Hi I was wondering if there’s anyone out there that could help me???
My MX-5 Mk 3 had a new battery for xmas as that was on its way out, and in the last few months i have an intermittent problem when i come to start the car. It doesn’t even tick over and all the electrics go off when i turn the key to start even the mileage display. If i open the door the mileage display comes back on and sometimes the radio might come on but as soon as i turn the key it all goes off again. If I leave the key turned all the electrics very slowly come back on and there’s a strange buzzing noise coming from the front of the car (like a fly in a glass). The central locking did make a clicking noise as if it was trying but didn’t actually lock but now its doing nothing. The dials also go crazy and flick about when i try to start the ignition.
This has been a problem thats happened a few time before but a few minutes later it all works again and its even happened while i’ve been driving, all the electrics cut out but not the ignition and there was a rapid beeping noise and then it all came back on (very scary).
I’m talking in present tense because the little beast is currently abandoned in a supermarket car park as of last night (it worked fine when i went in and when i came back out it had decided to go on strike) and ive been back today and tried it but it still won’t start so i’ve had to leave it again. We can’t jump start it so I don’t know what else to do! Please help!!
Hi Jadio, the symptoms are those of a flat battery or bad battery connection.
Perhaps the new battery wasn’t fitted very well and the terminal clamp(s) are loose.
Possibly it was fine but has become run down if left (they last about 30 days without charging if laid up).
Or possibly there’s a charging fault.
If you’re not mechnically minded get a breakdown membership and call them out to your car. At least they’d diagnose and get you out of the car park.
(If you go on top cashback you’ll probably find a membership deal cheaper than any garage call out, I’ve just got full AA home start and relay for my daughter for half price.)
Thanks guys going to go and check the battery now. It was my other half who fitted the battery I wouldn’t have a clue! But maybe it is that? We’ll go take a look and see if that will fix the problem… I just renewed my car insurance as well and they offered me pretty cheap breakdown cover and I said no because my car is perfectly reliable…not But we were worried it would be something computer related and expensive and that if the car is having problems we might be better fixing it and getting rid which would be a real shame because summer is just around the corner!
The day after I bought mine it wouldn’t start, absolutely nothing no power anywhere it had a new battery fitted but one of the terminals wasnt pushed fully down home and although the nut was tight was tight was loose on the battery, slackened nut moved connector down post on battery a bit further and re tightened and has been fine ever since.
I have had two recent batteries one on my Impreza and one on a friends MK1.
The batteries were thin terminal batteries with thick converpor sleaves on the thin terminals.
In both cases the convertors were say 2mm less outside diameter than they needed to be and that due to the loose terminals caused similar faults to what you are having.
The beast lives! But only just. It had some blue fuzz on one of the battery points so we’re going to grease it and hope that fixes it but when I drove it back it died on me but then started again. I have had a leak in the whole passenger footwell before and the boot but I think that’s fixed, the foot well was from a blocked drainage channel down the side of the roof and the boot from a cracked light from an accident a previous owner must have had.
Great news, now clean and grease the battery terminals making sure you have the correct connectors from the car to the battery terminals. (some batteries are supplied with smaller narrower terminal posts). Then tighten them securely and see if this is the real problem before you start digging any deeper.
But we were worried it would be something computer related and expensive and that if the car is having problems we might be better fixing it and getting rid which would be a real shame because summer is just around the corner!