Streetrally

Well today I just finished up on doing a lot of maintanance work on my car. My dad and I did the brakes, replaced the tranny and diff fluid, clutch fluid, and replaced the fuel filter. Anyways, I was driving around town late at night to help let my brakes settle down in their new home when suddenly my dash lights cut out and its completely dark in the **** pit.



This lasts for a couple of seconds and kicks back on again. This goes on for a while until I have a chance to pull over when the dash lights are out to find out that my tail lights are also not functioning (at the same time as the dash). Yet, my headlights and brake lights and I THINK my blinkers still worked.



So friends, my question to ya'lls here is, what can I do to rectify this?



Thanks in advance!

FCmaniac

Check the fuses first, then the headlight switch and its harness. I've been reading about a lot more bad headlight harnesses lately it seems.

djgiantrobot

this just happened to me this week, since its your tails AND the dash lights its going to be the switch that is burned, once you remove you plug from the fuse you'll see exactly what i'm talking about. That is, unless you are lucky like me and have a perfectly functioning switch and a burn SOMEWHERE in the harness. I still haven't found it, but i plan to solve it today. Worse case senario is that i have to wire in a toggle for the parking/interior lights.

Streetrally

Okey doke, thanks for the feedback guys. Unfortuately it wasn't a fuse, so I'm tearing out my dash right now. Just waiting on a puller to yank my steering wheel out so I can reach my switch...



If its not one thing its another...

djgiantrobot

you don't need a puller to get the wheel off, just pull hard on the top, then the bottom, then the top, then the bottom etc till it comes off. I've done it at least a dozen times.

Streetrally

Well ain't that some ****. Thanks for the info, I'll go mess with it now!

djgiantrobot

make sure to line up your steering angle multisensor when you put the wheel back on also or else you'll get PS warning beeps

djgiantrobot

also i hope it goes without saying to take off the 22mm nut that is under mazda logo first, haha

mac_dad6

you dont actually have to remove the steering wheel to get to the switch

djgiantrobot

i feel that it helps, especially if it isn't the switch and you have to trace the harness. Just my preference