Starting Problem - Electrical Issue : 03 P5 5 speed

[goodfornothing]

Okay guys, so my car is starting to give me "starting" problems. Lulz

Last week, the positive battery terminal was corroded so I change it and all was well. The battery also reads 12.6 v at the terminals and it also reads the same voltage at the car battery cable ends. (Alternator works too, checked it)

Yesterday, I noticed that when cranking the engine, it sounded a bit weak, like the starter was going out or that it was not getting enough voltage. Finally, this morning, the car did not want to start. When I turned the key, it would just click repeatedly.

So about 10 minutes ago, I fiddled around with it by holding the key down and it eventually started. Except the cranking sounds very weak again like yesterday and on some starts, nothing happens for a second then it weakly cranks and starts. I'm not quite sure what the problem is and if anyone can chime in with some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. I don't want to drive my car like this to find that I'll be stranded.

P.S. Where is the starter and the solenoid anyway? I read a diagram but it says to remove the battery tray and intake manifold bracket, but I have no idea where to look (haven't done these steps yet.) I want to try to avoid removing things.

Another possible culprit could be a bad starter relay and something about a blue and black wire.
Reference: http://www.justanswer.com/mazda/4le2l-mazda-protege5-trying-locate-starter-relay-02-mazda.html

Thank you all in advance!

 

[pcb]

It sounds like a bad connection. That corrosion you found on the battery cable could very well be on the other end of the wire going to the starter motor. Check the grounds as well. There could be a bad ground wire somewhere that is limiting the current flow back to the battery. Probably between the battery's Neg and the chassis.

Remember, the wire can read "good" with an ohmmeter but not be good enough to deliver the high amps required by the starter motor.

If you can,... check your battery voltage while the key is turned to start. If it drops really low then your battery is bad. If it doesn't drop much,.. then it's some sort of bad connection.

You can see the starter motor from underneath,... It's really buried in there though but you may be able to reach the terminals.


This link may help:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123831279-starting-problem

 

[goodfornothing]

Thanks for this.

I'll check it today when it gets a little cooler out. I'll check the battery first.

 

[goodfornothing]

So I think I have found the issue. I checked the battery with the car off and it's at 12 volts. When I turned the key to on position, the volt meter reads 10.5 volts, which probably isn't enough for the starter. Going to replace the battery tomorrow and hopefully that fixes the problem!

EDIT: Also, after reading 10.5 volts with the key on, I switched it back to "off" and the battery still read 10.5v. Guessing we can confirm it's a bad battery.

 

[pcb]

That sounds right to me,... but check your alternator,... it may have failed to charge the battery in the first place, killing it.

There is an easy way to test the alternator,... get your car running and while it's running, disconnect the neg. battery cable. If the car dies,... your alternator is shot.

Some people worry that this can be harmful,.. but I did it to my car to prove to a friend that any car will die if the neg. cable is removed. (I was wrong,... my car kept running. I even reconnected the neg. cable while it was still running,... no problem.)

This test can even find a bad alternator that passes a bench test,... and it's super easy to do.

 

[pcb]

Here's the test for the battery:

Your battery voltage would probably drop way down while under load if it's at 10.5 v with no load.

You should consider the backup current test in case there is a current drain that killed your battery.

 

[goodfornothing]

Thank you for all the info!

I believe my alternator is working though. When I managed to start my car earlier today, the battery got up to the 13.9+volts, but when I checked about 30 minutes ago, it drained to 10.5volts when I just switched the ignition to on.

The battery is about 3-4+ years old as well, so that's another factor leading to a need of replacing.

 

[P-Funk!]

yep. Bad bat

 

[meGrimlock]

can i verify my problem here? is this a bad alternator or battery?

• hard starting in the morning. it struggles for a few seconds like it has a dying battery.
• radio intermittently cuts off, then turns back on
• when radio cuts off, warning lights on dashboard pop up for a split second
• no distinct loss in engine power, car continues to drive normally
• yesterday could hear a high pitched electrical whine when the radio cut off, as i was slowly going up the levels in a parking garage (headlights on, window defrost on). this time, the RPMs dropped, but i could not reproduce this symptom.

new battery installed in 05/2011, Exide Orbital ORB75DT-108 Sealed VRLA (AGM). with the car off, the battery tested at 10.5 volts. turned the car on and fluctuates between 13.8 and 14.5v, same with headlights on. thanks
-meGrimlock

 

[pcb]

The battery should only drop to something like 10.5 volts while delivering major current to your starter motor.

I'm pretty sure your battery is done.

Your voltage jumping to 13.8 -14.5 V when the car is running, proves that your alternator is working properly.