| Old 5's (pre 1994) did not have the beam circuit connected to the main light circuit. So, if you flash your beam with the lights off, the the lights don't pop up. There is a really simple mod to get around this, requiring a single 2.5 A diode. btw Instructions for mod at http://www.miata.net/garage/flash.html (11/99) |
| Not quite true. Only the very earliest ('90) cars did not have this feature, which means a fairly small number. In fact there was a dealer-fitted (cost-free I believe) upgrade carried out at the time for any UK-spec cars found to be without the beam raise & flash relay. My car (an August '91) had the factory mod already done from new. However, the Eunos & Miata may be another matter. (11/99) |
| The lights do pop up when flashing the beam on my 1990 MX-5. I'm not aware it's been modified though it might have been pre-1992 (11/99) |
| I have a 91 Roadster and I have to use the flash to pass modification to get my lights to pop up !!! (11/99) |
| BTW, the instructions are not the same as on miata.net - those apply to Miatas (two versions described, for US and Canadian spec) and neither are exactly correct for Roadsters or the few UK spec cars not already fitted with flash-to-pass. (11/99) |
| No tips really, you just push it into the connector. (11/99) |
| I fitted a "flash to pass" diode, which works a treat. It's action is faster than the factory fit version on other Roadsters. (11/99) |
| Mine is one of the first UK cars and seems to have missed the service fix. I had an appropriate diode a while ago but since the various instrutions on Miata.net and the enthusiasts workshop manual don't seem to coincide with my car, I gave up! (11/99) |
| Tandy no longer sell diodes....well the Edinburgh store doesn't anyway ("Sorry, stopped selling that sort of thing last year"). Not sure if this is a nationwide stance. Maplins do sell them. Got mine yesterday for 16p. Order Code:QL81C / Description: 1N5400. Appears to have "MS IN5400" written on it. (2/00) |
| The other option is RS Components (2/00) |
| I bought the diode from Maplin and put it straight into the connector in the back of the steering column stalk - much easier than messing about with the loom under the dash (never did find a wiring diagram which matched my wires and connectors) (2/00) |
| The following site has the info you need http://www.padkins.demon.co.uk/eunos/ (3/00) |
| It goes between Red/white and white/blue on an early car (2/02) |
| On a slightly different note - the only thing that bugs me (and only a little bit really) is the onset of a bit of gloom - the urge to see the rev counter and wham! up pop the headlights on the sidelight setting - bang goes the view! Is there a simple (reversible?) way to keep the headlights down (and unenergised) on the sidelight setting? (3/00) |
| Yep, you just pull a relay under the hood. The lay out for a 1.8 is slightly different to a 1.6 so I need to know which one you have. Are you a member of the owners club?, if so it is printed in STHT, also check out miata.net as it is probably listed on there (everything else is!) (3/00) |
| If look under the bonnet towards the back of the car inside the right hand wing you will see a Black box fixed near the hinge the one towards the very back controls the pop ups if you disconect the plug it will stop them coming up on side light position on your switch. (7/00) |
| Check out "Les and Sue's" - specifically http://home.clara.net/norden/dimdip.htm (7/00) |
| I've been looking at the various pages on how to do the mod and finally made my way to a Tandy's store to find they no longer sell electrical components. On I went to a Maplins, but found that they do not sell the 2.5 amp diodes, just 1 amp and 3 amp units. Does any one know if I'll cause any problems by using a 3 amp diode instead of a 2.5 one ? (4/00) |
| This should be fine, I can't think why you should not use a higher rated Diode. (4/00) |
|
I can't remember the colours, but here is a set of generic (colour
free) instructions that I wrote for someone ages ago. B w w TW w w Where w is for Wire, TW is for Thick Wire and B is for Blanking.
I checked this using a mutlimeter first (curiosity and distrust). I just made the lights go up while holding the positive to the wire beside the blanking and watched the dial read 12V. Then while holding the positive to the thick wire, flicked on the beam and again the dial went up to 12V. (4/00) |
| I think Donutz sell the mod. http://www.donutz.co.uk (4/00) |
| I have pictures on my site for the installation (4/00) |
|
I feel a little embarrassed by this but I've tried following the excellent instructions I've been sent and found on the net at www.padkins.demon.co.uk/eunos/flash.html The problem is that one way round (I am using 3 amp 5.6 volt diodes from Maplins) I get the flash to work, BUT when I put the lights on I can not turn off the high beam setting (blue warning light et al.) and the diode starts to smoke. The other way round I get nothing (even with another diode). I went to look at the original miata method, but the nearest I could find in looks to the adapter was a yellow thing with gripper type material around it (and wires going in both sides). (4/00) |
| Oooer ! Looking at the packet of 3 I got from Tandy when they still did such things (that's a packet of 3 DIODES for those of you with smutty minds !), the diode is rated at 1kv Peak Inverse Voltage (whatever that is). Perhaps the ones you have aren't up to the job ? Can't be much more help 'cos electronics really isn't (aren't ?) my thing. (4/00) |
| The only reason for it to smoke is that you're putting too much current through it. I guess you've got it in the wrong place. Sorry I can't be much help. :-( (4/00) |
| Depends, on mine just using the recommended diode, it got |
| ust go and spend your 3 pounds or whatever it is on the flash to pass mod from John Cookson available through donutz. Excellent instructions and the correct diode is supplied. It also drops the light immediately instead of leaving them up for 5 seconds after you flash them. (4/00) |
| I dont know the circuit, but from what it sounds like. If once you turn the light on, they won't go off, thrn you've probably got the diode going from one of the outputs on a relay to one of the inputs to the coil of it. This *may* then cause a latch. However this does not fully explain the diode getting hot. Do you know the rating of the relay for the lights ? what may be happening is that the diode is goning from + to - using the relay. Then, as it is close to the relay, wierd things (from experiance it like-minded things) happen. (4/00) |
| 5.6V? I think you must have a Zener diode. This is completely the wrong thing. You need something like a 1N5401 Silicon Rectifier Diode. This is rated at 100v, which is the usual minimum for rectifier diodes. Ask for 3A 100V Rectifier diode (or see the donutz web site!) (4/00) |
| Yeah I would recommend the Donutz Diode kit! Slightly more cash but great instructions and nice diode! (4/00) |
|
What I think you have connected the lights up line to the beam (thick wire). So that when the lights are up the beam is on. The beam requires a lot of current and is over heating the diode. With the lights turned off, press the lights up button (centre dash). If the beam comes on, then that is what you have done. Turn it off again (quickly) That means you have got the correct wires, you just need to connect the diode to these wires in the opposite direction (with the silver band pointing at the thin wire). The diode you bought from Maplin sounds like a zener diode, so use that big chuncky one (fa nar) that I sent you instead. (4/00) |
| I would agree that a 5.6V diode is almost certainly a zener. This is a different type of diode that is used an elementary voltage regulator as opposed to the kind you need for the flash to pass mod whose job it is to pass current in one direction only but resist it in the other (up to a point) This maximum reverse voltage is known as the Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) (4/00) |
| Depends, on mine just using the recommended diode, it got
What rating is the recommended one? (4/00) |
| 2.5A (4/00) |
|
5.6V? I think you must have a Zener diode. This is completely the wrong thing Oops, I missed that he quoted a voltage. Yes, not a great combination when there's 12V around! (4/00) |
| And it only drives the pop-up relay, so it shouldn't get hot if it's in the right place! (4/00) |