Diagnostics box under dash?
 

I found two cables under my driver-side dash that were unplugged from a box. The box had some writing on it and it looked like it said something about diagnostics. So I plugged the cables back into the box and figured worst it would do is put the car into some diagnostic mode. I started the car and the box repeatedly beeped a sequence of five short beeps about 5-6 times before stopping...other than that the car seemed to idle a bit high and smelled a bit more fuel. Who knows, maybe I'm imagining the last two symptoms but can someone tell me what this box is for? Is it something to do with the diagnostics box in the hood we usually use? Are there more diagnostics that the Mazda dealership has access to, etc? Any help would be interesting :) Thanks, -Joe

What colors are the wires? A photo of the box would help.

-s-

I'll try to get photos tomorrow. The box is black from what I can remember. There are maybe 15-20 wires in total seperated into two connectors. From what I can remember, one connector is yellow plastic and the other is white plastic. It's weird because I've never heard anything about this before and it's definitely part of the car.

Everything is supposed to be unplugged under the dash - if it's unplugged, a previous owner did so probably because they couldn't figure out the beeping. Which is a dumb way to fix a problem.

The CPU is the black box behind the driver's kick panel - it's fairly good-sized, with a few connectors going to it. Getting pics would really help us out.

CPU's do go out. One not uncommon failure I've seen is the CPU beeping and flashing the seatbelt reminder, and the beeping going out when you plug the seatbelt in, although the light on the dash keeps blinking. It may simply be bad/broken solder joints (that's a VERY common problem on 2nd gen RX-7s), but by the same token good used CPU's are probably a dime a dozen.

But, it may not even be that :). You'll have to get a pic. Since you have a Canadian car, it could also be something for the daytime running light system.

Dale

Sounds like the airbag box. Is it ruffly above you right knee when sitting it the driver seat?

This is the most logical explanation since the airbag has been disconnected. It is around that area. I haven't been able to take pics of it today. That would make sense then because the beeping would probably signal the airbag not functioning properly (when the wires are plugged in)...I'm just surprised there are so many wires for that system...I guess for the sensors mostly.