I am having an odd problem with the air pump cutting out below 3000 RPM. As you know, the ECU engages the pump at below 3000 RPM and then shuts it off at RPMs above that. Of late, however, after the car warms-up, the air pump is intermitently cutting out and can stay off for as long as several minutes. I at first thought it was a problem with the air pump connector or a short in the wiring, but I have eliminated those possibilities. I am leaning toward the thermosensor as the culprit, but I am not getting a check engine light to check for a code. I am getting the "charge" light, the oil warning light and coolant warning light coming on simultaneously when it occurs. Would a bad thermosensor affect the operation of the air pump? Anyone have a similar experience or other thoughts? I have never had a problem with the thermosensors in past motors but I am sure I am due. Thanks for the help!

 

Your alternator is dying. 99.99% sure that is your problem.

 

^^^^^ Tend to agree with this as too many things screw up at one time when power is low in electrical system and this either points to alternator (low voltage) or poor grounding.

 

Well, that is exactly what I thought initially and I have had the charging system checked and it was supposedly good. In addition, the alternator was recently rebuilt. I have also scuffed all of the grounding points to insure good contact. Nevertheless, I am going to have the system checked again and re-scuff the grounding points just to be sure. I'll report back if I find the culprit. Thanks again for your input guys.

 

CantGoStraight gets the prize. I cleaned-up the ground contacts again and it appears that the lower ground point (side of block) crudded up since my last cleaning from a small leak coming off my power steering rack. I also ran it over to the local parts joint and had them run a check on the charging system. Everything checked out fine. So far it has been running normal, so it appears that it was a grounding problem. Now I all I need to do is find where my power steering is leaking--%$#*% (grumble, grumble) fix one f--ing problem, move onto the next.

 

Many times the low pressure hose from the reservoir to the metal line is leaky. It's pretty cheap new from Mazda, and not hard to replace. It's the short rubber hose with 2 regular hose clamps on it.

Dale

 

^^Thanks Dale. I'll check it out.