'93 Electrical Problems
 

I've had a problem with my FD since fall last year and I want to get it ready for the spring. But I'm not sure what to do or what parts I need, originally I sent an email to KDR for help they sent me answer but never really said what parts I needed.

Here's the email I sent and their reply:

I need to get my '93 Auto FD inspected but I have a small problem, it won't start at all. My brother and I have spent 4 months trying to get it to work even with the mazda workshop manual we can't find the problem. We followed the troubleshooting and then tried some other ways.

Starter - is working properly
Fuses - are all working
Battery - is brand new
Engine Harness - is repaired and working
Dash Harness - is working

The car died in November because of a bad battery. Once we replaced the battery and terminals (they were corroded and crumbling) there was auxiliary power but as soon as I turned the ignition it loses all power and dies. Even after the numerous attempts everytime we disconnect/remove either harness and reattach it the car has auxiliary but as we try to start the car it dies. The engine doesn't even attempt to turn over at all.

Any ideas on how to get the car to work? I only have Mazda dealerships around me and I don't really have absolute trust in there handywork or reputation.

Any Ideas?

KDR's reply from Dave Barninger:

Oh for sure you have battery power problems. Wires, terminals, etc. Very basic!

Also his reply to what parts I needed, he said there were lots of ideas.

Can anyone help me bring the FD back to life in time for Spring. Help is greatly appreciated.

How are your grounds? Maybe run auxillary grounds from battery to body, battery to engine and engine to body. Double check the terminals at the starter. And, though you said it's brand new, you might consider having the battery tested.

There might be some chipped teeth on the flex plate which would cause the starter not to mesh with it...

so what do you mean " the starter works properly bu the engine will not turn over"? a bad/loose ground will allow auxilery power but not enough amperage to kick the starter etc

when we checked the auxillary and grounds during the fall the voltage meter said they were concducting power. The shop manual showed that the starter was working properly, took apart what we could and didn't see any abnormalities.

Any ideas as where ideal ground wire placement would be.

http://fd3s.net/3k_hesitation.html#GRO
Scroll down to "What works". Check all of the points mentioned, particularly the main engine ground near the oil filter. Clean and tighten them and then add ground wires from the battery to any location that's convenient. Maybe someone else will chime in with other ideas, but it really sounds like a grounding issue to me, or your battery has a bad cell and is putting out low voltage. I've had that problem, even on new batteries.
Good luck.

Funny you mentioned that you replaced the battery terminal connectors since these were the exact symptoms I was seeing on my FC some time ago before I replaced them. You might want to check that where the ground cable connects to the chassis is OK (or replace the cable) and same thing with the positive connector.

I also had the same symptoms when my battery had an internal short. It would give 12v until you put significant load on it (like the starter) at which time it'd just go dead.

So it sounds to me like you have some kind of high-resistance/corrosion type of thing with either the battery, battery terminal connectors or the cables. Even though you replaced the terminal connectors, perhaps the wires themselves are also corroded inside the insulation and not conducting very well.

Simon.