Hi guys, and girls, I\'ve got a strange problem. I was messing around with installing an aftermarket stereo. I\'ve followed advice on this forum i.e. grounding the stereo to the bolt on the driver\'s side centre console and wiring it up according to the guides on here and the using them to convert to the wiring colours of an iso connector block.
Somewhere along the way though I\'ve messed something up or possibly the stereo went mad and has tried to destroy my car.
After I gave up with trying to get the stereo to work, which it didn\'t properly, only illuminated the display but didn\'t really do anything else I noticed that my interior lights weren\'t working.
When I open the doors or the boot the automatic lights do not not turn on, none of them, and the door and hatch light were continuously illuminated. I undid all the wiring for the stereo to how it was prior to making the changes but although it seemed to improve the problem slightly (the door and hatch lights on the idiot light cluster went out finally) but still no interior lights with any of the doors or the boot open. However, when I switch on the pilot lights they very slowly begin to illuminate but they are very dim and also this causes the door and hatch light on the idiot light cluster to illuminate, again even with doors closed. In fact, seemingly, any activation of the interior lighting circuit cause these problems.
Very strange, I think somehow I have damaged the interior lighting circuit but would have thought that would mean that it simply wouldn\'t work as opposed to kind of work, badly.
Anyway, if this has been damaged. Does anyone know how to go about sorting this problem out? I\'m trying to return my fc to as close to stock condition as possible and this is the first time I\'ve taken a step backwards, hopefully this isn\'t the beginning of a new direction for me where I go and start ruining the car... Maybe I\'ll go get some twenty five inch spinners for wheels next if that\'s the case.
Thanks in advance.
Im by no means an expert on electrics but to me it sounds like you\'ve tapped into the +ve side of the light circuit some how, Then grounded it. Think that would cause the lights to fail as the power would take the easiest way to earth. But like I said I\'m not that good with electrics. Im sure someone will be along shortly to help you out more and probably correct me!
That makes some sense though, maybe that\'s why the pilot lights illuminate slightly. Any advice will help me to be honest mate.
Thanks.
Which guides did you use and is the car UK or Jap spec. Cause I belive there were slight changes between the two when it comes to wireing colours.
It\'s an 1988 RX7 EGI UK spec.
Hmm, do you know what... Now that you mention it, the advice I used for wiring the stereo up was not from mazdarotaryclub.com it was from RX7club.com which is an american site, not sure if that makes a difference. I thought it was from mazda rotary club, but I can\'t find the thread anywhere here, only on rx7club.com\'s faq list so I guess I must have got the wiring guide there.
http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=494667
I should have been more careful :$
That could be the problem. The American cars deffo had different colours for certain wires.
From memory
red = +ve
Black = -ve
Yellow = Ignition power
Orange = Illumination (although I don\'t think its required for modern head units)
Blue = Electric arial
Grey 2 off = Speakers
Purple 2 off = Speakers
Green 2 off = Speakers
Can\'t remember the other speakers wire colour!
I got caught out by the wiring colours from a US manual - cunning as they are they\'ve used the same colour wires in the harness - but for different signals !!
Makes life fun - not !
hmm, well thanks for the help so far guys. I\'ve been researching this problem on and off all week and I\'m still stumped. I had a look under the dash a bit as well and can\'t see what I\'ve done. I have however just found out my brother\'s friend is an auto electrican so I gonna ask him about it at the weekend about this problem along with a few other snags I\'ve got with the electrics that I\'ve been so far unable to resolve.
If I manage to sort it out, I\'ll post the solution on here so if anyone has this problem again hopefully it\'ll help them out.
Thanks again guys.
mine did that ages ago - find out i popped a fuse :D :D
check them all in the fuse box ( drivers side - inside the car )
Grinder, YOU THE MAN!!!
Thanks dude, I read your post and thought that my problem would be something different as I was still getting some current going to the pilot lights but thought I\'d give it a bash anyway and they came on back while I was replacing them all.
The fuse for my interior lighting circuit is labeled \'room\' and that fuse was intact, so when I previously looked at this fuse and saw that it was fine, I ruled the fuse being the problem out of it. What happened was that another fuse had blown, I think it was the \'stop\' fuse. I guess that the interior lighting circuit needs both the stop and the room fuses intact to light, and maybe that\'s why the pilot lights continued to work kind of.
Anyway, thanks for all your help guys I appreciate it. I\'m sure I\'ll be chatting to you again soon as I\'ve got a few other niggling problems that I need to sort out when I get some time.
glad it was something simple !!
it was years back and i was taking the TII out for a spin ( could have been the EGI it was that long ago )
was driving along and the radio stopped and the hatch light came on ( and im sure the interior door lights ) ... thought it was really strange
thought i had really killed something - got home - checked all the fuses and spotted one was blown .. 5 mins later i was back on the road
glad to have helped mate
Stu / Grinder