah I'm puttin in the stereo right now. Won't be too big of a deal. Thanks for the link to the book though, that will make it easy :)

1) Adjusting the hatch latches on the body will sometimes work.

2) Cold solder joint problems are common that causes the clock to reset.

3) Take the car to a competent stereo shop to handle the install - the stock wiring sucks, and unless you can read schematics, I would recommend running all new wiring for +12VDC constant, +12VDC switched ignition, and ground.


-Ted

I think Icemark sells rebuilt clock/idiot panels.

For the hatch if you have a rear wiper you can do what I do is use it to raise the hatch a bit then put your fingers in the hatch to raise it up

And if the stereo wire are too far gone then just run a new power line from the battery and find a switched on and on my deck it has a spade on it for the ground so I grounded it to roof of the consol (works fine but starts to blink when I crank the volume)

So, where would one get new ones? I've looked all over God's half acre and can't find anyting to put in there. Mine opens, but won't stay up - I use a wooden dowel to prop it open when loading/unloading.

I'll be your best friend if you can point me to a vendor with ones that can perform as you describe.

- k -

Thanks for the link to the wiring diagram, but now I'm even more confused. The colors of wires I have are not in the book. I will be posting a new thread with pictures later tonight. The stereo shop gave me the wrong deck, so I can't do this till tomorrow anyway. I asked for one with auxilliary inputs so I can plug in my iPod, but this one only has the outputs for the amp. Irritating, cuz I asked the guy like 50 times if fit would work with my iPod.

$210 for new hatch shocks....outrageous!