So after soldering my flasher unit back together I was under the dash trying to remount it and I found a few black wires that have all the insulation melted. These wires are around the area where the flasher bracket mounts. I looked around some more and I found a few blue wires with red stripes on the other side of the steering column that are melted too. Looks like someone was messing around under there as there are crimp connectors on these wires. So I started to try and take the lower dash off but it got too dark and I gave up for the night. Any common meltdowns under the dash in these areas? On the black wires it looks like one comes with the bundle through the firewall and down to a crimp and then two wires come out the other side, one going up towards the top of the fuse block and the other up higher under the dash. The blue wires I couldn't really trace too well. What is the best way to remove the dash to access these areas to get a better look? At 6'4" 260lbs its tough getting under the dash to see.

P.S. Everything electrical on the car works aside from the cruise, the tach which doesn't read accurately and the turn signals which only work intermittently which I tracked to the flasher cpu. No blown fuses either.

 

I always take the driver's seat out (it's only 4 bolts) when working under the dash; that way you can lay flat on the floor with your legs up over the bins. It's still close quarters but you won't end up in spinal traction from having been hanging out the doorframe for hours.

Melted wires is very uncommon - - fuses are supposed to act before enough current can flow to heat the wires to melting point. You might want to check the actual numbers on the fuses, make sure some unbright PO didn't swap in higher-rated fuses to replace ones that "kept blowing." A blown fuse is a SYMPTOM, not a fault - - it means that something is drawing too much current for some reason.

As to wire colors - - Mazda loves to use the same colors for multiple circuits, so color alone doesn't tell you which wire you're looking at, most times. Color plus connector ID is the key; you want to get friendly with a wiring diagram to solve this type of thing.

 

Good suggestions. I will check all the fuses and pull the seat too, why didn't I think of that lol.

 

Update: I found that the blue wires were for the wiper system. There are thick blue wires that run up towards the top of the dash that come down and a crimp connected to what I assume are the stock wires, 4 blue ones one with a white strip, one with red, one with black and one with no stripe. I just pulled the fuse for that circuit to prevent any potential problems since the wires need to be completely replaced for the whole circuit. I'm working on tracing the black wires near the fuse block/flasher cpu area now. Somebody did a heck of a hack job under there and I'm having a heck of a time seeing where it all goes. On the other side of the firewall grommet I found one green wire with a red stripe that is all melted to heck and appears to be missing the actual wire inside in certain spots. It looks like it runs down the inner fender to a harness that is under the a/c compressor and then runs towards the front of the car. At this point I cant see where it runs back under the dash. What is the best place to get a wiring diagram other then buying a Haynes manual (nobody near by has one in stock)?

 

Check Sgt. Fox's sig, or the links in the FAQ for this section. If you don't find the exact one for your year, get the closest - - if it's the same series, the wiring doesn't change all that much.

Might be that the outside wiper wiring failed (the connectors are known to crumble from age) and the PO tried to make repairs. People do their best with what they know.

I cringe at some of the work I did on my car 15 or 20 years ago, long since re-repaired.

 

Yeah I tracked the wires for a few more hours last night and it looks like all the burnt up wiring is for the wipers. I'm just going to leave the fuse out for now and let it roll till I have time to pull the dash and re-do all the wiring. Glad I caught it now before the car caught on fire or something.