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Car seems to be taking a few more cranks to turn over

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aphex

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
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I don't drive the 2005 Mazda3 that much anymore as my wife takes it to work, but yesterday I took it in for an oil change, 115k miles.

Last night I noticed it was taking a few extra cranks to turn over, this morning my wife noticed the same so she took her Murano to work instead.

I'm thinking I might try new spark plugs to see if it helps? afaik they haven't been changed since we got the car as we only did the 30k mile maintenance.
 
Check/replace the plugs, fuel filter, air filter, pcv valve, etc...

Also spray out the throttle body well.

How old is the battery? Have it tested.
 
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Check/replace the plugs, fuel filter, air filter, pcv valve, etc...

Also spray out the throttle body well.

How old is the battery? Have it tested.
Click to expand...

Battery is about 2-3 years old, Diehard Gold. Any recs on what spark plug to replace it with? I've heard NGK tossed around over at the Mazda3 forums.
 
Originally posted by: aphex
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Check/replace the plugs, fuel filter, air filter, pcv valve, etc...

Also spray out the throttle body well.

How old is the battery? Have it tested.
Click to expand...

Battery is about 2-3 years old, Diehard Gold. Any recs on what spark plug to replace it with?
Click to expand...

I use NGK, Champion, etc... as you will not notice much diff between most brands. If it is hard to get to, i don;t thibnk that is a issue on the Maz3, then use a Plat/Ird. If not hard to get to then use a basic Plat/Copper.

I run NGK/Champ. cheap Plats in most cars I worked on. I used the truck copper champion plugs in my truck.

i don;t like autolite plugs as the threads are just painted and tend to rust easily and not come out as well as others.
 
Thanks, I'll just stick with NGK. I'll swing by Discount to see if they have em. I was searching around for a video on how to change them and found this; http://www.ehow.com/video_110_replace-spark-plugs.html

Which just happens to be on a Mazda3, score! 🙂

If that doesn't help I'll bring the car over to Sears and have them test the battery. If that doesn't work I guess I'll bring it to Mazda and have them do the 100k mile service.
 
I have a 2004 Mazda3 with 65k, and I've recently noticed the same thing. I did replace the battery this winter since it wasn't too happy on cold mornings. This didn't effect the crank time though, just the authority of the crank if that makes sense.

I also think I have an issue with rainy weather and slightly lower performance. I had a 1980 Datsun once with this issue and it was the spark plug wires that were bad. Just something to consider if you are changing the plugs out, I'm not sure if the Mazda is prone to the same problem or not.
 
Originally posted by: 43st
I have a 2004 Mazda3 with 65k, and I've recently noticed the same thing. I did replace the battery this winter since it wasn't too happy on cold mornings. This didn't effect the crank time though, just the authority of the crank if that makes sense.

I also think I have an issue with rainy weather and slightly lower performance. I had a 1980 Datsun once with this issue and it was the spark plug wires that were bad. Just something to consider if you are changing the plugs out, I'm not sure if the Mazda is prone to the same problem or not.
Click to expand...

I'll keep you posted if it helps out.
 
Starting to think it might be the battery, just turned it on to head out to the store and it seemed to have a hard time even cranking. Then my radar detector threw a low voltage warning and my radio reset itself. I think i'll head to Sears first.
 
Yep bad battery, thank god I got the direhard gold, it had a 36 month warranty and died with 6 months left. Total cost came to $1.65 in environmental fees 🙂

Thanks for the help!
 
Originally posted by: aphex
Starting to think it might be the battery, just turned it on to head out to the store and it seemed to have a hard time even cranking. Then my radar detector threw a low voltage warning and my radio reset itself. I think i'll head to Sears first.
Click to expand...

Get the alternator tested. The battery will should only be supplying power for cranking/starting the car, once the engine is running the alternator should be doing everything. If you're getting a low voltage warning with the car running, that's the alternator's fault, not the battery.
 
Originally posted by: aphex
Yep bad battery, thank god I got the direhard gold, it had a 36 month warranty and died with 6 months left. Total cost came to $1.65 in environmental fees 🙂

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:


But still a good time for plugs if they have never been done. Same with cleaning the throttle body before replacing.
 
Well I just got off the phone with my wife, "I may or may not have left the dome light on when I went to work the other day" 🙁

lol, its nice how she shares this information NOW 🙂
 
Originally posted by: aphex
Well I just got off the phone with my wife, "I may or may not have left the dome light on when I went to work the other day" 🙁

lol, its nice how she shares this information NOW 🙂
Click to expand...

Same thing with the fiancee, she ALWAYS leave the visor light on. Part of the "checking the make-up before exiting but NEVER close the damn things" routine.
 
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