Guidance requested for rewiring HRW switch on a Mk1

Hi folks, hope someone can advise me on this!

I’m connecting up the Heated Rear Window on my 1993 Eunos S Special as per the instructions in the ‘Downloads’ section of the MX5OC website, but am having problems finding the correct switch.

General opinion seems to be that there are 2 types, a rocker switch with a blue connector, or a push-in switch with a white connector. However the existing (blue) connector (which looks original to me) behind the blanking ‘switch’ on my car does not match either of those switches – see photo here  - above is the connector in my wiring loom, below is the rocker switch I got from a fellow member and expected to fit but it obviously won’t!

I’m happy to remove the connector on my wiring loom and rewire to fit my ‘new’ switch, however there are only 3 wires on the existing connector but 4 terminals on the switch, so I need some guidance!

The 3 wires on the existing loom connector are black, red, and black/red. When the blanking switch is in place, this connects the black wire and the red wire thus allowing the panel lights to work, so I assume the remaining (black/red) wire is the live feed to the HRW? Can anyone advise how I should connect these 3 wires to the 4 switch terminals?

Or is there in fact a 3rd type of switch???    Or have I just got a weird car?!!   

 

Edit - photo link not working for some reason so here’s the URL: 

http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/Scorrybreck/media/HRW1_zpsojf7vttl.jpg.html?filters[user]=145874266&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0

Hi, glad to hear that the switch arrived.

Looking at your photo of the behind dash plug I would suggest that possible your car is like mine and has the wiring in place for front foglights. You can check, there should be a socket on the drivers side in the engine bay near the fusebox if I remember correctly. In which case you need this switch.

http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst80890_Duel-Function-Front-Fog-Lamp-Heated-Rear-Window-Switch.aspx

If you think this may be the case let me know and I will try to get some photos of the back of my switch.

I can’t see your photo but it sounds like the plug you’ve found is the one for the dash light dimmer switch. That needs to be plugged back into the switch blank that it came from or you’ll have no dashboard lights. There should be a metal shorting bar on the back of the blank. Have you looked further for any other plugs?

edit… I’ve seen your photo now, have a look at the plug behind your fog lamp switch, that’s a front fog lamp switch so may have the correct plug behind it.o

I’ve sorted your photo link out too.

Sorry just noticed that your original post states that there are only 3 wires on your blue plug, so ignore my thoughts on front fogs. Is your vehicle by any chance an automatic as it appears from the MX% Parts website that this is a different switch and even more expensive.

I have a Mazda W/s manual but the wiring diagram shows the type of switch I gave you ie 4 pins and not the plug in your photo.

That said it is just a switch one in, one out and the third is probably the tell tale that lights in the instrument cluster, a multimeter would establish the live on the plug and also the connection to the relay what’s left is the tell tale. I can scan the wiring diagram if it would help but it is a UK manual not Eunos and in some places like this the wiring is different.

Good Luck

Dave

You need this IMG link below - URL takes you into photobucket, but doesn’t show online. I take it the blue connector nearer the dash is the loom one, and the larger one with spade connectors is the back of the switch? Question - is the switch an illuminated one? If so, you need a positive and negative connection to the switch to make it work. Check if you can (multi-meter or 12V test lamp) on the loom connector to if see if these are on the loom connector. Best way, put one lead on the chassis - make sure it’s definitely a body connection, and find the positive on the loom connector. when that’s established, leave that lead in place, and use the chassis lead to find the negative on that connector.(take it off the chassis and use it as a finder) Sorry - I don’t have a Mk1 wiring diagram to refer to, but this is what I’d do. Now - on the switch, at a guess, the middle pins are the normal postive and negative live connection for an illuminated switch, and the offset pins are the outgoing connection when the switch is on. So, having identified which wires are live and negative, cut them off at the loom connector (one at a time) and crimp a female blade connector on it - if you have the right tools to do this. Halfords sell crimp connectors in small packs, so make sure you get the right size for the switch pins. You can solder these on, but be careful, as solder can run down onto the blade and interfere with a connection. Do the positive first, then the negative, pushing each one onto the switch contact singly, that avoids any shorts, flashes and bangs! The remaining wire is (it says here) the switch wire to the HRS, have you fitted a relay or not? If a relay, then the last wire needs to go on the offset negative connection on the switch,.as the relay is positive fed to the coil and needs a negative to work. If no relay, but a direct connection to the heater, then connect that lead to the positive side of the switch, on the offset pin.

Normally the light is connected internally across the offset pins, so when the switch is on, the light works.You can check this before adding the third wire, if it lights- we are both right. If it doesn’t then I’m wrong! You can call me anything you wish, but there may be a remedy, which I’ll pass on if it doesn’t work. If the light works, than connect the third wire as mentioned. Crimp pliers are expensive, £15 odd. but don’t buy one unless you need it in the future. Odd times when I forgot my crimp pliers I have used ordinary pliers (good ones) and used the cutting edge to mske the crimp, but make sure you don’t chop right through, or you have a broken connector. You can also try squashing the crimp part with the gripping nose of the pliers, but it takes a good pair (six inch pliers or better) to make a firm connection. Give it a pull when done, if it comes off, the crimp isn’t good enough. Disconnecting the battery would be the safe procedure, but then you won’t be able to check pos and neg leads. However, if you make a note of which wire is which (white electrical tape helps, if you have a permanent marker) and then disconnect the battery then you can proceed without doing any damage. Last thought - you need to strip the insulation off the ends of the existing wires to make a good connection with crimps, strip around 5-6mm and be careful you don’t cut through some of the outside strands when you do this, Crimp pliers have a stripper part, but again, not much use if you never use them again. Also twist the strands, or you may have the odd strand sticking out and causing problems.

PM me if you are in doubt.

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Seeing as it took me ages to type this, I notice other comments , so you may have the wrong loom connector.If so - ignore my effort, and I won’t curse you - honest"!

Having had another look at the wiring diagram I think RR is correct and this is the plug for the switch that dims/turns off the instrument lights and this has three connections. Again as RR suggests look further for other plugs. Fourth pin on switch appears to be for illumination.

Many thanks for all the help guys, HRW now working! 

Turns out Roadster Robbie was correct in realising that the connector I located was the instrument panel dimmer – I falsely assumed that would be the HRW connector as it was the only blank switch panel on my dash (the front fog light switch is required as the car does have front fogs fitted – the funny yellow Japanese ‘globes’ inside the front air intake that I think are technically illegal in the UK? Shhhh! 

Anyway, I digress – after a wee rummage around I did indeed find the real HRW connector flapping about loose behind the dash, and so the switch kindly supplied to me by Dave208 is indeed the correct one after all. So now my HRW is working and the dummy dash dimmer switch is now flapping about behind the dash instead (but still connected so that I have panel lights).

And just to complete this post in case anyone refers to it in the future – no my car is not an automatic (perish the thought!); and Gerryn, thank you for taking the time to type out all the information in your very comprehensive post, it was appreciated although ultimately superfluous…  feel free to curse me as much as you like, you’re far enough away from for me not to hear…!

And thanks again to Dave208 for supplying the switch, and spending time examining wiring diagrams for me.

Oh, one more question for Roadster Robbie, what did you do to make my photo link work? What did I do wrong?

Thanks everyone!  

Just copy the link to the image in Photobucket, the link must end .jpeg, the paste the link inbetween .