Finally get my plates on her, get in all hyped, and she won't start.

Here's the thing, the electrical system is a damn mess. The ignition is a total hotwire job, you could start her with a screwdriver. When I looked at the battery, something had happened and a wire had burned a hole in it, so I figured whether or not that was the problem, a new battery was in order. The previous owner had a total pimp-daddy porno-tainment system in there, and there were huge capacity wires connected to the positive cable and just lying bare underneath the rug in the moist rotten foam. It's a miracle she didn't burn to the ground.

In other words, I have been tearing out everything and anything electrical that didn't seem imperative, so the likelihood that I messed something up is high. But I figured, better to lose the leads to the absent bass cannon than the whole car in a massive explosion. I think the apartment managers might keep my security deposit if that happened.

When I turn the hotwire ignition (which I pulled out to see if there any obvious shorts in it) I can hear the fuel pump clicking, and a sound from the front that might be the starter (sounds kind of like when you turn the ignition again when the engine is already running), but she does not crank. A couple of times she got close, but didn't quite turn over. Once, even though I had the clutch in she lurched forward, and the clutch also stuck. I thought maybe spark plugs, but the auto parts store I can get to on my bike didn't have the kind I need.

Any thoughts? The fact that she lurched scares me. I was planning on getting a rebuilt 13b, but not this soon. She's going to the Mazda dealership on Monday, just because I want them to put in a real key for the ignition, but I'm not sure if I can trust them yet (I have no reason not to, but we've all had bad experiences with mechanics I'm sure, and great experiences too, but trust is not a given), so even if I can't do this myself I'd like to be armed with some information.

Thanks
Mac

 

okay, so I'm in the mood to try her out again today, and she does crank up and runs a bit but then stalls, twice.

I turned the ridiculous ignition with a screwdriver, and a peice of it broke out. I'm thinking at least part of the problem is the ignition. Why she then stalls I don't know.

Just saw that folks had read the thread but left no replies, so I thought I'd update anyone interested.

 

electrical is not too many members forte...but here are some basics...

get new battery
get new battery cables
clean up the connections to the fusible links
make sure you have good ground

without the following above i wouldn't risk turning her on and burning out whatever isn't already...good luck

 

And a good alt, most of the older ones are burnt out from my experience.

That grinding noise sounds like the starter went out (same as mine did about a week after I started driving it).

And as for the lurching forward, it only does that when in gear and when you don't have the clutch held down.

- Tech