2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

Switch problems.

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Old May 21, 2013 | 08:29 PM
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NJ Switch problems.

1987 Mazda RX7 TII


Currently my car is having issues regarding the headlights and wipers. The headlights were a problem the car came with. The guy had the headlights wired into the turn signal lights so that when they came on the lights would be on which is the case now for 1 of the lights because I want to restore it to its original function. The driver side headlight never could go up and down ( I think the motor is dead and rusted solid ). However, the passenger side one use to have a mind of its own until I found out I could bend and mash the wires connecting to the relay to get it to go up and down but it would just keep going and seemed to ignore the switch inside the car. The relay controlling the motors eventually corroded and fell apart but I replaced it and now cannot recreate the previous situation...

-Still cannot turn on the headlight that was de-ghettofied (stock wiring).
-Still cannot make headlights retract (new relay)

Now for the wipers. They used to work fine as intended. The guy before me thought it would be a sweet idea to change it to a single wiper(probably irrelevant). The wiper would work fine as intended. All 3 settings... but one rainy day I turned on the wiper and it wouldnt turn off... would just keep going back and forth no matter what setting the switch was on at the same speed.

My thought now is maybe the switches are bad but heres some more facts

-The headlight switch still turns on the signal lights.
-High beams do not work although blinkers do. ( left signal blinks fast idk what that is but the blinkers work )


Heres some videos that might be relevant.

Headlights going up and down on their own volition. Ghettofied light wiring for this one. I rewired this light to its original wiring and now does not work.
<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=481453718556806" width="1280" height="720" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Me attempting to test the switch with a fuse checker(lol)
<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=532133986822112" width="720" height="1280" frameborder="0"></iframe>


The main question here is, should I get new/rebuilt switches or doesnt anyone know if there is a different solution to these issues?
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Old May 21, 2013 | 09:08 PM
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From: tulsa,ok.
You need to look at the wiring diagrams so you can see what wires do not belong in an attempt to bring the wiring back to its stock form as the light switch should not obviously affect the turn signals
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Old May 21, 2013 | 09:37 PM
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ignore the turn signal thing I understand thats not how its supposed to work. The other light is wired correctly and is still not working.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 09:48 PM
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From: tulsa,ok.
At the headlight relay will be a White/Blue wire. Ground this wire and the light that was working should turn on (not raise but just turn on). If it does then the headlight switch is not working properly.

Red/Yellow wire at each headlight retractor motor should have constant voltage w/the lights down. W/the headlight switch turned on there would be voltage on the Red/Blue wire.
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Old May 22, 2013 | 06:42 PM
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I grounded the white and green wire today, didnt have access to a DMM to check voltage, but nothing happened. Opened the relay and it looks brand new.

The wiring looks correct to me unless the black wires are supposed to be opposite but I doubt it as they are with their respective clusters.



Last edited by Mouse2k4; May 22, 2013 at 06:52 PM.
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Old May 22, 2013 | 06:43 PM
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From: tulsa,ok.
The wire is White/Blue. W/this wire grounded the Red/Green wire should have voltage if the relay was working properly.
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Old May 22, 2013 | 07:35 PM
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im sorry thats what I meant to say white/blue. Ill go out and buy a DMM next chance I get to see if r/g is getting voltage
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Old May 24, 2013 | 10:15 PM
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just went to turn the car on and the battery is dead. Power is leaking out somehow...
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Old May 24, 2013 | 11:32 PM
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From: tulsa,ok.
The Headlight Relay is located in front of the radiator alongside the Dimmer Relay and possibly other relays incase you were unaware of that.
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Old May 25, 2013 | 04:21 AM
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Im aware. Problem is power is leaking out from elsewhere. There was a blue clip under the dash that was disconnected and im not sure but it might have something to do with something.
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Old May 25, 2013 | 09:29 AM
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From: tulsa,ok.
You can conduct an amperage draw and then start pulling fuses in an attempt to find the draw. Pulling the BTN fuse (engine fuse box) would be a place to start.
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Old May 26, 2013 | 02:39 AM
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Okay so I think the battery is fine but the terminals on the battery are janky. Will bend and tighten them and then should be alright. New switches and such on the way for the wipers and headlights.
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Old May 26, 2013 | 11:35 AM
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Did you ever check to see if the two Red wires at the Headlight Relay had constant voltage to them? They are powered by the Head fuse.
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Old May 26, 2013 | 12:37 PM
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a motor out of position will cause a draw as the motor will attempt to move to the closed position if the switch is down but the motor cannot move down.
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Old May 26, 2013 | 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted by satch
Did you ever check to see if the two Red wires at the Headlight Relay had constant voltage to them? They are powered by the Head fuse.
Havent had a chance to yet. Im going to try to buy a DMM today.
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Old May 29, 2013 | 05:04 PM
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Still havent bought a DMM yet but Ive been investigating further.

With new switches my wipers are now working however the headlight issue remains.

Im not sure what any of this is but it needs to be undone.



And I found this blue clip that goes to nothing idk what it does... Theres a white clip near it but idk what that one does either.


Last edited by Mouse2k4; May 29, 2013 at 05:23 PM.
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Old May 29, 2013 | 05:26 PM
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1st pic appears to be the two wires that would go to the Interlock Switch. Since they are tied together that would bypass the clutch having to be depressed to start the car. The 2nd pic needs more clarification such as the color of the wires involved
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Old May 29, 2013 | 07:48 PM
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okay so I grounded the white wire and checked the red/green for voltage and didnt have anything. With the switch turned on though the red/green had voltage.
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Old May 29, 2013 | 08:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Mouse2k4
okay so I grounded the white wire and checked the red/green for voltage and didnt have anything. With the switch turned on though the red/green had voltage.

One possibility is you didn't ground the W/L well enough. The job of the Headlight Switch is to place a ground on the W/L wire which activates the relay and passes power onto the R/G wire. The Dimmer Relay is next to the Headlight Relay and this is where the Red/Green wire runs to w/the voltage. If this relay was working properly either the R/B or R/W wire would have voltage as these are the wires which then run to the headlights ( R/B for low beams and R/W for high beams).
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Old May 29, 2013 | 10:59 PM
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That blue foam encrusted one I am sure goes to the key light,steering column.
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Old May 30, 2013 | 01:11 AM
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<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=535503613151816" width="1280" height="720" frameborder="0"></iframe>
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Old May 30, 2013 | 01:28 AM
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The wires I show at the beginning of that video I believe to be the problem simply because I found voltage in the red/green one when the lights were switched on.
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Old May 30, 2013 | 09:00 AM
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From: tulsa,ok.
Post #19 tells you specifically tells you how to troubleshoot the problem, that's what it does..
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Old May 30, 2013 | 10:22 AM
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okay well its been troubleshooted now I just need to find where those wires are supposed to connect...
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Old May 30, 2013 | 12:39 PM
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So you're saying that either the R/B wire or the R/W wire coming from the Dimmer Relay has voltage w/the Headlight Switch turned to the on position?
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