Guess what - My reliable car in garage again !

Technical Area Engine, Transmission, Exhaust etc
2

This time it broke down in car park at work.  No turning over again.  Recovery jump started it, measured battery ‘new westco one’ it was flat and checked and the alternator was charging it up.  When I set off again the fan belt squealed really bad!

Tonight just dropped it off at overnight garage, they will look over it tomorrow morning, I have to carry on to work on bus and hopefully as I finish at 5pm I may have to pick up sat.

I am not impressed with my car at the moment and I have had thoughts of getting rid.

So upset and miffed with it.

[::(] 

3

If your brand new battery was flat then it just sounds like the car is draining the battery somehow when parked - do you have an alarm on it or an interior light stuck on or some such thing? If the garage have no luck then perhaps you should try an auto-electrician and see if they can track down what is causing the battery to discharge.

The squealing fanbelt (actually the alternator belt) was probably just from the alternator having to generate a lot of current when you restarted it due to the battery being very low on charge, so it’s harder for the belt to turn the alternator pulley meaning it will squeal if it’s damp or slightly loose or worn. You often get the same thing on cold dark mornings when you have the headlights and heater all going at the same time.

4

I feel for you Trace, I had a similar problem on my old Capri, It turned out to be the fuel pump relay not clicking off so the pump would be trying to keep the fuel rail pressurised all night. It took me months to track that down. As a stop gap I wired a motor sport type power cut off switch up next to the battery just so I knew it would start every day.

On the '5 the ECU seems to control everything like that so I doubt it’s the same problem but it might be worth getting the engine management interrogated to see if it got any fault codes logged in there.

I also agree with Jim, The best thing to do is find a good auto electrician, If you sell the car without telling the buyer about the fault you could get serious grief over it, But if you tell them, Then the price they pay will have to reflect the fact it’s got a problem.

Just don’t take the third option here of getting it fixed them selling it before anything else go wrong, It’s a thing all my friends have done once or twice and it annoys me. You spend the cash then you use the car, You don’t pay out to give someone else the benifit… Thats just mad.

OK, Here are some things to think about,

Does it still have the standard radio fitted? If not, Who fitted it? Was it just a simple plug in job or have you got a tangled mess of insulation tape behind it? Does your car have an aftermarket audio amplifier fitted anywhere? Does it turn off with the radio?

Are there any nonstandard electrical items fitted? Does all the standard electrical items work as they should (i.e. Lights, horn, heater fan, electric windows and electric aerial if fitted…)?

After a run, If you turn the engine off, Will the starter spin the engine over at a reasonable speed? If not, Are the engines and battery’s earth cables OK? How far is your drive on most trips? Less than 4 miles?

I just found something of interest on the MX5 parts website with reference to the Westco battery’s, (http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/instructions/westco.pdf). Was the battery fully charged when you got it?

I hope you find the answer before you get too disillusioned with the car. As I said, I’ve been in the “Will it start today” situation as well and it’s too easy to loose all Faith and feel that you can’t rely on it any more, Even after the problems been rectified.

Everythings fixable, You just need to know what to fix.

So come on, Chin up kiddo.

5

It’ll probably turn out to be something really simple, a loose earth somewhere or a wire touching something it shouldn’t be. Best to get it to an auto-electrician, someone who specializes in electrics, and then take it from there.

6

 

 I had this problem, and found that I had left the small foot well light switched on and as I hadn’t closed the drivers door properly as I was walking away from the car this light came on and stayed on. I have my car parked in a garage by the way. 

7

I’m the same as Pollyanna, cost me a new battery to discover the interior lights should NOT stay on when the door closed properly!!!

Stick with it Redtop, when the sun creeps out it will all be forgotten…

8

Sorry to hear of another issue Trace. you seem to have something going on every month.

I endorse what the others have said about a auto sparky - you need someone to dind the fault not just cure the symptoms to temporarily get you going again.

Aslo that stuff about the west co is true. They are excellent but need to be drip charged from empty. Normal charging will only last a few weeks.

