Headlights dont work :(

[grinder]

any update on this ?

you can cheat with the probe thing - and just use it on the back of the relays - this will also run the lights for you

[doddy]

No update I\'m afraid - busy sorting out my house (last year it was like Steptoe and Son, this year it\'s more like a Tate Modern Exhibit...), sorting the Legend out for MOT and, eh, playing Halo 3...

I also have an Accord waiting for my girlfriend\'s 21st* which has a duff battery and needs a bit of a seeing to.

The Legend needs a drop link and guess what the busted one is rusted in after 9 years service.

* We were both in our twenties until July 29th :eek

[doddy]

Not fussed on that ten minute limit on editing messages.
Actually makes me less keen on posting anything at all here in a way.
Surely the content is my intellectual property?

ANYWAY...
In case anyone\'s tempted to quip that my girlfriend is young to have a flat battery she\'s "All Electric"*; it\'s the car that has a flat battery :p

*http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=0767908406&page=excerpt

[grinder]

Actually makes me less keen on posting anything at all here in a way.

its not very nice matey

[paul3944]

Err :confused:

[Brett]

Not fussed on that ten minute limit on editing messages.
Actually makes me less keen on posting anything at all here in a way.
Surely the content is my intellectual property?

 Any posts are considered to be in the public domain.  The ten minute limit was instigated to stop people posting inflamatory comments when drunk/raging and then changing them to cover their own stupidity.
 
 If you want anything modified after the 10min limit feel free to get in contact with a member of the moderation team.

[doddy]

Okay I like the drunk thing good idea.

Anyway why the friar am I going OT on my own headlight fix thread!!?

Update is this:
I\'m not exactly full time on this problem more like half an hour a week if I\'m lucky.  I had a look yesterday and it\'s getting simpler:

Ignition on: headlights stuck on main beam.
15A indicator fuse out: everything\'s fine.
I finally worked out the wiring diagrams so I\'m looking for wires touching between turn signal circuit and headlight circuit.  The problem is constant i.e. nothing to do with wires which are switched on and off by the indicator switch.  The problem conceivably could be in the CPU since the diagram says that\'s where the indicator relay is?

[doddy]

One more thing - I have a pile of RX7 downloads here including the manual, photos of manuals and photos of manuals for other cars etc.

What\'s the closest thing any of you have to a bona fide Mazda wiring diagram for an 89 TII?

I think I can do it folks.  The car starts first time everytime what a shame to not let it rip!

[FD3SNuttah]

i have this wiring diagram at home mate (well im pretty sure i do!). ill post up tonight either way.

[doddy]

ill post up tonight either way.

So if you have it you\'ll post it up and if you don\'t have it you\'ll post it up? :confused: :Giggle

Only messin mate. If I could get my hands on a proper wiring diagram I really think I can get this thing fixed.

One other solution is to put some thread on the indicator fuse and yank it out during the MOT light test :evillaugh

[Prof]

might be a long shot, but is your car a UK one?
 
If it\'s a TII - the shape of the rear lights and the length of number plate will help tell you - long number plate - UK - round rear lights - Series 5
 
If you have a UK/Euro car, then it will have the dip/dim relay in the lights circuit - I think this is fed from the 15A indicator fuse, and has wires that connect to the headlights and retractor as well as the ingition - so if it\'s going straight to on, then the dip/dim control relay may be spooned.
 
You can locate it up behind the glove box - mine was grey about 2"x2"x1" in size - it as 6 connectors going to it  (Earth, sidelights, Main Beam, 15A Feed, Retractor Relay, Dip Beam) - a short here would give the symptoms you describe possibly ?
 
If you unplug the relay, the light circuit behaves the same as a US model.

[doddy]

Good good I like this info!

Long plate check round lights check.

I think the relay itself is fine because the whole thing works okay with ignition off or with that 15A \'turn\' fuse out.  (Are you sure that the dim/dip relay is fed from that fuse? Maybe my fuse box diagram is wrong...)  The Haynes only has wiring schematics which aren\'t much use if you don\'t know where the components actually are!

If that is indeed where the relay is then I think you\'re on to something.  And I may indeed be able to sort it out tonight! How cool would that be?!  (I would then have the pleasure of moving onto the squidgy spongey alledgely \'brake\' pedal...)

Tell you what there are some relays and wires hanging out near the glove box.  I also found that three wires from the main light cluster switch have been cut and re-connected...  This car has had a hard life.

Although as I\'ve maybe said 0-60 in 6.75s (Trax) with 135K on the clock surely suggests rebuild?

[Prof]

Relay hanging out on the end of a long wire sounds familiar - that\'s how I found mine
 
This relay is not in the Haynes guide, on the UK models, there was also an extra 2 relays at the front for the Headlights (guess what - these aren\'t in the haynes guide either) - one is for the retractor circuit and the other is for the dip/dim resistor.  Basically the box behind the glove box is supposed to put the headlights on when the sidelights are on and the ignition switch on, but through a resistor so they come on dim.  If you switch to headlights position, then the circuit is disabled and the normal 12v is fed to the headlights.  The Full beam should always work, but does not operate the retractors on UK models - so if you flash someone with the lights off, you get full beam through the Flash To Pass lenses.
 
The circuit inside the relay behind the glove box has a transistor, some resistors and diodes and a small relay.  It senses the signal from the sidelights, and the dipped/main beam, turning the relay on when the sidelights are on, and off when dipped/main beam are on.  The relay gets it\'s power from the 15A fuse - not sure if it\'s indicators or sidelights/tail lights fuse, but the circuit only has power when the ignition is on.  The relay contacts drive the 2 extra relays at the front - one of them is just wired into the retractor circuit - so it pops the lights up when selected, the other one wires a resistor in series with the lights to a 12V feed - so the main lights come on dim.  The resistor hides under the air filter on the left hand side at the front - if you have an after market cone you will see it - long flat rectangular heat sink thing with a pair of wires going into a little 2 pin plug.
 
When you select the main headlights position (dipped or full beam), the whole circuit is effectively bypassed, so the lights should behave as they would normally.

[doddy]

This is a revelation my friend! An epiphany even...

So you think I can bypass all this glove box stuff and get standard headlights to work without flash to pass or headlights on dim?  Maybe I need the dim headlights for regulation sidelights... or are these dimmed headlights just in addition to the sidelights beside indicators?

Perhaps someone has tinkered with this for a bit of cool factor with the pop ups...

[FD3SNuttah]

i have found the relevent diagram. but its like 5mb long. You got an email addy? i will email you the whole thing. if you was a member id be able to send it!!!!

In fact just so you know i have the whole workshop manual for an S4 and the S5.