Original battery is a gel battery – you cannot get these ex stock in UK so you have some options;

(this is 32Ahr rated)

My 1990 MX-5's original battery failed in 1994 when a different replacement
was fitted:
B61R18520A9A BATTERY
025954292A BATT CLAMP BOLT
NAY15603XA BATTERY CLAMP
BG6256032A BATTERY TRAY MX5
This all cost £107.20 fitted at the time

The battery then failed again in 1997 and was replaced with the same part
no.(though mysteriously £3 cheaper by then)

= £110 which dealer will offer you.

(Battery;B61-R18-520A9A, battery clamp bolt;025954292A, Battery clamp; NAY15603XA, Battery tray ;BG6256032A)

This is 36 Ah rated. Black plastic cover as opposed to clear Only clue to it's Mazda origins by way of large sticker whereas predecessor "impregnated" with Mazda codes etc. - assume therefore not Mazda produced item now. Came with separate acid charge which was from Germany.

.. from dealers but you need to wait for them to come from Belgium (parts warehouse); No B61R-18-520C about 75 GBP

= £90 .. need to fit leads back to front (new one the correct way around on the way) .. Westco battery - it's actually Glass Fibre Mat Technology - (GFM is better than Gel - less wet!). It is the new configuration with the posts in the correct places such that you should not have to move the cables. Lengthwise, the Westco is 1 1/2" shorter than the Panasonic, same width and a little taller but should still fit in without modification. It also has connections for the two vent hoses. The part number is 12V31M. The M is what distinguishes it from the previous model. Price was $79.95 including UPS ground freight 24 lb for the Panasonic 26 lb for the Westco

I fitted a sealed wet battery (AC Delco Freedom sealed battery 21-55 =55 Amp hour and 270 Amp load test) ... which is listed for the MX5 ... 005 is listed code..... I have then had to make up a new top bar, extend the threaded side piece by 12 mm, redrill the L shaped part that the thread bar hooks into, and remove the tray and side brace etc. My old battery was being drained by my alarm so I wanted the bigger capacity. The carpet battery cover just about fits but it has a slight tilt ... Eunos ones are totally felt carpet not the rigid glass-fibre UK type...which I have to fit at some point (grey carpet is so much more practical than scabby pure black fitted to Japan cars). Watch out that you have the insulation patch still on the inside of the rear wing as this stops a loose battery denting the side of your car ... don't ask how I know (but then I do not have that car anymore... and hence I have a spare battery fitting kit if I ever revert to small batteries).

A standard ’94 Roadster 1.8 drains 7mA in dark current so the original battery should last 4 months. When fitted with an aftermarket alarm (total 38mA) this reduces to 12 days .. this is true even if the alarm is not armed (36mA). When fitted with the largest wet battery it still only lasts a month. So be aware this car is fitted with a small battery to reduce the weight.

The headlights on most Roadsters are 7 inch sealed beam units – bulb goes and you have to replace the whole thing;

replacement bulb for the middle "high level" brake light Halfords 955 (AIR) - 21W exterior/interior bulb, - £2.95.

Fit kits from Moss, Demon Tweaks etc

Or

Fit these solenoids and operate from alarm remote (Extra special relay required for key operation) Locking solenoids YD78k (Master 5 wire at £7.99) or YD79L (Slave 2 wire at £6.99) from Maplin with £3.95 P&P (01702) 554000 or see the net – new online catalogue. I had one of these fail after 6 months and the other after 12 months.. Maplin would replace but I bought a Swiss replacement one for £18.50 as fitted to Clifford alarms. Also note that the motor should be fitted pointing up as otherwise it fills with water.

In the drivers door, you need a motor with 5 wires (master). 2 for powering the motor and the 3 others that go activate the central door locking relays (usually brown, black and purple). In the other door you install a 2 wire motor (slave). If you want to be able to activate the central locking from both sides, you need a 5 wire motor in both doors. On the relays there are connections for earth, +12V (battery, fused 10A) and the 5 wires which go to the motors. You put the relays somewhere in the car, fuse near the fuse box. Run 2/5 wires to the doors.

The 5 wires are:

2 wires that activate the motor (usually blue and green) (on master and slave)

3 wires that activate the relays (only on master), 1 common (usually earth, black) and 1 'open' and 1 'close' wire (usually brown and purple). When one of these 2 wires are connected to the common wire,

the doors open or close.

Connect each wire to the corresponding pin on the relays. There are pins for open, close, common, and 2 pins for the motor..

Moss etc have kits

.. but if your cables break;.

"The electric window components have been split up. You can either buy the complete mechanism
for approx £162 per side or individual components.

