40th8Jake

Well here it is..the first time I thought this was a fluke so i just pulled the negative off the battery..then it happened 2k miles later, and recently this has become a frequent occurrence causing the car to die while on the freeway..and other various fun and embarrassing places.

In short it will randomly turn itself off, while driving and the Immobilizer light flashes or antitheft light. I have read other threads but usually people can’t start the car to begin with and doesn’t shut off randomly while in operation.

So i have an appointment with my local Mazda on the 26th, but i would hate to pay $130 for a $10 relay if that might be the issue.

note: i hear something clicking near the fuse area when this happens. Not sure if that is normal or not when the car is Immobilized.

Please chime in if you have an idea or had this happen to you! Thanks in advance.

Happy Holidays to all

Shaozhou Zhang

I'd first try to uninstall VersaTune. It has caused some weird engine cut off issues.
But for immobilizer, have you tried to replace the battery in the key fob? Never had this issue before, but what I suggested won't hurt to do.

40th8Jake

I was thinking of that..I cant remember if it started before or after the flash. Its probably VersaTune. Keyfob has a new battery.
Good idea thank you!
I suppose ill let Steve, VersaTune’s PR guy know about my issue. Maybe they’re working on a patch...

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Keep us updated on what you find out about it and if the Versa Tune is messing with the vehicle's immobilizer.

40th8Jake

will do. Driving it around like a daily for a while on stock ecm to confirm if VersaTune is the issue.

40th8Jake

Update: Well after some inspecting around the engine bay i realized that my ground was a bit loose.I tightened it up and drove stock for a while then two days ago flashed VersaTune back on and have not had any issues thus far.

It makes sense and is sort of ironic that all this could boil down to a lose wire. It does make sense though, considering even a momentary loss of power to the coils and the car will stall. Will keep everyone updated.

Merry Christmas! And have a happy New Year.

Regards, Jake

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Glad the issue seems resolved. Loose connectors, terminals, corroded wiring, pins or pin fit can be very frustrating when diagnosing intermittent issues. Heres hoping you found the problem and that it's resolved for good.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

More often than not, the loose but behind the wheel.

40th8Jake

Im glad it is me and not the car or software.

Easier to fix..

Happy new year

40th8Jake

thank you man. It sure is. A $2.50 part can mess up your whole car.

a $0.10 o-ring blew up the Challenger, so go figure.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

It's always the littlest and easiest things that are the most often overlooked. I'm glad you were able to find this and get it solved quickly and cheaply.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

A million dollar O-ring 3 meters across holding back rocket exhaust, with redundancy, but yes.

40th8Jake

Well after all this there is still an issue and i do contend this is a VersaTune problem.

The car no longer stalls completely due to myself fixing a loose positive cable on the battery terminal. I installed a shim on the post.

Now, the problem is similar to what i was experiencing, but it keeps running. It’s similar to what i would estimate is a fuel cut or fuel related issue. There are no CEL’s. So once again i will uninstall VersaTune and confirm
the issue since the first one was solved.