Help -- Headlight problem

[Chris1980rx7]

I have a 1980 RX7 with a headlight that won't go up.

The driver side headlight won't go up with either the light switch or the console switch, but if you manually crank the light up it will retract(go down) when you turn off the lights or use the console switch.

All the lights work and all the fuses look good.

The passenger headlight retracts up and down perfectly.

Any ideas on how to fix this problem.

[Marc S]

have you tried cleaning it all up...maybe pop off the arm, and make sure the motor works on its own when you turn the lights on...if it does, it just means the mechanism is so stiff the motor can't move it

[Chris1980rx7]

The mechanism is nicely lubricated, the motor is not turning on - tracing the on off switch looks like a pain.

[codge]

Have you got a wiring diagram....or a Haynes Manual?

[Chris1980rx7]

Have you got a wiring diagram....or a Haynes Manual?

Yes, I have a Haynes and a Chilton's manual - Thanks

[Marc S]

I guess my next step would be to try the motor on the other side, just to see if it works on that loom? Be nice to eliminate the wiring from the motor itself...

[codge]

Have you got a wiring diagram....or a Haynes Manual?

Yes, I have a Haynes and a Chilton's manual - Thanks

OK, so if you can say what page in Haynes you're using? You're in the USA car diagrams I assume? You're in CA from your other post?

Then we can talk about putting a temporary feed straight to the motor "up" terminal from the battery.
Unless you're very confident only use a temp lead(s) with an inline fuse in case you hit the wrong terminal.

[Chris1980rx7]

Page 188 of the Haynes manual.

What is interesting is when the headlights are down and you manually turn the top of the motor counter clockwise the motor turns on and the headlight goes up and down and then stops. I tried the same thing with the good headlight and it did the same thing. Somewhere in the rotation cycle as the headlight is about to go up the motor is turned on for one cycle.

[Lucky]

It's a commonality with all Mazda pop-ups, I think. Certainly FDs are the same, at some point in manually cycling the adjustor the lights will go to the limit of their travel and then retract. From memory the FB ones do as well, as you just discovered. I've often wondered why this should be (as the FD has nearly taken my fingers off a couple of times) I can only assume it's some kind of self-centralising thing, so the headlights "know" where they are in their travel range, if that makes sense?

As to how to cure a single sticking light, I can't be any help. On my FD it's had this a couple of times, once for a couple of days and nothing seemed to cure it. Then they just abruptly went back to working properly without any apparent reason. Irritating but true. In the end, like many things about the car, I wrote it off to demonic possession Have you tried holy water?

[Chris1980rx7]

Holy water it is, if that fails we will resort to an exorcism.