my cousin parked the car and put it in first gear, I always leave it in neutral with hand brake on, Next day when I started the car, it was in 1st gear and when i left the clutch it it jerked forward and hit my basketball hoop which moved forward, it didn't hit too hard but hard enough, I turned off the car but after that it didn't start, 2 days later I tried it and it started fine with no problem, used it for a day, hot and cold start, no problems, day after that it didn't start again. Here is what happens:

When i turn the switch, all the lights come on, after I press the clutch, a clicking noise comes telling me that it is getting recognized, there is one click from the engine side and no crank at all. Do you think it is the starter which is going bad, cuz it started before and now it wont. I think it will start again if I give it a day or two.

Battery is brand new, got it 2 months ago. gas is half, all the fluids are ok..

68K miles, 04 RX8 6-speed...Engine replaced by dealer as a recall for flooding a year ago. Never flooded after that.

Thanks for all the help

 

sounds like your battery, make sure its on tight

 

battery connections on tight. Check the battery voltage. Could have a lemon...?

 

if its tight, (most likely) your battery is out of juice.

Just ask someone to "jump" your car, if the car starts, its your battery.

 

when i get home i will check the battery and jump it with my SUV, the battery seems fine, but dont know, but all the electrical gauges are lit up, I will post reply after trying to jump it after i get back home tonight . Hope it is just the battery..

 

when i got home and tried it, the car started in first crank without a single hesitation, let it ran for about 15 min, drove round the block and parked in the driveway and turned it off. Waited about 10 seconds and tried it again, but this time it didn't start, just the clicking sound from the engine area.

like i said earlier, it starts after a days rest, don't you guys think that the starter is giving away??

 

usually if the starters giving out, it takes a lil longer for the car to start, like a hard start.

 

Take your car to AutoZone (Or a similar car parts shop) and have em test your battery. Seems like it's going dooowwnn.

 

15 minutes is not even enough to cover the "couple of clicks" you did to the car.

you got home and tried it, did u tried it with SUV or ?

I bet when your car "click click click", you bring your SUV over and jump it, and it will automatically work.

telling u, its your battery.

 

It's the battery pure and simple.

 

The car does not go "click click click". If that was happening then it's the battery, but that's not happening. There is only 1 click after I turn the switch and nothing else happens. No dimming of the lights or anything. Just 1 click that's it. Last night when I tried to jump it, nothing happened, just a click only each time I turn the switch.

2 hours later I tried and it started without a glitch then I turned it off after driving for 10-15 min, got home nd turned it off and started again but didn't start. Just one stupid click and nothing else happens.

I don't think it's the battery otherwise it wouldn't start on it's own. Something else is stopping it from cranking.

 

What's a hard start?

 

If you're determined that it's not the battery, then the starter solenoid would be the next place to look. Unfortunately, the starter solenoid is inside the starter motor.

 

i saw some instructions on how to open the starter motor, what should i be looking for regarding the starter solenoid. Could I just change the starter motor ?

 

change the starter is often cheaper

 

will the after market starter work if I buy from autozone or some place like that.

 

I suspect there is nothing wrong with the starter and would encouragingly suggest that you test it with direct electrical power first before engaging in hillbilly parts swapping 101

 

how would I go about directly connecting to the electrical power..should i just run a cable from the battery to the starter terminal ?

thanks

 

If you intend to perform your own repair work the first item you will need is a service manual. The factory manual provides instructions and diagrams for testing the starter, the switch, and other items (which generally requires removal) as well as diassembly and testing of the internal parts. The repair parts are extremely expensive from Mazda so unless it is something simple you are likely better off replacing the starter. An auto parts store might be able to test it for you, but you will want to call them and ask first.

 

If you don't have a voltage meter it would be a good time to pick(a cheapy)one up. Put it on dc volts and see what the voltage is at the battery. If it is only 12.0 volts(when off) it's weak.....it's a lot easier(takes two mins) then let us know the voltage....

 

Just buy a new battery, end of story

 

i am going to check the battery voltage today and also check the connectors of the battery and the starter, maybe one of them could be loose

 

What was the end result of this mess. I'm in the same shoes and my batter volts when off is 12.4 and when running is 14. I checked all the fuses and followed the wires from the battery to the starter and everything is checking out. All I get is a click and the car will starts some times and not others. I just had the car at the dealer and they said the battery was good. I'm at a stand still with the car.

 

You are having the exact same problem as I did, you should lift your car up and brush those connectors with sand paper or something like that, might be a loose connection.

I thought that I might have to use sand paper on the starter connector, but I never had to, its so weird that when this problem happened, it happened for about 2 weeks and then the problem stopped. The car started to crank fine. Its been 4 months now and the car is starting up fine, the only thing I did was took a hammer and slightly hit the starter couple of time, since that day my car never gave a problem starting up.

I was going to change my starter as well, and ordered it via a used car dealer friend, but when the problem stopped, I had it returned