Gurgling sound.... Flickering lights...

[DayOh257]

I tried to start up my Miata for the first time in three weeks. When I went to start it, the battery was dead. No sounds, no lights, nothing. So I go and jump start it, which it does on the first try.

Then the lights start to flicker...

I rev it up and the flickering goes away, but as the RPM's drop, I hear a gurgling sound from the intake, as if it were underwater and the lights flicker again.

If the revs are up, the lights are bright and everything is normal, but when I let up on the throttle, it gurgles and all the electricals flicker again.

Thoughts?

 

[kcbhiw]

At what speed does the engine idle? If the idle speed is around 700-900 and you are still having electrical issues, I'd start with looking at the battery and alternator.

To start, I'd try a different battery (even if it's not the same physical dimention) to see what happens. With the battery having been discharged for so long, it could have lost some of it's capacity (fused/shorted plates and such) while at the same time the alternator cannot compensate due to the added electrical load induced by the battery.

 

[DayOh257]

Car idles around 1k. I'm going to get a new battery tomorrow and see what happens. Some have told me because the battery is so far discharged, that it's generating additional load on the alternator, causing it to fail also.

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

it could...let us know how it goes.

The "gurgling" is boggling me....

 

[MiaTurbo]

A 3-week park really isn't enough to completly discharge the battery to the point of failure, unless it was on it's way out (or you left a light on..). the original miada batteries were like gold. Glass mat batteries can take a lot of abuse. Mine lasted 14 years.

the gurgling, and flikering lights?.. have you checked the belt? the same belt runs the waterpump, and alternator. just another thought..

 

[DayOh257]

I did. The tension on the belts were just fine. It was when I pulled the stock intake tube off, that I distinctly heard the gurgling sound and I felt the intermittent vacuum when I put my hand over the opening.

 

[kcbhiw]

I did. The tension on the belts were just fine. It was when I pulled the stock intake tube off, that I distinctly heard the gurgling sound and I felt the intermittent vacuum when I put my hand over the opening.

Which intake tube did you pull off? If it was after the VAM, then that's a big problem right there.

 

[DayOh257]

I guess, I didn't mean the whole tube, what I did was unbolt the stock air box, pulled out the air filter and thats when I heard it.

 

[MiaTurbo]

any updates?

I'm curious about the gurggling sound. If you only heard it when you took the pipe off, you may just be listening to normal intake pulses?

 

[DayOh257]

Well, I ended up pulling the battery out and getting it checked. It was very much dead, from parasitic drain (radio, alarm memory, etc.)

Anyways, I bought a new battery and installed it into the car. It fired up right away without hesitation. However, I still heard the "gurgling" sound from the intake pipe, although a lot more faint and not noticiable unless you are right next to the airbox.

I scheduled an appointment with Royal Moore Mazda in Hillsboro, OR, to ask them about it and get checked out. I spoke with the tech, who told me that because the previous battery was in so far discharged, it wasn't holding any further charging and was actually causing an abnormal current pull on the alternator, thus resulting in a lack of spark in cylinders. This was what caused my flickering lights.

As for the "gurgling" sounds, he stated that this was normal, as the intake charge resonates in the intake pipe. I don't know if that is true or not, but I took his word for it.

Anyone else heard of this? I mean, it's a noticable pulsing on the intake pipe. Pop the hood, start the car. Then from the engine bay, put your hand on the intake pipe, and rev the engine from the throttle body. If this is true, you should hear and feel what I'm talking about.

 

[MiaTurbo]

I have a turbo on one car, and a supercharger on the other, so i wouldn't be able to hear it. But as i supsected a couple of posts up, that's what I thought it could be..

Glad to hear you're back on the road.

 

[DayOh257]

Yeah, I was a little disappointed that the Westco battery didn't hold up as well as it did, considering the reputation they have. But I guess even the best of them would fail if you don't drive your car much.

I bought a battery buddy with the new battery this time.

 

[MiaTurbo]

What kind did you replace it with? Too bad those glass matt batteries aren't availible here... Those rocked... Seriously, Mine was 14 years old, and over 160k miles

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

The RX-8s drain their batteries if left to sit for weeks at a time (I know from working at the dealership). Regular car batteries are not meant to be drained completely, but if you put a trickle charger on it while it's "in hibernation" it should keep this from happening again.

The gurgling noise still doesn't sound familiar. Let us know...

An fyi, our original stock Mazda battery in the MX-5 is over 8 years old and still no problems to date. *shrugs*

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

another thought...heat kills batteries, so maybe having it in the nice cool trunk helps too.