Hello all. I need a new headlight switch harness but the one for my model (without airbags) is no longer available (FC01-66-167). I have decided to get the 86-88 harness (FB01-66-167) and attempt to re-pin the harness. No experience with this so all advice appreciated.

I have several specific questions because the harness clip part going to the 'turn signal, dimmer and passing' switch is different and is the part to be re-pinned. I've looked at the FSM for both versions but have been told there are errors.

1) 1988 clip in FSM has two pins not identified on 1989. 'HB' and 'SC'. What are they and should they just be left open with no wire attached?

2) 1989 clip in FSM has two pins identified as both 'SL'. Is this incorrect and what should they be?

3) 1989 clip has one pin identified as '(E)'. That is an 'E' with parenthesis. It is the only pin with parenthesis. What is this or what does it mean?

I am a noob to this and any help is greatly appreciated from anyone with experience.

Thanks.
Mike

 

Do you have the S5 harness on hand? Are you sure your problem is related to the harness and not the switch? If you have damage to the harness which wire(s) are problematic (use wire colors).

 

Hello Satch,
Thanks for the very quick reply.
I actually think it may be both. I've got a rebuilt switch coming to put in, but everything I read says to replace the harness as well.
In fact the S5 harness I have is visibly damaged. One connection looks burnt/melted.
My real difficulty is that the harness I need (S5 W/O air bags), is no longer available and the S4 is more similar than the other S5. I would still need to change pins though - which is confusing because of the diagram labels I mentioned.
I'll try to enclose a photo of my current damaged harness.
Thank you again.
Mike

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention the damaged wire but I cannot see the colour right now. It is labeled in the circuit diagram as 'DEF' - defroster maybe? But there might other damage as the dash cluster lights and rear lights do not work (other than braking).
Thanks.

 

If you look at the actual wiring diagram it just lists wire colors and not abbreviations which you are providing as you must be looking at how to diagnose a problem as stated in the FSM but in those cases it does not refer to the wire colors themselves.

When looking at the headlight harness diagram for both the S4 and S5 the only difference in wire colors is at the top row far end where as in the S4 harness it features a Green/White wire while the S5 features a White/Green wire. This applies to CR1 which is the name of the headlight harness side of the harness plug which plugs into the front harness of the car.

 

Thanks for looking into this. However, the problem I have is that there are two types of S5 wiring for the dimmer/turn signal switch. The wiring diagram shown must be for a car with airbags. Mine is without. My clip even has more unused slots. There are two different harnesses for an S5: FC66-66-167 for with airbags, and FC01-66-167 without. Since the one I need is no longer available I'm trying to learn what each code is in mine - so I can adapt - and connect it to the proper wire going to the other end of the clip. The FSM for an 89 is correct (somewhat), since it also includes the model 'without airbags'.

That's why I am trying to figure out why my switch in the FSM has:
1) Two codes that both say 'SL'
2) Two that say 'E' with one of those in parenthesis
3) Why it doesn't list a code of 'SC' (yet it is in the wiring diagram)
4 What the 'HB' code does since it does not have one but the Left Hand Cluster switch it goes into does.

Sorry if I've made this confusing - just would be simpler with correct drawings in manuals.

Thanks again.
Mike

 

You're not looking at the proper diagram. What you are looking at shows how to diagnose problems but is not an actual wiring diagram. What I am suggesting is to look at the wiring diagram which shows the actual wire colors and not some silly abbreviations. The diagram I am referring to actually shows where each wire runs to and you can see if things match up properly.


This is the correct wiring manual. Use the 1991(S5) version.

http://foxed.ca/index.php?page=rx7manual#secondgen

 

I actually did check that one and it is different than mine. As I say, it must be for an S5 with airbags. It's a different harness than mine. I just can't see a wiring diagram for mine anywhere.

On page 54 or 52 (both dimmer switches are the same), you can see the wire colours going in the switch on the diagram on that page:
E-03 DIMMER PASSING SWITCH
: IN THE CLUSTER SWITCH LH (CR1)

I will attach the photo of mine again and you can see that the empty slots with no wires (circled) are different than the switch in the '91 wiring diagram.

I will just have to pull it all apart and see what I can do. I think I've taken up a lot of your time and I do appreciate the help.

Thanks again.
Mike

 

The individual wiring diagrams are essentially for cars w/o air bags. When there is a wire for the air bag cars there will be a hashed or dashed line around the wire to denote if it is for an air bag car or a non air bag car. Page 58 or the dimmer switch denotes this as do the other diagrams related to your issue.

 

I didn't know about dashed lines etc, but I looked at the three dimmer switches in the document and they all look exactly the same. None match what I have - that's where my confusion is.

 

Do you know if you have a USDM or JDM car or any other model? What exactly is the difference between your dimmer plug than the ones in the diagram and I'm speaking of wire colors. One thing which can be confusing is as follows. Both headlight switches send a ground signal to the headlight relay to turn the lights on and that's the only aspect of turning on the lights that the switch does to achieve this. The wire starts out as Red/White and then turns into a White/Blue wire at the front harness. Because the wire color changes does not mean the ground signal at the R/W wire changes because it connects to a W/L wire. What you want is the proper signal going to the proper place and the wire color becomes somewhat irrelevant. The wiring diagram shows where each pertinent wire is supposed to go so all you need is to compare and contrast. Provide one example in your specific example which you think is wrong and do so by using the wire color, plug used and the specific need for that wire/pin.

 

Hi, it's actually a Canadian car so I'm guessing USDM. What I meant by 'difference', was not in the wiring diagram, but in the Factory Service Manual. I was referring to the number of pins in the clip and where the pins are located. I think your advice is good that I should just follow the wires. Then I can get another harness and repin where necessary.
As a side issue, do you know if the actual headlight switch is identical for years '86-'91? The clip and wiring looks like it is on everything I see.
Thanks for your help.

 

One thing about the wiring diagrams if you haven't noticed already is some of the plug pinouts are from the front of the plug while some are from the reverse or rear aspect of the plug which can be confusing at times. If that were possibly the case then you look at the plug from both sides and settle on which one most closely resembles what you have in hand.

 

It took me a while.. but I had noticed that. At this point, it doesn't take much to confuse me.
Hey man, thanks for your patience with me and my inexperience. Once I get a new switch, I will get in there as you say, and simply make sure it is the wiring that is correct - and forget about which pins are physically where.