PLEASE SEE MY MOST RECENT POST ON PAGE 2

Okay, so I got in my car this morning and as soon as I pulled out of the drive way I lost powersteering and my radio cut off. I got a steering wheel warning light, the headlight adjustment light, ABS light, and a battery light. I shut the car down and restarted it and all the lights were gone and everything worked fine. I just figured this was yet another RX8 quirk and made my 50 mile drive to work without an issue.

But when I came out of work the larm on my key didn't unlock my car so I knew something was up. No one was around to jump me so I snagged the battery out of my company van (2006 MPV) and swapped it in the RX8. My car started fine but all the same warning lights from this morning were on now and I had no powersteering, sunroof, radio, or radar detector.

My car drove fine with the exception of the lack of power steering but all the warning lights stayed on and my car went through a half of tank of gas (or the guage is screwed up). But then when I slowed to enter my subdivision I noticed that if the rpms dropped below 2k the warning lights shut off and the radio and everything else worked. So sitting in my driveway I learned that at exactly 1750rpms the warning lights kick on and things go to shit. So before I take it to the dealer, any thoughts? No CEL by the way.

I got no f-ing idea on this one. Sounds like the computer might be f'ed up or you got some serious electrical problems. You didn't drive it thru a river or something did you?
I know that doesn't make you feel any better, and I try to think what it could be, but damn.............get it to the dealer.
You might want to check all your major ground tie points coming off the negative side of the battery??????? Look that over real well and make sure it's good and solid at the negative terminal. BTW.....I remember a few days ago when you had what I think was the coolant light going off and on right? This sound like it may have been the first symptom.

there have been a few problems with the power steering harness.

the rest is wacky like something that happened to me today..

just for fun.. check to make sure your bat is tight..

beers :beer:

same thing happened to me. Seems when One of the local dealers changed my battery, they damaged the ground to the battery. This eventually became worse with vibration (racing etc.) and then broke. Power steering would shut off and pretty much the rest of your symptoms. Check there. I had to replace the connector and then found a good excuse to replace the battery with an odyssey.

I went out an cleaned the connectors and the terminals. There was some dust like corrosion but everything was shiney when I was done and the symptoms still remain. When the rpms are low everything works great but when I rev it past 2k all the lights come on and ther is even static from the speakers even though the radio is off. Then when I turn on the headlights the static goes away. I went to Dallas for the Corr truck races so my car sat for 3 days but other than that...........there has not been any work done on my car and no rough weather driving or anything.

I went out an cleaned the connectors and the terminals. There was some dust like corrosion but everything was shiney when I was done and the symptoms still remain. When the rpms are low everything works great but when I rev it past 2k all the lights come on and ther is even static from the speakers even though the radio is off. Then when I turn on the headlights the static goes away. I went to Dallas for the Corr truck races so my car sat for 3 days but other than that...........there has not been any work done on my car and no rough weather driving or anything.

It just really sounds like a grounding issue.......I could be wrong, but that's really what it sounds like to me. Look at the wires and not the terminals on the battery. See if they look like they are good and solid. Trace back some of the wires off the negative side and if possible, see where they go. I know a few of the major ground points on the car, but not all. Look around the engine bay and everywhere you see a bolt with a wire to the chassis, loosen it slightly, turn the wire just a bit, and tighten back down. If it cures it, then go back and really clean the points you just messed with.

I will check all that in the morning I guess just to make sure. Sucks because I just went over warranty too and I doubt the extended warranty will cover.

Aye aye ... *cough*

Well, This morning the battery was dead so something is draining it. I swapped in my charged battery and it started and ran but still with no powersteering and the other electrical issues. I drove her straight to the dealer and they had her all day and could not figure out what is wrong. I guess I will know something tomorrow.

Aye aye ... *cough*

What, are you a pirate or something?

the same thing happened to me and it was just a wire that came loose.

I really wanna know what this was okay?
I'm with that other poster and I really believe it's a loose wire.
It really makes sense to me. BTW.....a loose wire can short to something at time causing excessive current draw.

I may have already asked, but have you done any mods or any work on the car over the last month or so? What about before that coolant light was flashing at you awhile back?

Okay, So the dealer said it was the fuse block connected to the positive terminal that ha sthe 60A fuse for the power steering. This caused the battery to overload and caused it to be ruined, They wanted $115.00 for the battery and $60.00 for the positive cable fuse block and $100+ for labor and they said it would take 2 days for delivery. I picked the car up and limped it to my office. I bought an battery from Autozone and ordered the fuse block so I will report back when I install the new fuse block and battery. Just from the short drive back to the office my worn out factory battery was leaking water/acid into the battery tray. I don't know shit about batteries but my dad said it was due to the battery being overloaded so I am not 100% sure about that fuse block but we will see.

