dash lit up like an xmas tree
 

Hey guys, I've searched already but couldn't seem to find a similar post. My car is currently in the shop but I likely won't hear back from them until late tomorrow. So here goes:

04 GT with 60k KMS

Drove to work this morning, nothing out of the ordinary. Got in my car at lunch, started up normally, battery light stayed on. Continued driving home and didn't feel anything out of the ordinary (still had lots of power, etc). About halfway home, the ABS, Power steering, DSC, etc lights all came on, and I obviously lost my power steering. At this point, i'm about 10kms away from my local Mazda dealership so I figure it's best to just get it there ASAP. The funny thing was, the lights went off, power steering returned and everything went to back to normal. A few KMS more the dash light up again and I lost power steering. Now this cycle happend at least 5 times before I finally got to the dealership.

That said, is it most likely A) bad battery B) bad alternator or C) loose connection or belt?

Thanks!

Yepper you got it.

Bad battery is my bet.

I've got my fingers crossed that it's either that or a loose connection/belt. Not really in the mood to drop $500 on an alternator, lol.

Well, still no good news. got a call from the dealership mid-afternoon, they said the alternator tested fine, but the battery wouldn't hold a charge. They thought it was the battery so they went ahead and installed a new one. I was about to go pick it up, and I get a call back from them saying that they had to keep it overnight. The new battery is overcharging, and they now think it's the alternator...ugh. Any insight here guys?

If its over charging.. you need a new alternator.

No way around that.

Thanks for the info. I'm really regretting buying this car. I've had it for 2 months and it's been nothing but trouble. I've had to replace coils, plugs, catalytic converter and now the alternator. If only I could go back to mid February, I would have kept my RSX Type S, sigh. I had that car for 5 years, and have already spent more $$ on my 8, with way more trips to the dealership. Ah well, you win some and lose some.

lol you prob shoulda done a little bit more research on that used car you got.. lol if i sell you a used and abused car its not the manufactures fault its the prior owners fault lol.. and partially the buy who buys it for not getting its repair history and what not.. that is hy i prefer to buy a new car over a used car. people these days do not take good care of thieir cars

While I appreciate your comments, I did my research on this car. I had all the previous owners receipts, contacted the dealership, Carfax, and had Mazda Canada run on check on the VIN. All scheduled maintenance was done on the car, and he never had a single issue expect for brake work. I know, it's ultimately buyer beware ;)

Hi MDH, have you got your car back yet? and was it the alternator?

I have a similar problem, everything went off though and stayed off, dealer told me it was a faulty ABS module and id need a new one at £2030 incl. fitting, a week later after still not having it repaired everything came back on again, then went off and now seems a bit intermittent, another dealer has now told me its a loose connection rather than a faulty ABS. Tested my alternator and battery and both seem fine.

My alternator was overcharging, and thus killed my battery. I had the alternator rebuilt and bought a new battery. Everything was great for a couple of days, and then my starter went. Hopefully that's it for now, but I've got my fingers crossed. Good luck with your situation!