:banghead: Stopped at an Advanced Auto store on my way out of town to have my battery checked. It was checking crappy so bought a new battery, had the guys put it in for me, and when I jumped back in my car, no radio, no air conditioning. I can run the radio from my steering wheel but not from the dash, and the fan only blows hot air. When I returned from out of town I took it to some Mazda guys. They had it all day long and can't figure out what the heck happened. Any ideas?

Thats a good one. Maybe you blew a fuse somewhere?

What do you mean when you say "Mazda Guys"

Nope ... checked the fuses and all is well. Mazda guys are my mechanics that USED to have an authorized Mazda dealership and dropped it last year because of lack of interest. Seems rural folks gravitate more toward dually pickups. :)

When you turn on your a/c does the A/C compressor kick on?

Well, the only link between before and after is electrical. So something must have fried out, or gone wonky

I hate to be super dense, but I don't know what you mean by "compressor." The only thing I can control is the speed of the fan output. The dial that has cold/hot, direction of airflow (blowing to floor or defrosters, etc.) does not work at all. Nor does the radio. And the screen that has the time and temp, etc., just frizzles constantly.

the brain needs to be checked

What my mechanic was having trouble with was finding any sort of connection at all between the radio and the air conditioning. I thought I'd throw it out here and see if anyone had ever had the same problem, or something similar.

Is your car still under bumper to bumper warranty

What's the brain? And how much will this surgery cost? :)

No, it is not under warranty any longer. Although I just had a new engine dropped in it last year and I think that that part did carry some type of warranty, just not sure how long. Wonder if this issue would be covered?

Maybe while changing the battery it fried something in the pcm

Something got shorted but you need an electronics specialist or the dealer.

if your buddy used to work at a mazda dealer and cant see the connection between the a/c and radio....i think we know the real reason its not a mazda dealer anymore.

sorry, had to put that out there.

anywho, like everyone else said, only difference was battery installation either they blew something or touched something in your car.

i'm guessing radio faceplate/dash faceplate (plate itself or power delivery to it). A/C and Radio share some control circuits on it.

kevin.

Thanks for all your input ... even yours, Kevin! :) Actually it cracked me up and it's okay to "put it out there" with me. :) I will eventually be traveling to a larger town that has a Mazda dealership and will pop in and see what they have to say. I just know that what with summer coming, having no A/C is gonna make me REALLY GRUMPY ... not to mention REALLY SWEATY. Argh. Thanks for the input! If you hear of anything similar or a big A-HA popped in your head overnight, drop me a line and let me know so I can at least give SOMETHING for someone to start looking at! Again, thanks! And have a great evening!