It's not all good news, you can't just buy cables but you can get regulators and motors separately - here's the details:

Side Component Part Number Price
N/S Electric Motor NA025958X 101.52 (inc)
O/S Electric Motor NA025858X 101.52 (inc)
N/S Regulator (inc cables) NA0259590 44.03 (inc)
O/S Regulator (inc cables) NA0258590 44.03 (inc)
So, as the manual regulators are approx £31 - I think it's probably not worth the effort of removing the originals, stripping out the cables and replacing with new cables stripped out of a new manual regulator. You can if you want, but my thoughts are for the extra ten quid or so, you could be zooming around in the sunshine with the roof down for a couple of hours more!!" Darryl Cook

"Oil pressure gauges .. converting to real ones; Is the stock sender up to the task? If I install the new gauge before I get a sender, will it at least operate like the idiot gauge, or will I be without any information at all?
Using the idiot light sending unit with the gauge designed for a resistive sending unit will result in your "real" gauge going full over to max pressure indicated whenever the key is on but the the engine is off (no oil pressure, switch closed to ground). When the engine is running and oil pressure is present, the idiot light sending unit switch opens and now the "real" gauge will indicate zero pressure Take your VIN to the US Mazda Customer relations (USA 800-222-5500) and ask them if your car originally came with one (to find if part fitted to car)"

I have a '94 Eunos and a '94 Mazda workshop manual.
Relief valve 50 to 65 psi when warm.
My dashboard pressure was 2 kg/cm2 = 30 psi at relief pressure = way too low. Took sensor off and used compressor and air regulator to test it and the dash board gauge is totally wrong. I may think I will recalibrate it. Anyway for '94 90psi = 16 ohms, 40 ohms = 60 psi. So if at 3,000 rpm with a warm car you get 40 ohms resistance between body and sensor terminal you are OK. You should also be able to see the relief valve kick off - at 2,400 rpm for me - the dash gauge rises when the engine is slowly revved until it drops just after peeking (relief valve blows off) . The number are from memory from this afternoon... Malcolm G-S

Temperature Gauges;

"Found the description sheet for the Finishline foglamp set.
Finishline foglamp set (white) N001-V7-220F
spare switch : BW0G 66 480" Van Waebeeke Francois

"Category 1 is for combined alarm and immobiliser.
The 'Mazda' immobiliser fitted to my car is Thatcham approved (Cat. 2)- I believe there were also optional Category 1 Alarm/Immobiliser available (called MazdaGuard and MazdaGuard Plus). The immobilisers are not 'factory fitted' but installed as the cars came 'off the boat' - in my car's case by
Autocheck Services on the Isle of Sheppey (they were probably all done there)" Kevin Hamilton '94 1.8iS

Clearance lights (small reflectors in bumpers)

"front running lights, it took about 2 hours from getting to the scrap yard, selecting Seat Ibiza (£3 each) repeater lights and fitting them! The Ibiza ones are ideal as that have a push fit bulb holder with rubber boot and cabling as a one piece component. All you have to do is sink a hole in the running light, fit the tube from the repeater, push the bulb holder into place and connect to the sidelights - Job done, even the cable is the right length!" Paul Starkey

Big red Starter button;

a Honda S2000 button £41.72 + VAT

Vehicle Wiring Products - 0115 930 5454 sell a range of illuminated rocker switches which take inserts (lenses) and there's one for anything you could want including fog light graphics (53p ea) Also do alternative sidelight units.

Flash to Pass diodes;

"Any general purpose rectifier that can handle 3A or so will do the job. I tend to use 1N5400 (Maplin code QL81C @ 16 pence) but if you want some power headroom get something like the R250s (Maplin code AY26D @ 39p) but check the package type on the latter." Ian Oliver

8 parts to the system. (from the '92 shop manual)

1. Cruise control unit, (located in the foot well),
2. Actuator, (located under the hood, i.e. the "can w/the hose"),
3. Actuator cable, (Doh!),
4. Inhibitor switch, (Looks like it's on the trans. or in the drivers foot well on the trans. tunnel.)
5. Brake switch, (on the back of the pedal),
6. Cruise control main switch, (In the dash),
7. Cruise control switch, (on the stalk) and
8. the Clutch switch. There is conjecture that the Speed sensor *could* be different on cc equipped models, but I don't see why.

The '94-7 models are the same, except the nomenclature of #4 which is labeled as a Park/Neutral switch." Eric Vaillancourt

part number, BS8866480 18.33 GBP

The OEM UK switch has no indicator bulb built in but for front fog lights they supplied the above part that does have an indicator built in – good for Roadster conversion for fog lights.

Wiring

1 2 3
___ ___ ___
___ ___
4 5

The switch contacts are between 2 and 5. The warning light is across 5 and 3, so 3 goes to earth, 5 goes to the fog lamp and feed (from the lighting circuit) is to 2. The panel light is between 1 and 4, so these may be connected to 2 and 3 if desired.
This switch has tidied up my dash, the only criticism I have is that the warning light is recessed and not very easy to see from the driving position. I shall paint the sides of the recess with matt white to improve visibility when I get a chance. It's also a bit flimsy, so as you push the connectors onto the back the internals drop out and you have to remove the front to push it all back in place :-( Pete Ravencroft

RS have their mail order service for "amateurs" - Electromail on 01536 204555 - and a handy CD catalogue. My catalogue is out of date 'cos you have to buy it, but I just collect from a local RS depot. They've downgraded my account from RS to Electromail ('cos I don't spend enough), but it doesn't make any difference - they sell me the same stuff at the same prices (expensive) anyway. John Cookson