Yes, that’s a good point. But hold on a minute. What about if your home is down a long long alleyway like mine ? Do I couple several extension leads together And have someone trip over the cables across the paths and pavements ? No, I will gladly pay for a new battery every year at £114 quid rather than drive around aimlessly for half hour a day to keep it charged (( at todays prices )). But thanks for your alternative advices, Best regards from Ray in Essex…. Erm. On second thoughts I could take the battery off and charge it at home ! But for £114 a year ? I i’d simply phone the RAC and have a new one put on it each year…. For the price of
a packet of biscuits a week !
It certainly will be on the list of Service checks Mick…I’m booking the car in for a service In November At the ‘Bulphan Service Stn’ Essex…. I don’t know whether my car at 55,000 is due a Major Service, or a short service !
I will ask Allan to check all the Levels including the Gearbox , and Rear Axel. Levels. Not sure yet about Replacing the S, Plugs As the car is running superbly ! Seems an expensive unnecessary expenditure …
Take care you guys ** GOD SAVE THE KING ! **
Well noted… Thanks !
Serving the brakes correct with the correct procedures , with the correct lubes at the correct intervals = long life safe free moving none seizing calipers, and handbrake cables.
The biggest problems i hit from owners roadsters is that they have “never” been done correct over the years, including from dealerships.
M-m
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What???Great at sums, and great at seeing money unnecessarily spent, if they are maintained correct they’ll not be big bills swapping pads thats not needed ,and also fit a battery negative isolator switch to the battery port when sat for long periods un used , no dark current drain , no buying batteries not needed, like we have always done to ours, projects, restorations and daily’s etc.far cheaper and less hassle than swapping a battery and wasting cash…
Turn it back on when needed, happy days, no wasted cash from pockets, and everything just as it should be worry free.
http://www.mazdamenders.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=6626
M-m
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Looking at my particular recent problem with my MX5 Brakes p, I can now see that Regular servicing of parts of a MX5 (That probably escape the mind’s of many MX5 owners), such as ‘cables’ and ‘Slider’s ’ allows them to fail Like mine did recently …. Allan - at Bulphan Services - took photos of what he found whilst working on my brake system. And the build up of silt/ rust / corrosion Was evident … it won’t happen again …. And thanks to Mazda Mender for illustrating this
However Just a question here, does the Battery isolator (that is mentioned) Cause the ECU to have to ‘re learn’ it’s correct functions each time the isolation switch is switched back on ? …. Ray from Essex …
Yes, the battery is or should be totally disconnected from the car. You will lose the ecu memory and the dsc light will be on so those will need to be reset / re learned plus the radio memory will also be lost, if applicable. That’s the advantage of using a smart charger. Have you thought about either a long extension lead, you can get them up to 50m or is there any way you could get power to an outside socket any nearer to your car?
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A problem for you Ray if no nearby power point. As above it’s a faff each time you want power back to the cars system re ECU on the NC. Another factor, Ieft parked no battery power, door locking, alarm, it just won’t will it??? If you have a garage to keep it but no power then fine.
Another solution is buy another battery, keep it charged at home then change it over but this sounds like a faff too if and when you need to use the car each time.
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Sadly No ! The extension lead idea isn’t a possible solution in my case,
90% of the time My car cannot get to its nearest point to my house Because we are located quite close to daily Commuter point ( local Rail Station ) , and often have to park “if and where possible” ! But Thanks
For your suggestion… I had once attempted the Extension lead method And had a local biddy ask if it was “safe for her to push her shopping trolly across” ! Ffs , Probably just making her displeasure known !! Etc….
