My Baby Died in the Cold
 

Yes boyz and girls my four month old winning blue 8 died as a result of that crappy battery and the cold we had here in new york. I had to have the car towed and when they looked at it they found no spark and the spark plug coated in fuel. The car did start for about six seconds and would not fire again. Any suggestions would be greatly accepted to avoid this from happening.

Were you still able to turn over the engine? Did the battery run dead trying to start it repeatedly with extended cranking?

It doesn't sound like it died from the cold, it sounds like it wouldn't start because it was flooded.

Regards,
Gordon

How cold was it? I have had mine start in -29C, which is about -20F.

Did it crank over?

Have the dealer install the alternate (hot) plugs while he's at it.

But if the Canadians haven't had much trouble... I don't see why New York should be much different.

Sounds like a flood.

I guess it did die from being flooded but I am so good with the car and the wierd thing is that it did start for a few seconds and then stalled. They did change the plugs but now it start kinda sluggishly starter sound and battery wise. thanks guys for all your insight.

I've talked with the service manager at one of the dealership over the weekend. He think Mazda may replace the 8 with a stronger battery (more amp) for owners living in the cold belt. He admit the battery is kind of weak too.

One more time, repeat after me: BATTERY
The main cause of the flooding. Some people's batteries are more fully charged than others, hence some people don't have the problem, but it's most common in cold weather (when they are most affected).
As mentioned by RotaryZZ the cold cranking amps of the 8 is pathetic.

So what would happen if you put that battery "optima" (i think the cool looking battery) or is it the same thing

Do the Canadian cars come with a different battery model than the US cars?

Sorry about your car, but um, could you rename this thread? It creeped me out at first.

Yep, page 45 of the Owners's Manual has specs listed:

Manual transmission - models:12V-40AH/5HR
12V-52AH/5HR*1

Automatic transmission - models: 12V-48AH/5HR
12V-52AH/5HR*1

*1Cold areas

Not sure why they don't list CA and CCA or battery group size info.