I have put my hard top on with the cable in the hard top near the seat belt pillow but where do I plug it in to please ??thanks.
Not sure what model/year MX5 you have but most have the wiring in place to plug in the stub loom that connects to the heated rear window.
Loom plug should be on the parcel shelf behind the passenger seat.
If the car is a Eunos/MK1 you will probably need other parts unless a heated rear window has been working on the car before.
Early MK 1 NA’s never had the rear socket, MK 1 Na’s and MK 2/2.5’s use a different socket and plug…
http://www.mazdamenders.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=114&t=6403
http://www.mazdamenders.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=114&t=6684
M-m
Your best (hopeful) bet is check inside the boot, top right behind the drivers seat side, do you have a small square fuse box with two fuses in it? - Some Mk1’s have it, others don’t. If it’s there, then one fuse is for the heated rear window, offhand I forget what the other fuse is for, though I have a feeling it may have been for a powered aerial feed. No matter, if it’s there, then half the job is done, you just need a wire running from that fuse over to where the top should plug in. You can either search (endlessly) for a matching socket to plug into or, or cut the existing hard top plug off, and using either a screw connector (easier to remove the top when spring arrives) or make a permanent connection, (not good when you want the top off) The other heater connection needed is of course a negative - connect to any body part nearby.
No fusebox? - The job is a lot harder, I can advise if needed.
Mine has the wiring in place, you will also need the relay that is mounted behind the rear trim panel by the lock as well as the dashboard switch, hopefully the plug for the switch will already be present.
I for got to say it’s a MK3 and I have the wiring coming from the hard top but can’t find where to plug it in? Do I unplug the one running from the soft top thanks ??
Ah MK3 - we were all assuming an older car.
Yes, the stub wiring for the softtop and hardtop should plug into the same loom socket, although only one at a time:-)
So - they say “The punch line should always come at the end of a good joke”. Humphh - this is funny?
As has been said so many times,“Please show the type of car you have in your profile, or failing that, say so in the message”.
question now is what hardtop have you bought, is it for a Mk.3, or previous models?
Ever had the feeling you are wasting your time? - for members only.
Hello!
After searching the forum and finding 3-5 different threads I’m going with this one…
I have a Japanese 1991 1.6 Eunos which I have fitted a 2002/3 NB soft top with glass HRW.
My car luckily has all the wiring already, fuses and switches etc.
My issue is that when I connect the car to to the hood, the light comes on on the dash, but its not de-misting.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6tC2L3U7M7TcaWPp9 = Current wiring situation.
Colours are as follows for MK2 rear windscreen Harness:
- Red/Black wire (thick)
- Black wire (thin)
- Black&White wire (thin)
- Violet (or purple?)
- Red/White (thick wire)
- Black (thin)
Thanks in advance.
Todd
Looks like the plug and socket have crossed wires, I’m guessing here, but if you compare ‘thick and thin’ they don’t agree. Sonds like the Red/Black wire for the hardtop should connect to the Red/White wire in the car, Black to Black (car to hardtop) which leaves the Black/White wire from the hardtop to the Violet (or Purple) of the car. If you have a voltmeter, you can check volts and earth on the car wiring, so Red/White should be Positive, Black negative (car body) and Violet (or Purple) should be the return that lights the ‘On’ switch.
Easiest way to connect both wiring sets is get a three way screw terminal (Halfords) and cut off both plugs and connect as indicated. If this works, then when you remove the hardtop, always disconnect the hardtop side, never the car. Or, if you fancy your skill, get a three way plug and socket from Halfords, and do it the right way. Socket on car wiring and plug on hardtop . There is a 3 way mains plug and socket you can get from most hardwares stores, the weatherproof type, case made of a rubber compound. Use the outer pins for positive and negative, and the center pin for negative (car body).
HTH?
Hi and thanks for replying!
I’ve tried the combo you suggested and others to no avail 
I’m wondering why I can’t get a live signal down the red/white thick wire?
I can make the light on the dash come on? So there’s power from somewhere? Or am I being naive?
Apart from the fuse in the boot is there any other way to check my live is live? Volt meter is reading 0!
P.s it’s to a MK2 soft top which I have the harness for so need for too much DIY wiring!
Cheers.
Todd
Todd -
Mazda always use a black for a negative wire, so with the heater switch ON, read between it and the other two incoming wires (incoming from the car wiring) - Which one is positive? Remember it.
Now, if your meter also reads ohms, read between the wires coming from the hardtop, the pair which connect to the window heater should read resistance - no idea what it is, but it should indicate something. If it reads zero (no reading) then you need a different wire. The pair with resistance should be the ones that connect to your incoming feed (postive and negative) and the other wire may be the one which goes back to the indicator switch light.
Actually the third wire on my Mk2.5 hardtop - according to the wiring manual, goes to a capacitor, (presumabLy) to stop radio interference. - not to the indicator light at all. (the switch is a two pole switch - one for the heater, and the second pole for the indicator ,light. I may have led you up the tree with the wrong assumption there, if so I apologise.
In my last post I assumed that the two thick wires were both positive, but your meter checks may prove differently.
If we can establish which incoming and outgoing wires connect to the heater, you can figure out the third connection yourself, it either feeds the indicator light, of it goes to a capacitor, something you’ll have to search for if everything else works. If I’m right about where the indicator light gets its feed from, then using the switch with no connection to the hardtop wiring, and the light works, then you also have a two pole heater switch, and you can stop worrying about where it should connect. If using the heater does cause radio interference, then connect the spare incoming wire to the third wire from the hardtop, and this should stop any interference.
Turned into a bit of a ramble, so sorry about that!
Greenking - have you found the socket yet? If not, peel back the carpet behind the passengers seat - toward the inside of the car, and feel down the hole which the carpet covers - Is the socket down there, hidden from view?
If you still can’t find it, you’ll need to remove all the carpet from the parcel shelf, unscrew the cover over the petrol tank, and see it it’s visible, but out of sight from the hole where it should poke through. No luck? you have a problem.
Do NOT disconnect any other connections in that area!