Hey guys i just moved to NC and having severe family issues and now my car broke down. I dont think it is anything serious but I was giving it a good redline and as soon as i let off everything died. So i thought i blew my motor and then i went to crank it and it wouldnt crank so i knew i had no juice. So as for now none of my accessories will turn on either. I have no signals, no heater or ac, no radio or the cigg lighter and the car wont start obviously. The headlights and tailights work just fine as well as the hazards. I used a continuity checker and in the inside fuse box all of the lower portion of the fuese were fine but there was no power going to them whatsoever. What do you guys think i could have done that would have caused this problem, and how do i keep checking to trace it back? Ignition problem? Maybe my car thinks there is no key and thats why it died and none of my accessories will work that normally should and dont when the car doesnt have the key in and turned? Please help because I could be on the streets here really soon. Thanx Guys!!

 

Did you check the main fuse in the engine bay? That's probably your problem.

 

Do you still have an intact alternator belt???

 

alterntaor belt is all good
fuses are all good
thanx Wayne...i knew you would be able to help...please gusy if you have more it would be great to get out of this

 

check battery? If the main fuse under the hood is solid then you should get power to your fusebox...reguardless of whther lights and such work or not.

 

There are also two breakers in the inside fuse panel...You just push the button to reset them.

 

I feel guilty, this time I read the whole post, lol...

Wiggle the key in the ignition switch while checking for power at those lower fuses. The lower rows are IGN1 and IGN2 circuits...Which means they won't have power until the key is on...

Check everything in the engine bay visually- AFM plug, intake hoses, wiring for chaffing, etc...

 

Check to make sure the cables on the battery did come loose and fall off while you were getting on it, although the car should still run without a battery, but thats when you could easily blow a fuse. This definitely sounds like a main fuse.

 

Yeah, it's probably an ignition problem.

 

aigbht guys..the main fuse is all good to go an di have continuity to all of my main fuses....i also checked the battery and everything is all good i am getting power there as wel...now i have the thing off aroun from ignition switch and i saw the wires and the solder points where ignition is hooked up and had no continuity there either but i didnt know if i was supposed to. So I have tailights and headlights and all but no signals, yet i have the interior light s that work but no sunroof. I am sure something probably disconnected or what not or maybe i blew something. I am not so sure.

 

how do i check the ignition for a problem?

 

Please don't check for continuity on any wires that might have power on them- you'll blow the meter...

Do you have access to the FSM wiring manual for your car?

 

yes i do but i dont have a clue really on what I am reading to understand it all..i have the haynes manual. So basically how do i check for anything electrical and what do i check?

 

Does the car have fusible links? Are they in tact?

 

probably melted a wire

 

didnt see any mleted wires i wil check again...and i checked all the fuses and they were good to go....

 

All right, after you have visually verified everything mechanical is OK, start the electrical troubleshooting. This sounds like a needle-in-a-haystack kinda thing, lol...

Hey, check that big ground down near the starter, too...

The Haynes will do you no good, go to the FSM, and start on the first couple of schematics- these will be the main power circuits and fuse branches. Check the fuses for power on the car (remember the ignition switch has to be on for the ACC, IGN1, and IGN2 circuits to be powered), then check off each fuse on the schematic (remember also the top 2 rows on the fuse box are BATT powered, the 3rd row is IGN1, 4th row is IGN2, and bottom row is ACC- this will help you identify which fuse is which in the FSM, since Mazda wasn't nice enough to label them with names on page 50-12).

I know this all sounds confusing, and I still think it's something simple you're overlooking, but there you go

 

ok
and i should get a light and everything..so i should turn the car on and just check the fuse box and all of that? On the cover it tells me what fuses are for what....

 

sorry i am not too bright with this electrical crap, yet i can rip a transmission out in less than and hour and have it back in in a blink...this is something all new for me

 

Yeh, but you just said all of the fuses were good, lol...

Start breaking it down into subsystems, i.e. make sure you have fuel, then spark, etc...

Does the starter crank at all?

 

nope...no starter or anything....it is something that is all tied in together...everyting that is on after the ignition switch becomes avaliable is what i am missing...i just need to know how to check if my ignition switch is good and how to check if the harnesses are also good.....how do i go about doing this?

 

What you really need to do is pull that main fuse out (couple of 10mm bolts hold it in) and read it out with a meter. Or just take a damn good close-up look at the fuse link through the "window", with a flashlight maybe. Cause it sure sounds like that might be your problem.

You could also check for 12v on the big black wire that runs to the ignition switch, if you already have that area torn apart...If you get 12v there, that fuse is good. If not...

Check the following components:

With key to ACC position- does your clock work? Radio?

With key on (but not to start)- does your main relay click (up there near the trailing coil pack)? Warning light panel? Gauges? Wipers? Blower motor?

With key to start- can you hear the circuit opening relay click (down under the dash, by the steering column)?

 

Just pull off the cover under the steering wheel and see if you get power at the main ignition swich wires when you turn the key.

 

when i have the key in the on position I get NONE of these things...no power to any of them whatsoever. I have no signals, no radio, no blower, no sunroof, no guages or anything or any of the clickers up front. And yesterday i put the light tester mabob on the solder points that are conected to the ignition switch and got no light when I touched it but I didnt know if that meant anything or if I was supposed to get light there or not. Anyhow my car is sitll parked across own and i have to borrow a vehicle every time I want to go look at it so the more information I have the better off I am when I go to look at it. It sounds to me like it is my igntion. To much of a coincidence the car shut off like that and that everything activated with the ignition will not work. I just need a way to test itand know what I am loking at when i test it,and if ti appears it is bad then what do i do to make sure the ignition switch is bad and not something else that might have thrown it off.

 

and if my Main fuse was out I would be getting no power to aything, not just a few items. I still have interior lights and tailights and headlights and all of that fun stuff. So when i check the black card that runs to the iggy should I go ahead and just stick the wire tester in the wire and if I ge a light that means the wire is good to go? And no light will mean what? I have to trace that black wire back to it's source?