My problem is that I just only use my car for the occasional Club meeting etc, or 2 mile to a local pub…. sad eh ? It drains more out of the battery than it puts back in it ! But I persevere … I tried disconnecting the bat and that seemed to disrupt the ECU etc, I think I will just resign myself to a new battery each year if it kill’s the one on the car … it’s cheaper ( once every two years ) than driving around aimlessly to keep it charged at £8 a gallon, Ray Essex
Exactly Mike… The RAC come and put a new battery on my car £113 quid
He said ( and I agree ) That it’s cheaper - in my particular situation - to just replace the battery each time that it dies ( probably once every two years )
It’s the price of a packet of biscuits each week (over the two years) … !
Or, As my friend always suggests “” USE THE FRIGGING CAR RAY “ “don’t just polish it and stare at it” !! etc etc… Best regards to all of you,
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Hi Albien …
No, to your first question ( extension lead idea ). And No to your second question. ‘“(The use of a socket near to my parking place)” etc ! I actually already park on the drive of a very nice neighbour so that my car isn’t parked on the road etc. I would feel quite uncomfortable in asking if I could use one of his electric sockets to keep my battery charged etc, I know it’s a simple request. But an elderly neighbour would find it a chore that he would rather do without, And I’d feel uncomfortable asking him too, Best regards Albien …from Ray in essex
Stick a solar charger behind front screen to trickle charge it
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Depends which one you get and fit buddy.
M-m
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I tried that. Scorps …Bought it from Halfords. Top big one too ! It Didn’t seem to do much . I Gave it away to my son, But thanks for your suggestion, I bet it might have helped during our hot summer eh …I even chanced having it nicked and put it OUTSIDE of the screen to get the maximum from it but to no successful noticeable charging …I must admit this attempt was on a much larger battery on a much larger car though ! best regards from Ray down in Essex…
Just buy a battery with a long warranty and keep the receipt.
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Hi Enjoyabull … That idea doesn’t work ! I have had a RAC battery in the past ( with added Battery insurance ) You can’t get more secure than that !
The Battery went down and wouldn’t recover just one year into buying it !
Called the RAC. Around they come Looked at my mileage and said “ SORRY GUV “. “”You must do at least 2000 a year or the Warranty conditions are not applied with “” I had done only 800 miles so had brought the problem upon myself ! Ruined my battery so that it could not recover ! Etc … But thanks Enjoyabull….I’m just going to cough up £113 every year or so rather than ‘run up’ unnecessary mileage up on my MX5 driving around aimlessly … etc. best regards from Ray in Essex .
Hi, Thought I would check my front calipers after reading this article, even though no increase in fuel consumption or odd feeling from braking or steering. Sure enough front passenger side slider pins not sliding and very uneven pad wear, inner pad down to 3mm outer like new! Car (2.0L ND RF) has just had 3rd year service at main dealer and covered 9,000 miles. All free and greased now with new pads fitted. Not had this problem on previous MX 5’s.
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The funny thing Mike. Is that my NC1 had a binding off side calliper, ( caused by the sliders rusty etc)
But, Not a thing was wrong with the steering or braking ! The only way I found out was when a prospective buyer had noticed one of the front wheels being unusually hot after a test drive, I took it into a service agent and he found the sliders corroded on the offside… causing the problem…
My one is due to have a complete overhaul of the brakes in October … Along with a service too.
As the mechanic guy said - on seeing my car - It’s a “ nice one “ “ it needs looking after “ etc,
So next month I’m throwing a few quid at it … Take care Mike. From Ray in Essex
I have a similar problem, remote garage with no power.
In the autumn when the car (NC1) is used less, I take the battery off the car and have it on an optimiser at the house. If I need the car it takes less than five minutes to refit the battery and reset the DSC, fortunately the radio/sat-nav resets itself. In the spring when the car is used more the battery goes back on.
Been doing this now for three years with no problems
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Hi Ray, out of interest I decided to check My Mazda Cx3 front calipers, it has also just had it’s 3rd year service ( 2.0L CX3 GT) at the same main dealer . The car has done 29,000 miles the sliders had a good amount of grease on and moved freely unlike the MX5 that did not appear to have any grease on the sliders !! The pads are only worn about 50% max. Interesting.
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