1992 Miata backup lights out

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Mike Here - 11 Apr 2008 14:53 GMT

Hello,

Both of my backup lights are out on my '92 Miata with about 45,000 miles
on it.(stored winters in Buffalo,NY area never in snow and rarely in
rain....no rust....clean underneath)

Does anyone know of a most likely area to begin investigating the cause
of the problem?

Anyone it happen to them in an early Miata?

Thanks for your help,

Mike

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John McGaw - 11 Apr 2008 15:19 GMT

> Hello,
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Mike

It was the switch on my '91. I had it in for a new clutch and they fixed it
for me while they were at it.

Signature

John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

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Mike Here - 17 Apr 2008 02:47 GMT

>> Hello,
>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> It was the switch on my '91. I had it in for a new clutch and they fixed
> it for me while they were at it.

Thank you John,

You were right. It was the backup switch...which is located on the
drivers side of the transmission. I unscrewed it and after about a
dozen presses on the end of the switch it started to operate the backup
lamps. I figured it was just tarnished, worked it some more, twisted
the wires in reverse of how I was going to screw it back in
and re-installed it. Works fine....for now anyway.

Mike

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Ephar - 16 Apr 2008 22:38 GMT

Look up 'stuck in reverse' at miata.net garage page. It will help you
locate the switch. The switch has to be removed to perform the fix, and
that's the easy part. Re-connecting the wires is a BUGGER!
My back-up lights have been out for several months because of the
difficulty. My reasoning is: the 20 minutes to reconnect the wires is not
offset by the 3 minutes I've spent backing up since then. With a lift it
should take 15 seconds or less.
Good luck & God bless,
Ephar & Bambi
'92 Classic Red A
The Original Winkin' Miata

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Mike Here - 17 Apr 2008 03:07 GMT

> Look up 'stuck in reverse' at miata.net garage page. It will help you
> locate the switch. The switch has to be removed to perform the fix, and
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> The Original Winkin' Miata
>

Thanks Ephar,

It would have been difficult to re-attach the wires. I was just using a
jack (and jackstands and wheel blocks of course!) Very awkward to reach
into the area.

Mike

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KWS - 06 May 2008 06:47 GMT

>> Look up 'stuck in reverse' at miata.net garage page. It will help you
>> locate the switch. The switch has to be removed to perform the fix,
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> Mike

Take a look at the write-up I did on Miata.net. Disconnecting and
re-connecting the wires is very simple.

Ken

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