my86rx7

iTrader: (10)

Hey everyone.

So im just wondering if anyone knows of any common electrical issues on an 86 rx7. I am currently experiencing 2 issues. first one is the most difficult for me. I somehow have a live wire somewhere in the car. It keeps draining the battery on my poor baby. the other problem is that my headlights will not retract to the down position. The lights work just fine. they turn on and off using the headlight switch inside the car but they just wont retract. So maybe im missing something here??? They worked when i first bought the car, but shortly after they stopped retracting. I checked fuses and they are all good. Is there somewhere else i should be looking? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Nelson

satch

iTrader: (1)

Have you checked in the engine fuse box to see if the Retractor fuse is good? If it's blown the lights won't move. The 86 models have a "retractor relay" for each light but the chances that both would go bad at the same time is beyond a coincidence. Now both of these relays have a ground wire that is Black and they eventually lead to a group of ground wires located a bit under and to the side of the trailing coil as they are mounted up against the fender. If the fuse I mentioed is good then move on to checking these ground wires. Now if that isn't the problem then you need to look at the headlight switch harness and check the Red/Yellow and Red/Blue wires. R/Y wire has voltage on it when the headlights are to be in the down position and the other wire, R/L, has voltage when the lights are in the up position. So turn the switch to the down position and check if the R/Y has voltage on it or not as it should be present, and also check for voltage on the other wire as well when the switch is in the down position to see if it is wrongly receiving power when it should not.

Now as far as the other problem you need to disconnect the negative cable from the battery and use a multimeter set to amps. On my meter the setting is "DC10A" and the red meter lead is to be moved to the other plugin position on the meter that reads "DC10A." Once this is done take one lead and place it on the negative battery post and the other lead on the cable terminal that was connected to the post. You will get a reading of how many amps are being drained and if this is a larger number than 10 amps then remove the meter terminals immediately. Next thing to do would be to remove the fuses from the car in a one by one fashion including fuses in both the interior fuse box and the engine fuse box as well. When doing this check the amperage drain at the battery after each fuse is pulled to see if it drops, which would indicate that you found the particular circuit that is causing the drain.

my86rx7

iTrader: (10)

holy crap satch. now there is some detail for me. You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. I thank you so much for the information. i will check everything you said and hopefully i am able to find my issue.

satch

iTrader: (1)

No problem. A couple of things I forgot to mention. The Main fuse in the engine fuse box is screwed in and doesn't just pull out like the rest of the fuses.

You might want to pull the interior fuses first and then move to the engine fuse box if need be.

Multimeters have a maximum amount of amps they can read and mine is 10 while yours might be more and this is why I mentioned removing the meter from the battery quickly if the amp reading is higher than its limit because it will damage the meter.

Removing the single solid Black wire bolted to the side of the alternator might be one of the first things to do after you take an amp drainage reading because the alternators are a source for drainage issues and takes but a minute to check and this might be your problem.

Finally, the White/Green wire coming from the engine fuse box is powered by the Retractor fuse. If the W/G wire has voltage which is constant (24/7) then it proves the fuse is good.

Nyt_Muves

I just have to complement SATCH for such a complete and well written write up. GREAT information and written in an easy to understand and follow manner.

Nicely done.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

There is also a 'clean Lights" switch.
It is the Button located on Top of the Headlight activation switch.( to turn them on and Off)
Now,If the "clean lights' switch is Hit to the ON position,the Headlights will Pop UP and stay UP.( obviously so you can clean the headlights).
The Main headlight switch will then just allow you to turn the Headlights On and Off..BUT the Headlight Buckets will Stay UP,..that is Until you hit the "clean Lights" switch again so the headlights can Retract,and then you can operate Both the Lights and Motors again via the Main switch.