Oh, and no work has been done on the car other than oil changes by me and cleaning my K&N. Weird thing is that I drove to Dallas and back without issues right before I left town and the car sat for three days. And I took the fuse block apart and it was fine, nuts were tight, no corrosion, melting, or anything and the connectors seemed fine but I guess we wil see. If it's not that then I wasted $85.00 at the dealer for the "diagnosis fee."

you might search power steering and mazda maniac.

a hint..

beers :beer:

Searched for power steering befor ebut let me search for MM. Thanks.

Okay, so I read MM's thread regarding the powersteering failure and I will check those connectors but that problem doesn't explain the battery light, the headlight level light, or the traction control light blinking. Plus non of those guys have a new battery overheating and boiling over. I get the part tomorrow and I sure hope it works. Thanks.

you have multiple issues.. i have helped on one. i hope..

beers :beer:

Okay, so I got the fuse block part in, installed it, started the car up, let it idle for 5 minutes, and the brand new battery boiled over. I shut it off immediately and unhooke dteh battery cables. So my dad thinks the alternator is screwed. Well he was right. I took it to an alternator shop and teh guy said the alternator was overcharging instead of under charging like usual. So $110.00 ($510.00 for a new one) later the alternator is rebuilt and I take it back to the car an install it.

I turn the ingition and nothing. Everything else works (radio, windows, etc) but the car will not crank or anything. So we check all the grounds, cables, bolts, etc. and everything looks okay. So after some trouble shooting we determine that everytime I turn the key, the 15A fuse labeled ENG in the engine compartment is blowing. Any ideas? Could the alternator overcharging have ruined something?

Get out a Multi Meter if you have to. I'm with everyone else on this, there's a short somewhere.

I vote we change your name to 2krpmrx8

No shit.

Okay, so after a tow, a day of troubleshooting, and another tow I am still without a car. After a day of pouring over schematics and getting familar with a multimeter we know what circuit its on and unfortunately that 15A ENGINE fuse feeds the pcm, powersteering, DCS, ABS, and the vehicle immobilizer so we were not able to figure it out. There is definately a short on the other side of the 15A ENGINE fuse.

There is something called a coil (not the ignition coil) located behind the dead pedal somewhere but I was unable to locate anything other than a number of connectors and relays. Though the picture showing where this coil is located is very vague. The only weird thing is that my driver side power window does not work. I gave up and had the car towed to a guy who is a behicle electronics expert specializing in late model imports so hopefully tomorrow I will know something. But I definately think that if the dealer had figured out the alternator was overcharging this situation would have been avoided. I think the alternator damaged something.

Okay, so after a tow, a day of troubleshooting, and another tow I am still without a car. After a day of pouring over schematics and getting familar with a multimeter we know what circuit its on and unfortunately that 15A ENGINE fuse feeds the pcm, powersteering, DCS, ABS, and the vehicle immobilizer so we were not able to figure it out. There is definately a short on the other side of the 15A ENGINE fuse.

There is something called a coil (not the ignition coil) located behind the dead pedal somewhere but I was unable to locate anything other than a number of connectors and relays. Though the picture showing where this coil is located is very vague. The only weird thing is that my driver side power window does not work. I gave up and had the car towed to a guy who is a behicle electronics expert specializing in late model imports so hopefully tomorrow I will know something. But I definately think that if the dealer had figured out the alternator was overcharging this situation would have been avoided. I think the alternator damaged something.

Still reading!
Thanks for keeping us(or at lest me) up to date!
If I was there I'd help narrow it down fairly quickly.

Okay so they finally figured it out after three days. There is a short in the ABS unit. When they disconnect the ABS, the car starts and runs fine of course with the lack of DSC and ABS and the power steering light is on but at least the car starts. Now they are telling me that they cannot replace that part because it will require reprogramming that only the dealer can do.

I have not seen the car so I do not know exactly which part they are talking about but hopefully I can get it outside of the dealer from a vendor and save some cash. I still will have to pay for the reprogramming and a trip to the dealer. Thsi sucks, I was hoping they could just get it running so I could trade it in but I guess trading in will have to wait since this will likely cost me a grip.

Okay, so the ABS HU is $1,472.00 + labor and time for programming the unit. It is not covered under my extended warranty. I am going to inspect the unit this weekend with an electronics wizard friend of mine and see if by any chance he can fix the short in the ABS HU. If not, I will trade the car the way it is and take the hit.

Okay, so the ABS HU is $1,472.00 + labor and time for programming the unit. It is not covered under my extended warranty. I am going to inspect the unit this weekend with an electronics wizard friend of mine and see if by any chance he can fix the short in the ABS HU. If not, I will trade the car the way it is and take the hit.