 

All the best

9

 Hi all,

the car is ready now to pick up tomorrow morning.  they found a cracked battery terminal, battery was not flat, fan belt was loose.  They said they could not find any cause of drainage from battery.  The guy who owns garage has an mx 5 too.

Only one of my interior lights work, they are tricky.  Which side should the interior light switch be to be ‘OFF’?

My immobiliser has been on car since I bought it.  These battery problems only started after I had the fan belt tightened in Oct as it was squealing then.

I had it fully serviced in aug 08, new plugs, oil and air filter, new radiator etc as Snowman (Peter) from the northwest club recommended radcliffe tyres and they were very good.  At the time they said I had the wrong fan belt and fitted their own, yet I had bought it from autolink - andy and I still have that belt.  So think I may take it over to garage tomorrow to let them see it and maybe change it if needed.

I love my car (some people don’t understand my fascination with the 5) and don’t want to get rid.  But would like a newer one with the red seats etc:) 

10

 

 Open the door and if the light is on switch it off. If the other one is a bit dodgy, take the bulb out of that one to be safe for the time being ie until you can get a new bulb that you know works ok.

You are to be congratulated for sticking with it as you do seam to have had a lot of problems with your car lately. Is there no one near to where you live who could help you out with the car?

11

 How do you get into the interior lights?

I do have some spare bulbs somewhere I bought for the rear plate lights.

Yes sticking with the car, off to peter jones at mazmania tomorrow, hoping I don’t get a breakdown on the way!  He is helping look at my leak into the boot from blocked up rain rail.

Unfortunately in this day and age I have found that when you live alone, nobody wants to really lend a hand.  Even my dad pulls his face if I ask him for help.  When I broke down with the panasonic battery at home, I asked my neighbour and I could tell he didn’t want to give me a lift to work.  Its 21st century and everyone looks after number one.  But if I saw someone struggling I would not hesitate to help, thats just my personality.  When my friends are down I rally round, and they rally round me, but one lives in newcastle and the other has no car.  I rely on word of mouth and this club forum.

12

The interior light covers just unclip - carefully prise them off with a small flat-blade screwdriver (the little jewellers ones work very well for this).

Pretty sure the rear plate bulbs are different to the interior bulbs, which are small bullet-shaped things. I couldn’t get the right size from Halfords (the ones they sell are too large) so I had to order some from Andrew at Autolink.

13

I cant remember the size of he interior bulbs (my 97 has an overhead one unlike my previous 92 and 94) but you can reasonably cheaply get the multiple led replacements which are brighter and draw a fraction of the current.

Sorry you havent had much help Trace. Peter is a good chap (i only know of him though the old email list) and so is Andy at auto link. Through the club and the forum you do have help and many of us woudl help in real life if we were closer. (not much use when your stuck i know)

 

 

14

 Car has been tested, new terminal clamp put on, fan belt tightened, no low charge to battery everything ok.  Just got to nip back to garage in couple of days for another test.  Its running well and off I went to Peter at mazmania, seems I need a new rain rail as when he taped the old one up he said it was pretty bad  £130 to have fitted from Peter so going back another weekend to get it done, he said half an hour tops.  Great guy!

Have also refitted my cage and stereo as it was not fitted properly by me - peter pointed out what  I had not done.

While losing screws undoing all the dash I found a cd stuck down side of the seat, (not mine-previous owners) and I can see pennies and screws stuck down the carpet so I think one weekend I will remove th seats and carpet to find treasure!

15

I totally sympathise Trace. I have had a real up and down ride with my 5. Thanks to people on this forum and in the club, I have not given up on her although I have come very very close to it. Most recently advice from Robbie Roadster proved true, and against the garage and the RAC’s advice - I am glad I trusted his knowledge. Also, some information on the technical FAQ has meant that I identified the solution to a major misfiring problem that my garage had not solved (they had put the leads on the wrong way!).

If it were not for the expert advice out there, I would not have a clue, so I hope you get all the help and advice you need and keep her on the road for a bit longer. No other car is the same after the 5!

Best wishes,

EJ