02 P5 won't turn over

[Cleric]

So 2 days ago it had been raining all day, and for the past few days, when leaving work my car had a very sluggish start, where it barely managed to turn over. Then the next day when I tried to start it, the engine did maybe half a turn and that was it, turning the key would do nothing.

I then tried to boost it, but turning the key still did absolutely nothing, it seems like the battery is still full, windows go down at full steam, high beams work, etc... I feel like it had something to do with the rain because I've noticed some sluggish starts before when it had been raining for a long time.

Any ideas what it could be? I'm fairly certain I can hear the starter solenoid engaging.

 

[pcb]

Check your power wire from your battery to your starter motor for a bad connection or bad wire itself.

I remember one guy had the same problem and ended up cutting the battery terminals off the wires on the battery and put on new lugs. That fixed his problem.

Here's the test procedure:

You might end up needing to do this:
Your starter may have crapped out.

Apparently one of the nuts or bolts is hard to find and get to. You can't see it and have to do it blind.

 

[sleepwalker]

First thing I'm thinking is either your battery terminals are loose or corroded or otherwise not making a good solid connection, or else your battery is toast. I spent a couple years working at an AutoZone and I can't tell you how many times I saw a battery that seemed good - windows move at normal speeds, lights all work, etc. but the moment a heavy load is put on it (like, say, a starter motor), the voltage drops to zero. Usually a symptom of one or more bad cells. Make sure your battery cables and terminals are clean and attached tightly. Pull the battery and haul it to your local parts place and have them test it.

Second thing I'm thinking is a bad starter. Often times a fried starter will still click the solenoid into action without turning the starter motor itself. In my experience, typically when the battery is good and the starter is bad, either nothing happens at all or the solenoid clicks and the starter does nothing. I'm kinda leaning away from this possibility just because you said that for a few days the start was really sluggish, barely turning the engine enough to start it. (That usually points to a weak battery to me.)

The added rain variable is messing with me a bit, but having a battery tested is free, and should either fix the problem or narrow the possibilities down considerably.

 

[Cleric]

Thanks for the advice. If it was a bad battery shouldn't I have gotten at least 1 turn out of it when I had a friend boost me with his car?

 

[pcb]

Thanks for the advice. If it was a bad battery shouldn't I have gotten at least 1 turn out of it when I had a friend boost me with his car?

Yea,.. that's what I would think. Check your battery terminals and lugs on the battery wires and the wire on the starter. If they look OK then it's probably your starter motor.

If you can,... check the voltage right at the starter while the key is at 'start' position. If the volts drop way down it's probably a bad wire/connection.

 

[tweety2300]

Pull the battery, take it to autozone get it tested. If its good, get someone that knows what they're doing to try jumping it from the starter. Not with jumper cables but with a screwdriver ( if they know what they're doing they won't need an explanation. If it doesn't turn over starter is bad, if it does then the power wire going from switch to starter is bad or the switch is bad or the switch on the clutch pedal is bad. You can fix that one of 2 ways either run a wire from the battery to a button then to the starter for a bush button start ( I did it on the protege when the switch died works fine for 2 years and counting) or if the switch is good you can just splice it into the stock wire coming from the switch and run it straight to the starter without using a button ( did this with my 323) or you can spend a couple days tracing down where the wire is bad

And also check the wires going to the starter, I've had those come loose as well and do the same thing

 

[Cleric]

The battery terminals still look brand new, I took them off and cleaned them just in case. All the wiring around the battery looks good, it's been coated in a layer of grease or something because there is almost no corrosion, while the rest of the car is rusted to hell (I live in Atlantic Canada, Mazdas don't like it here).

However, I may be crazy because I can't find the starter, isn't it normally on the flywheel somewhere? I've looked by am completely blind and don't even see it anywhere. Where exactly is it?

Also it sounds like the clicking is coming from the centre dash console somewhere and if I leave the clutch disengaged the clicking sound isn't really any different, so maybe it is the relay.

 

[tweety2300]

You have to get under the car to get to it. Almost dead center between fire wall and motor. It's a b****, one of the few things I've paid someone else to do

Also the clicking can mean a lot of things. The only good thing about it is that it is actually clicking

 

[Cleric]

I can't really see anything wrong with the starter, however I found out the car will run if I push start it.

 

[tweety2300]

You won't see anything wrong with it if its bad...

As I said get someone to jump the starter to see if its good. Even if you pull it off to take it to autozone they can still test good when they're bad because its not under load in their test