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lights out! bad fuse?

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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 09:05 AM
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Exclamation lights out! bad fuse?

Yesterday, while I was driving to work, I noticed as I pulled into the parking garage that my dash lights were not on, while I had my parking lights set to on. I then noticed that my parking lights we also no longer on anymore. I checked the manual thinking this might be a fuse. There is one fuse that controls all the brake lights, parking, dash, etc... And all of these systems were not working. So after work I picked up a 15A fuse and replaced the fuse in that particular slot. Strange enough though, the fuse was not blown... but I swapped it anyway. No effect. I got down under the dash and tried to look at all the other fuses... all of which look fine. I went under the hood and checked the larger fuses and they appear fine.

So now I'm a bit confused. Is it possible or likely that maybe something happened to my parking light switch?? If I rotate it forward to headlights... the headlights come on... but the dash lights still do not (or brake lights, etc...).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 09:16 AM
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let me know when you figure it out because i have the same question.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 11:05 AM
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https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=TNS

I had the same thing happen to me awhile ago. Found this thread helpful.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 11:39 AM
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i put in another tns and i still had no lights. my turn signals, brake lights, and headlights work. my dash, driving, parking, accessory(no radio) do not work. my warning lights come on, just no dimming. i already replaced my dimmer switch.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 11:49 AM
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I had the same problem; fixed it with a change of a fuse.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 01:17 PM
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Thank you all for your repsonses... I swapped out the 15A fuse in the 'G' position (per the manual). That fuse is supposed to be related to all of the systems not functioning. It didn't have any effect, and when I inspected the fuse I took out - it was actually still good.

I want to try to start with the least invasive options and move forward... so I'm not wriping panels and my dash apart for nothing. As everyone knows... every time you remove something a plastic clip breaks... Pretty soon my car won't stay together.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 02:34 PM
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 03:04 PM
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its prolly tha fuse
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 03:05 PM
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From: new jerzee
i mean tha dimmer switch
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 03:09 PM
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The problem extends beyond the dash illumination... my parking lights, fogs, and brake lights don't work. So I don't think it is the dimmer... nor do I think it's the headlight switch... because they would all work when I set it to headlights (which popup and turnon).
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 03:15 PM
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Originally posted by fstfwd
The problem extends beyond the dash illumination... my parking lights, fogs, and brake lights don't work. So I don't think it is the dimmer... nor do I think it's the headlight switch... because they would all work when I set it to headlights (which popup and turnon).

it isnt the dimmer...i already tried it. your brake lights probably work. do your warning lights work when you turn the key to accessory? does your radio work?
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 03:26 PM
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Hey allrotor... I appreciate your help. It didn't seem to make a difference if the car was off/accesories/on. Same results each time. Radio (aftermarket) works fine. Signal and warning lights work fine.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 05:03 PM
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sounds like the multi function/combination switch
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 05:14 PM
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mad_7tist, I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to... could you elaborate? thanks.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 05:32 PM
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the stalk on the left side of the stering wheel. you twist it to put up the headlights, the fogs, and turns on the interior dash lights. if the
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 08:07 PM
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Gotcha. I was thinking the same thing... since nothing works when you turn it to the Parking light setting. What kind of kills this theory is that the headlights popup and turn on when you switch to headlights... but everything else still does not. So that leads me to believe that the problem is somewhere before or after that switch.

My friend and I are going to take a multimeter to the fuse box and see if there is any power even getting to that fuse. Measure the amps.
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Old Apr 21, 2004 | 10:14 PM
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test light and look for 12 v. i thought the switch ran the headlights off a seperate wire/contact than the interior lights and parking
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Old Apr 23, 2004 | 05:19 PM
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Old Apr 23, 2004 | 05:49 PM
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Gonna be attacking the problem this weekend... but I did try a few things in the interm based on some other member recommendations.

One of the guys in the local club suggested that I pull the TNS relay (first blue relay from left) in the front of the car. And run a jumper between the the first row/first slot and second row, first slot (looking down, working back to front)... that should immediately cause the lights to turn on. If that is the case it is probably the parking light switch. This guy had the same configuration as I where my fogs are wired through my parking lights.

