One of the great things about having an unreliable car is that somehow you always happen to have the part you need somewhere in the garage. As was the case when the running lights finally gave out. This has been a persistent problem with the Craigslist Miata, I remember the moment right before I drove away the previous owner handed me an alligator clip and said, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, this is for the lights. There was something wrong with a relay or something that I couldn’t get” so he hotwired it.
A better solution was implemented, and being a modified car, before too long the decision to delete the center console where the switch had been located led to a rewiring. All was well and good for a time until all of a sudden the dash and side markers went dark, but then they came back 20 minutes later; then went out for good a week after that. After much internet sleuthing and a quick phone consultation with a few “experts”, it was determined that we are showing that there is a change in potential across the circuit, but no current is flowing. It turns out that the fix for the factory light switch not working was little more than a faulty LA10 relay.
Due to the fact that we take full advantage of the Mazda Motorsports parts pricing plan, there was an assortment of extra relays still wrapped in mylar. For reference sake, it was not the LA10 under the dash next to the fuse box (working on your back inside a car is the worst) but the one under the hood next to the guy we replaced when the pop-ups stayed popped. The running lights have never been brighter. The old battery lead was removed in an effort to pass tech, same with the tow strap. The easiest thing is to use an extension to get at the rearmost bolt and then slide an offset box wrench right in that little rectangular opening to get the other two out.
