Intermittant indicator malfunction - Mk2

Technical Area Electrics & ICE
2

Hi all,


It’s been a while since I was last on here - a testament to the fact that our ‘5’ has been behaving itself very well :slight_smile: However, about a week ago we started experiencing problems with the indicators. I’ll do my best to explain what’s going on but bear in mind that this is an intermittant problem. The car is a 1998 1.8iS Mk2 (UK-spec).

Upon starting the car for the first time during the day everything is fine and all systems work. Sometimes it’ll remain fine for a few days but sometimes the indicators fail at a random point during the drive - this could be 2 minutes into the drive or after an hour, etc. Neither the directional indicators nor the hazards work. The stalk still “clicks” into position but you can’t hear the solenoid clicking in time with the indicators flashing and the indicator lights do not light up at all - it’s as if the whole indicator system is dead. This is the case for both front and rear indicators (as well as the side repeaters).

I’ve investigated the fuses - all are fine; I’ve investigated the wiring runing from the indicator stalk to the block below it and that seems fine too. Wiggling the wires does not bring the indicators back to life either. The only way we can get the indicators to work again is to turn the car off, leave it off for a couple or minutes and then restart. 9 times out of 10 the indicators will work again until the next time they pack up.

Before I take the car to the dealer I was wondering if anyone on here had experienced the same problem or whether you have any advise as to (a) what it might be or (b) how to resolve the issue.

All feedback is gratefully received :slight_smile:

Kind regards,

Dan

 

3

 If everything else electrical is working OK, I would use a test meter or a 12v bulb with a bulb holder and two tail wires to test for continuity at the indicators and the flasher unit to trace the fault. It is possibly the flasher unit.

4

Thanks very much for the advise. Have done so and it doesn’t throw up any problems … I’ll have to wait until the problem reappears and then try the continuity test again before the fault “resets” itself :wink:

Kind regards,

Dan

5

Hi all,

Just a quick update to let you know the problem has been successfully resolved :slight_smile:

Part required: S2C466830B - Front unit, flasher (also referred to as “flasher relay” or “flasher control module”)

Cost: £36.84 incl. VAT from Mazda dealer (only a few pence cheaper from MX5Parts) (note: this is a “special order” item and is non returnable)

Location:
driver side footwell, above the bonnet release cable, you’ll feel the
relay clicking in time with the indicators, you’ll spend a lot of time
upside-down!

I
did the repair myself and it took approximately 45 minutes - most of
that was spent trying to find the offending relay and removing it. In
the end I just removed the connector, plugged it into the new unit and
used double-sided sticky pad to secure the new unit to the old one.

Job done! :slight_smile:



Regards,



Dan

6

We live and learn.