Unfortunately... the lights did not turn on ... which means there is a problem before or after the relay.

I am going to put a Multimeter on it to see if I'm getting anything through there. I'm also going to see if I'm getting power through the fuse box. I'll post feed back on all this.

Steve
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Old Apr 25, 2004 | 12:00 AM
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Just a little update on my progress. My buddy came down today and we spent about 6 hours diagnosing the electrical system that involves this problem. With the help of a Multimeter that could measure the Amps and Voltage... this is what we narrowed down.

We downloaded the wiring diagram from http://www.iluvmyrx7.com in the manuals section and printed out the circuit for the parking lights, brake lights and interior lights. That was a very big help.

So, starting from the battery, we were able determine that the relay works... but there is no power being fed in to swtich on and off. The power gets to the 60A BTN fuse... then to the 15A fuse. We also determines that power will get from after the fuse back to the battery.

Where the problem lies, is between the outbound slot in the fuse panel (for slot G)... and the wiring harness connector... the white one in the upper left (there are 3... white in the upper left, larger white to the left of the box, and a green one just below the fuse box).

SO... there has to be a short in the few inches of wire between that connector and that fuse. Of course getting to take a look at the fuse box is going to be a pain in the neck (litterally)... so I'm seriously considering taking it to Tweeter Etc. who has done a lot of my installs for my starter and alarm system... and see if he wants to take that thing apart. I might even crawl to Mazda and circle the section of the wiring diagram and say --- this is where you need to look... don't charge me an arm and a leg.

So that's where we are at...
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Old Apr 25, 2004 | 11:47 AM
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Hey all, My car has the same problem but the thing is it only happens sometimes. About a month ago it was happening constantly and then one day it went away. About a week or two ago it reared its ugly head again, turned the lights off and then back on and no problem. What's the deal?
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Old Apr 25, 2004 | 07:00 PM
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****, I just had the same problem with my car. It started up today. The only thing I can think of being the cause of it is that I missed a fitting on my fuel system and shot fuel all over the motor when I primed it. I poured water on the fuel to dilute it a little while it was drying so it wouldn't be flammable on teh motor when it heats up. Unless I touched something that can devastate the wiring by matching electrodes in the diagnostic box, I have not touched my electrical system in the work I've done this weekend. Everything in the car is working fine except for the parking lights and dash lights. I could check the TNS relay, but I haven't had a reason for it to go bad. BTW, how do you pull those relays out? Last time I tried, they were pretty hard. I also have mine relocated to below the front cross member since I have a v-mount. Hopefully this is just excess liquid sitting somewhere on the motor and it will dry up over night.
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Old Apr 25, 2004 | 07:01 PM
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I also had no blown fuses anywhere.
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Old Apr 25, 2004 | 07:12 PM
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I am now an expert at removing relays... heh. Basically... you just have to move it from front to back (of the car) while pulling up on it firmly. The clip is on the left side of the relay... so if you lean it to the left a little while moving back and forth... it should come out.
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Old Apr 25, 2004 | 07:53 PM
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Originally posted by MakoDHardie
****, I just had the same problem with my car. It started up today. The only thing I can think of being the cause of it is that I missed a fitting on my fuel system and shot fuel all over the motor when I primed it. I poured water on the fuel to dilute it a little while it was drying so it wouldn't be flammable on teh motor when it heats up. Unless I touched something that can devastate the wiring by matching electrodes in the diagnostic box, I have not touched my electrical system in the work I've done this weekend. Everything in the car is working fine except for the parking lights and dash lights. I could check the TNS relay, but I haven't had a reason for it to go bad. BTW, how do you pull those relays out? Last time I tried, they were pretty hard. I also have mine relocated to below the front cross member since I have a v-mount. Hopefully this is just excess liquid sitting somewhere on the motor and it will dry up over night.

the only thing i touched was the diag box??? i will pay the person that figures it out first
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