Took my '94 stock R2 out for a drive a few days ago, everything great.

Tried to start it yesterday and no power going to anything. No clicks, no lights, nothing. After trying the key a few times, I got the interior lights to illuminate briefly, but then nothing again.

I checked the battery (new Mazda battery installed in November) and it read 97%. Let it trickle charge overnight and now it's fully charged, but still nothing.

Are there obvious things I should be checking? The last car I was comfortable working on for anything more than oil changes or fuses was a 1977 Celica. I'm prepared to have it towed to the Mazda dealership or my local repair place on Monday, but I'm hoping there's something stupid easy that even I (with some help from the collective wisdom of the forum) can fix.

Thanks in advance!

 

Stupid question but did you check the big main fuse? 100amp I think

 

If you've got nothing, no lights/power anywhere, I really suspect a loose connection real close to the battery. If you had power to some things but not all, I'd suspect fuses. I think the basics would be to check the main fuse box next to the battery, and make sure its connection to the battery itself is solid. If you remove the battery to get better access to the side of the fuse box, you can also better check where it's terminal is bolted to the fuse block itself.

 

Good point. Looks like most roads lead to "main", but a couple don't. Seems like at least the headlights and retractor system are on their own though. If the headlights still work, then yes, Main fuse most likely.

 

Based on the symptoms, it sounds like it's a pretty simple fix somewhere at/with/near the battery.

I would advise against taking it to any mazda dealership. Find a shop that specializes in the rx7 and send it there. If you send it to the dealership, you're taking a HUGE risk. Being in Virginia, you have a few options with Angel motorsports being one. Rotorsports being another. I think irp is close enough. Don't mess around with non rx7 qualified people and locations. It's going to end up a disaster and you're going to be left picking up the peices.

 

As mentioned above, but not specifically stated, it could be a corroded or just dirty battery terminal connection. The quick check for this issue is to loosen the clamps slightly and twist them back and forth a few times and then re-tighten. If that helps, then take them loose and clean them properly. Pull both clamps off the battery and make sure they are clean and preferably shiny inside and the posts are also clean and shiny. A dull looking or crusty connection could cause an open circuit.

 

We just had this issue on my buddies FD but it was at the starter connection. He has a relocated battery so the battery voltage died at the starter solenoid. Cleaned the terminals and all was well.

 

You have an aftermarket negative battery terminal, those things are terrible. That's most likely the source of the issue.

This shouldn't be anything too fancy, just poor connections to the battery. A multimeter can easily help you solve this.

Dale