2005 Mazda6s starting issues

[pyroMark]

I had this problem a couple of days ago. Got in car try to start and nothing. I'm very familiar with the classic dead battery symptoms, and my car has none of those. Battery is new. A little corrosion on the positive terminal, which I cleaned up.

I turn the key to the on position, where you hear the fuel pump run for a couple of seconds. I hear a noise coming from the engine bay, near the firewall, a bit hard to pinpoint. The noise sounds similar to the fuel pump sound, maybe a bit higher pitch. If I shut the key off and take it out, the noise continues for a few seconds, then I hear a click and it goes away.

Is my starter bad? Something else?

 

[pyroMark]

OK Got it started. Problem still exists though.

To get it started, I put the key to ON, then Start then back to ON over and over until it decided to turn over. As soon as it turned over it was like normal. I drove it a couple of miles, then back home. I shut the car off and started it again. Then pressed my luck and tried again and it failed. Then a couple more tries and it finally started again on the 3rd try.

I'm thinking Starter or possibly ignition cylinder? Car has 62k miles. I'm not sure how to diagnose the problem fully from here. Can I take the starter off and bring to Auto Zone or similar place where they 'test' it?

Any other ideas greatly appreciated - I'm definitely beyond my basic car knowledge here!

 

[pyroMark]

Bump - I'm hoping someone recognizes this issue - thanks.

 

[pyroMark]

Just for kicks, I took off the negative terminal, which looked very clean and there was some corrosion hidden in there as well. I cleaned that up too, now the battery is connected as good as it gets, tight and very clean. It started right up. I did a test and it started 3 times in a row, but the 4th and 5th time it failed. It started on the 6th try again, so that's where it is now.

 

[pyroMark]

Found a link to a TSB for a Mazda3 of the same vintage that has intermittent starting problems. The TSB states that the wire going to the starter gets corroded and leads to intermittent start. Worth a try, I'm going to try to take a look at it this week - sooner if the car craps out before that!

 

[pyroMark]

Installed a new starter tonight. Got a reman. model at Autozone for $130. Not the best price, but best among the auto parts stores around here. Hopefully it will hold up.

 

[wilsongrady]

.Really impressed! Everything is very, very clear, open is a description of the problem. It contains the information.