- Nov 29, 1999
- 16,408
- 57
- 91
My relatively faithful 2008 Mazda 3i (5-speed manual) is having issues that maybe you guys can help diagnose.
Timeline:
Several months I noticed that after starting the car and driving off, sometimes in the middle of a turn (from a stop,) the radio would "blink" (lose power then come back on) and the power-steering would do the same (hard to turn.) The car engine would not die, but it would definitely lose power and chug through the turn. Halfway through turn, the radio would kick back in, as well as power steering, and the car would take off (probably because as I feel the car starting to drag, I instinctively give it more gas - being a manual transmission.)
When this happened I could always pull the car over and kill the ignition, restart the car, and it would be happy the rest of the trip.
Over a few weeks, this behavior increased. On multiple times, I could catch it in the driveway, in that I could start the car, let it idle, then turn the steering wheel hard in each direction. Sometimes, it would repeat that behavior - radio blinks off and back on, power steering gives out, engine sounds like it's losing power. Killing the ignition and restarting often solved the issue. Interesting (maybe?) is the fact that when I killed the ignition, all the gauges on the dash would go through sequence of needles hitting 0, max, 0. This is the only time I ever see this.
=> Video: https://youtu.be/5ozQ4KY4hoM
About one month ago, the car does this while driving down a highway. Engine lulls, radio goes off and on, power-steering goes out randomly. But it happens every time I tap the brakes, turn up/down the A/C, use a blinker, turn the wheel - basically anything that required electrical power, imo. I hobble the car to the nearby Mazda dealership, describe the problems, say it seems like something electrical and they keep at it over night. They call back the next day and tell me that the throttle body was caked - they've never seen one so dirty. They clean it and replace the plugs. $$$ Car works fine.
Last week, beginning of the same issue with the turns. Today, car is doing it as I drive in a straight line.
Best course? I'm leaning towards finding someone nearby to replace the battery, wires and alternator as a starting point.
Other info:
2008 Mazda 3i
5-speed manual transmission
165k miles
There seem to be no problems in starting the car.
Battery terminal has some corrosion, but nothing too bad looking. The connections seem tight.
Timeline:
Several months I noticed that after starting the car and driving off, sometimes in the middle of a turn (from a stop,) the radio would "blink" (lose power then come back on) and the power-steering would do the same (hard to turn.) The car engine would not die, but it would definitely lose power and chug through the turn. Halfway through turn, the radio would kick back in, as well as power steering, and the car would take off (probably because as I feel the car starting to drag, I instinctively give it more gas - being a manual transmission.)
When this happened I could always pull the car over and kill the ignition, restart the car, and it would be happy the rest of the trip.
Over a few weeks, this behavior increased. On multiple times, I could catch it in the driveway, in that I could start the car, let it idle, then turn the steering wheel hard in each direction. Sometimes, it would repeat that behavior - radio blinks off and back on, power steering gives out, engine sounds like it's losing power. Killing the ignition and restarting often solved the issue. Interesting (maybe?) is the fact that when I killed the ignition, all the gauges on the dash would go through sequence of needles hitting 0, max, 0. This is the only time I ever see this.
=> Video: https://youtu.be/5ozQ4KY4hoM
About one month ago, the car does this while driving down a highway. Engine lulls, radio goes off and on, power-steering goes out randomly. But it happens every time I tap the brakes, turn up/down the A/C, use a blinker, turn the wheel - basically anything that required electrical power, imo. I hobble the car to the nearby Mazda dealership, describe the problems, say it seems like something electrical and they keep at it over night. They call back the next day and tell me that the throttle body was caked - they've never seen one so dirty. They clean it and replace the plugs. $$$ Car works fine.
Last week, beginning of the same issue with the turns. Today, car is doing it as I drive in a straight line.
Best course? I'm leaning towards finding someone nearby to replace the battery, wires and alternator as a starting point.
Other info:
2008 Mazda 3i
5-speed manual transmission
165k miles
There seem to be no problems in starting the car.
Battery terminal has some corrosion, but nothing too bad looking. The connections seem tight.