Hopefully the short will be in the wiring and not in the unit itself. Did you try it with it unplugged...I can't rememeber? It's possible the short doesn't show up until you plug it in, this will usually means the unit is shorted, but not always.
Good luck! And I'm saddened by these troubles. :sad:

Yeah, when I plug the ABS HU in the 15A engine fuse shorts and the car does not start. I am not sure the short is in the unit itself because my drivers side power window doe snot work and all my blinkers are out. Does anyone know where the flasher relay for teh blinkers is? The car does start and run but with power steering, ABS, speedometer, cruise control, and traction control.

I have contacted and argued with my extended warranty company and they are going to give me an answer on Monday as to whether or not they will cover the work. I have already spend cose to $700.00 cash.

I have spent the day looking at cars (my cars of choice are 350Z, MSP3, MSP6, and G35) and I looked at a brand new (man I am ashamed to say it) Tiburon and I must say it was really nice. It was a 6 speed with a nice two tone leather and a brake upgrade package with bigger calipers and cross drilled rotors. I didn't drive it because it's a Hyundai but looked and felt great sitting in it. I had no luck on any slightly used Z's and Mazdaspeed cars but I will see what comes up.

I would make sure that the ABS unit is actually tested before it is ordered. It may not be the unit at all. With the issue you had with the alternator it could just be some melted wires shorting out in the ABS run.

yeah that's what I think too devil but one shop had it for three days and determined it wa steh unit but I don't buy that. I wish o bad that i would have followed my first instincts and gotten the alternator tested first instead of relying on the dealer. I don't think they tested it and I think that short drive after I picked it up from the dealer caused the damage.

I would make sure that the ABS unit is actually tested before it is ordered. It may not be the unit at all. With the issue you had with the alternator it could just be some melted wires shorting out in the ABS run.

+1

remember when that shit happen to me, swoope?

where you at? still in cc?

What happened to you Cody?

remember when that shit happen to me, swoope?

where you at? still in cc?

yep,

dont recall the cause. and yes in cc.

and 9k i know i have given you some shit about your bottle in the garage, but did you ever install it? as an error in that area could have been the damage to the wiring. best of luck.

beers :beer:

Yes the nitrous has been installed for a long time now and all the wiring was solid and I have not used the nitrous in a few months so I don't think it is an issue and the guys that checked it agreed. But I did remove the whole nitrous kit for teh trip to the dealer on Monday (I don't want to give them any excuses) I know the problem was caused by the alternator overcharging. It would just be too much of a coincidence otherwise.

Word to the wise:

If you have battery problems test the alternator right away. The guy at the alternator shop said this is a fairly common issue with Mazda alternators. Don't ask me how, but he knew the alternator was from a Mazda as soon as he saw me walking up to the counter with it.

Okay, so the dealer checked it and determined it was a short in the ABS HU so they called my extended warranty and they sent out an adjuster to inspect the car due to the cost of the repair and the adjuster agreed and so they are going to cover the part since it is integrated to the speed sensors in the car that control the odometer, speedometer, and steering.

They are also giving me a rental and repairing the drivers side windows and the blinkers that were damaged. I am so glad they are fixing it otherwise I would have taken a big hit on trade in a sthis repair was close to $2800 total.

The only sucky part is that I have to drive a KIA Rio until Friday and it does not have tinted windows so it's pretty embarrassing.

...... I have to drive a KIA Rio until Friday and it does not have tinted windows so it's pretty embarrassing.
HaHa, but interesting story and thanks for sharing it.

wow what a good read, suspenseful, frighting, almost sad but with a happy ending, haha. Glad to see that everything worked out for you. Thank god you didn't have to trade it in and take the hit. When i saw your first post, i immediately thought, alternator. One simple test could have saved you a lot of headaches from the start :banghead: buts everything is 20/20 in hindsight

Yeah, I am kicking myself for not just taking it and getting the charging system tested. I cannot believe the first dealer did not test it. Word to the wise, stay away from World Car Mazda in San Antonio, Texas! And if you have any electrical problems get the charging system checked first.

Okay, so they replaced the ABS Unit and that was it. The car is running great. Man I missed her. Driing her makes me wanna keep her but damn this car is touchy.

What are you going to do about those other things that were damaged, for example the power window control?

Okay. the problem is back. I was driving home from dinner and my battery light. DSC off, Power Steering, Traction control, and ABS light all came on and my Scan Guage II was reading 7.4V so I turned the car off immediately fearing more damage like last time. Though after recharging my battery and running a alternator test it appears the alternator is not charging this rather than overcharging like last time.

