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Unusual car starting issue
cj iwakura
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
I have a '93 Mazda MX-3, and three times in the past couple weeks, it hasn't started. No turn-over sound, nothing.
Twice I had it jumped and it started, and the battery light came on while I was driving, leading me to believe it's either the alternator or the battery.
This morning it didn't start at all, so I had it checked out. According to the mechanic, the alternator and the battery are both fine.
So is there nothing wrong with it, or could it be something much worse?
Twice I had it jumped and it started, and the battery light came on while I was driving, leading me to believe it's either the alternator or the battery.
This morning it didn't start at all, so I had it checked out. According to the mechanic, the alternator and the battery are both fine.
So is there nothing wrong with it, or could it be something much worse?
cj iwakura on
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replacement starter on a '93 mazda MX3 (becuae I can't find whatever a GX-3 is) should be about 100 bucks for the part.
Also, there's been no clicking sound at all, ever. Just dead silence. And yeah, it's an MX3.
How many miles on the car? Has the alt ever been replaced?
if it was the battery being low or not charging, you should be hearing clicks from the starter.
Not sure, but it's still good supposedly.
70,000.
No idea.
how often is the car driven? It's a 13 year old car with only 70,000 miles on it...it doesn't get driven that much. That points to battery.
does the alternator look "crusty"?
Also, a bad ground would cause the car to intermittently not start with no clicks from the starter and still allow the battery and alt to test "good". I've had this same situation happen with a truck I had (1993) with only 80,000 miles on it. Similar symptoms: random no starts with no noises. Was a bad ground wire, just needed to be tightened down.
When the car doesn't start does the radio and/or lights work?
And the A/C & lights work when the car doesn't start.
any chance you have access to a similar sized battery from another car?
If the starter has a bad spot, you can sometimes roll the car forward a couple feet and try again to get it to start.
Also, pinging it with a hammer on the solenoid side will sometimes work.
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Possibly. It doesn't sound like a classic dead starter (though it still could be) a lot of the time starters develop a dead spot in the coil, but in that case even a jump wont help you. If the battery is old, around 5 years, go ahead and replace it. Or at least have it bench tested on a quality machine. Sears usually has decent ones. It could also be something as simple as a loose connection, at the starter, or within the ignition switch.
As with anything, i recommend a good mechanic. I could suggest things for you to change all day, but that's just throwing parts at the problem. Having a proper diagnosis done will save you money in the end. (but start with testing/replacing the battery.)
Easy way to find out if it's your alternator is to let the car run, you'll notice things will cut out as your battery loses its life, like the stereo will cut out, your lights will start getting dimmer, those kinds of things. I don't think alternators really go that bad that often, to be honest.
Starters also don't really go bad all that often, when they do they just fail to start. By the fact that you said you got it jumped leads me to believe it's your battery, not the starter.
Start by disconnecting the battery cables and then put some coke on them. The acid will eat away some of the corrosion (try not to get the coke everywhere). Then use the wire brush to clean off the residue. The cola is a bit superfluous, as you can get them clean with the wire brush, but it's fun to watch the corrosion literally melt away. When you put the cables back on, make sure they tighten up very snugly. If there is a cut or break in the cables or the terminals, you can get replacements.
I just used it twice, and no issues or a battery light. I guess I'm just going to stick with a wait and see approach for now.
The mechanic wanted $texas to run a full diagnostic on it.
It's definitely worthwhile to clean off your battery terminals and the cable connections. A poor connection can still allow for interior lights and radio etc. to function while failing to provide enough current for the starter. My old car would periodically build up corrosion on the battery terminals and would often not start (with no accompanying noise) until I turned the key a second or third time (usually more violently). Whenever I cleaned the terminals, the problem would go away for several months.
I'm betting you're going to find your battery terminals were cleaned by the mechanic or put on more tightly by him during the tests for the alternator/battery. That really would explain the issues you had.
The next time it won't start, grab that shifter. Leave the key in the "on" position and pull the shifter all the way down to "1" or "L" or whatever is the furthest away from Park in your case, then gently, but earnestly, push it all the way back into Park. Try to start it again. Post results
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot
Coca cola? Wire brush? Don't waste your money.
Pour a jug of hot water over the top of your battery, nice and slow.
Watch the accumulated corrosion just rinse off. A little bit of sandpaper will clean up the posts and the inside of the clamps, and a light coating with some petroleum jelly afterwards will stop them fuzzing up again.
The O.P.s problem sounds a little mysterious. If the battery tested fine, I'd look at the leads to the starter and the alternator. It sounds as though the battery earth lead has a bad connection at the chassis end.
Yeah, but it's fun to dump a can of coke on your battery. I'm sticking with the battery, at least have it bench tested....A normal handheld tester can give a good reading on a bad battery, especially if the car was just driven (like when you drive it to the shop to test it.) You need a tester that will load the battery properly. If that's what he had, then I'd start looking for loose connections/bad parts through the ignition circuit.