Lotus elite 503 Headlights renovation

[Robbie]

Fitted mazda motors for headlights as part of renovation of my lotus. Back to front actions I appreciate  as I have never had the engine running yet or driven the car.

My question is what is the basic processes on switching on the lights and when do the pods raise in the following situations

1, If you have the ignition off and turn the light switch on 

2. If you have ignition on and turn on the light switch but do not start the engine

3. If you turn ignition on , start the engine and switch the lights on

4. If the ignition is off and you press the flash arm

5. If you have the ignition on and you press the flash arm

6. If you have ignition on and engine on and press the flash switch

 

Answers I assume will be one or a combination of the following :

a sidelights

b headlights

c main beam

d pods up

e pods down

f nothing

 

Currently without the engine running I can raise the pods by pulling the flash indicator each pull raises the next lowering. Good for flashing. 

Before I play with the wiring I need to establish when the light switch would sent power to the solenoids as I am using that circuit.

Obviously it operates  through the flash lever as I can see that working and in the wiring diagram

 If the engine running is the only way the light switch send power to the solenoid I may not have a problem, I see there is a thermal switch in the diagram but have not come about that before.

Thanks for looking at a long note for a simple question.

 

 

[Robbie]

Sorry pulling flash indicator raises light with lights on letting stalk go lights go down , therefore flashing works.

Main point required is does engine have to be running for light pods to raise when vacuum replaced by Mazda motors. It may be a wiring issue just my car .The  feed I use to the motors is the old feed which went to the solenoid and perhaps it is only activated when the engine is running . That would be quite clever meaning the solenoid does not receive power even if the lights switch is turned and pulled, unless the engine is running. It would also mean I do not have a problem to solve, simply next step get the car running.

 

[Dunc]

Rob,

It has been a while since I had a running car with vacuum (current S1 is a garage ornament at present) , but I seem to remember getting a loud "thunk" from the solenoid with the ignition on without the engine running. My reason for thinking this is I wouldn't have heard the "thunk" if the engine was on.

The vacuum system just vents to atmosphere to allow the headlights to rise, and the solenoid shows the pod a vacuum to pull it down. Mine would go down with the engine running, but the condition of the bellows would only allow them to stay down for a minute or so before they crept up.

Some diagrams would be helpful for your work on the mazda lights. I'm sure others would appreciate them if they follow you down this route.

Thanks for posting!

Dunc

[black eclat]

On 12/21/2017 at 13:47, Robbie said:

Sorry pulling flash indicator raises light with lights on letting stalk go lights go down , therefore flashing works.

Main point required is does engine have to be running for light pods to raise when vacuum replaced by Mazda motors. It may be a wiring issue just my car .The  feed I use to the motors is the old feed which went to the solenoid and perhaps it is only activated when the engine is running . That would be quite clever meaning the solenoid does not receive power even if the lights switch is turned and pulled, unless the engine is running. It would also mean I do not have a problem to solve, simply next step get the car running.

 

Hi Robbie,

I did a conversion on my Eclat back in 2009 using MX5 motors. On my conversion, I used the supply for the vacuum solenoid to operate a relay. The relay is fed with a fused supply from the battery which is switched by the relay to operate the motors.

[Robbie]

Thank you black cat I have copied your procedures and your excellent post. Can you remember if the light pods raise when you operated the light switch into the on position with the ignition on but the engine not started. Mine currently do not and I may have a problem with my light switch. The flash stalk works and I have followed your wiring advice. I have yet to get the engine running to test the pods in that situation.

[black eclat]

The light switch on my center console is a twist and pull switch.

I twist it clockwise to switch on side lights.

I then pull it out to switch on main lamps and the pods raise.

The column stalk switches between dip and main beam.

The column stalk on its own, will raise the pods and switch on main beams but only while the stalk is held "on"

All of this functions without the engine running or the keys in the ignition.  Hope this helps.

 

[Robbie]

Thank you thanks exactly what I need to know . it means I have a problem from the light switch to the former power to solenoid which now feeds the relay to the motors. As the flash works the motors it should not be too hard to trace. Nice to know it should operate the pods without engine running.