When I had the problem with the alternator overcharging I had it rebuilt at a real good shop here so I will remove it tomorrow and take it back to them to see whats up. An alternator is an alternator so I guess we will see what ups after they check it out.

rebuilt alternator eh...that's a new one

wow this is a nightmare, hopefully you can get fixed quicker this time

yeah, I suspect the rebuilt alternator this time but rebuilt onw should be good as new. Alternators are not that complicated.

yep, you can buy parts from Mazda to rebuild Stock Alternator. and its not that hard to rebuild it.

Damn, lets hope nothing has been damaged this time. (other than the bad Alternator)

i have an extra one with ~ 6k miles on it, let me know if you need it.


beers :beer:

Thanks swoope, I guess I won't have a lazy Sunday afterall.

Damn...................just damn. Other than that......I am speechless.

Okay, so it was the regulator in the alternator and the alternator place replaced it for free. I installed everything else and my volts are where they should be but now my traction control light is on constantly and the dsc light is flashing. I did a pcm reset and its still on. Any ideas?

Nevermind, I'm an idiot. I forgot about the steering calibration method. Everything is good now. Thanks guys!

Guess who is back? So on my way to the Texas8 run I almost had to dip out because my voltage dropped to 11.4 and my battery light came on so I slowed down and when i down shifted the voltage came back up and the battery light went off. So for the whole day she was fine no lights, etc.

So then on Sunday I took the kiddos home and the light came on and then would go off if I put it in Nuetral and revved it. This happened a few times throughout teh drive. When I got home I checked the alternator belt and everything seems great. I'm thinking my rebuilt (twice) alternator is going out again. I replaced the battery a month or so ago.

Any idea where the best place to get a new alternator is because the dealer wants a grip for it.

ask jedi, i think he got a better one for his car and got a good deal on it too

9K, thanks for your post. there's a lot of good info here. My car started the same symptom 2 days ago. I replaced the battery thinking it was that but the problem still persist. while looking for answers in this forum Im glad i stumbled on your thread. Car is still under warranty so I'll just have it towed to the dealership tomorrow before i create more damage :D

Hope you got my PM but yeah my alternator caused many problem and even though it was rebuilt it was never the same until I bought a whole different OEM one. For some reason the rebuilds only last so long on a typical rebuild.

Guess who is back again. I really need to sort this out. I was driving in heavy traffic today and noticed my volts were down to 12.9 -13.2 (Scangauge II saved me again). They usually stay around 13.9-14.3. This battery is only a few months old and it is even a bigger battery (700 CCA @32F, 100 reserve time, etc.)

I made it home okay and threw her on the trickle charger and after a couple of hours it maxed out at 12.9V. So that means the battery has been damaged (fourth one) and I bet when I test this alternator i will find it is failing too. usually a battery will be around 14.9 V when I fully charge it. so I know the voltage will continue to drop and the battery will fail because that is what happened last year. This was an OEM alternator with 6,000 miles on it.

I have no aftermarket power modifications, etc. Only wiring done is my OP gauge and Oil temp gauge but these problems existed before both and I have not had issues with either.

Any idea what could be causing the alternator to fail and ruin the battery? can someone look at the charging system diagram and maybe spot something?

Battery should only be about 12.5 volts unless the CAR IS RUNNING. A battery by itself should never be in the 14v range, again unless the car is running.

Well I actually charged a brand new Optima Red Top the other day and it was at 14.8V at "Full Charge" according to my charger. But I will test it again tomorrow with a voltmeter to make sure my charger is reading right.

As a matter of fact, there is another 8 in the garage, I will test it right now.

I'm having the same exact problem as you. I guess I should be looking at a new alternator? My battery is overcharging at 17.4V. Shit

I'm having the same exact problem as you. I guess I should be looking at a new alternator? My battery is overcharging at 17.4V. Shit


Yes, don't drive it. I ended up ruining the ABS module and some other stuff due to them not diagnosing it correctly. If it had not been for the extended warranty it would have cost an arm and a leg. You can get yours rebuilt but it won't last too long.

www.mazmart.com
www.partsgroup.com
www.revvinsevens.com

^Ok well I didn't drive it after 1km to my friends house. It was still cranking so I'm hoping I haven't ruined anything important. I got a re-man alternator for $160. Will put it in tomorrow but I'm wondering that if the voltage regulator is integral to the alternator if I can rebuild my old one for a spare? It seems to me that is the root cause of this because it didn't just stop charging. Did you switch back to an OEM alternator after the reman failed?

Okey dokey I put the new alternator in and everything is good again. Thanks 9K for being the guinea pig. Saved my ass.

Glad you got it fixed.