Mazda3 Lighting & Electrical Questions

whobodym · February 2010

Anyone know if it's possible to do the "personal preference" settings yourself? (example, length of time dome light will stay on, etc.) I went for dealer setting yesterday, and got told my car can't do the "3 blink" turn signal option even though the leaflet and my owners manual say it can. Also, I asked for 1-touch-unlocks all doors (instead of 1 for drivers, 2 for all), and the car doesn't seem to do that even though my signed checklist said I wanted it and they didn't say they couldn't do it. There's a nagging doubt they just didn't read my list carefully...

whobodym · February 2010

and I also asked for "automatically lock when you walk far enough away from the car" (I have advanced stays-in-pocket key). This feature seems to work correctly, but it's taking a while to puzzle out how the car beeps at me now. There are many more single beeps when doors are opened now, but without flashers flashing. What's the exact interpretation of these new beeps? It's clear that single-beep-no-flashers is NOT locking doors.

whobodym · February 2010

after 10 days getting used to them, in drizzly northwest climate, I am not sure I understand or like them. behavior is very erratic in light rain, sometimes going way too long with no wipes, sometimes practically running continuously in exactly the same amount of spray. The +/- sensitivity rotating ring does not seem to make any difference, to me. What does "+" mean anyway, more wiping, or more waiting? Are there any steps to take to make performance more consistent, such as washing or polishing the windshield at the sensor? I don't have much experience with auto wipers on any other cars, except one 2-week period with a 1999 Peugeot 406 in the UK. Its auto wipers worked MUCH more consistently than my new MZ3. Advice or generalized rants welcome...

whobodym · April 2010

Success -- I tried a second dealer (University of Seattle) to set my 2010 MZ3 personalization features. The "one touch unlocks all doors" and "one push of signal level gives 3 blinks" both work perfectly now. I have no idea why this was difficult for Mazda of Everett WA back in February.

angel1955 · May 2011

Does anybody know what it takes to replace the battery cable on a 2005 Mazda 3, or find a the bttery cable diagram?

carlsbad17 · June 2011

So I bought a used 08 Mazda3 in Dec 2010, and didn't have any problems with it until a couple of months ago. Randomly, my brake light will come on, the air conditioning stops being cold, the blue backlighting of the speedometer goes away as well as the orange backlighting for the radio, and the signal arrows will not come up or make the clicking sound inside (though I've found that they work outside).

I took it to the dealership to check it out on Monday, and they tried to say it was due to a broken foglight (which was broken when I bought the car, although I didn't notice before driving off the lot). So, they disconnected the foglight, claiming everything would be ok, but as soon as I got on the highway, the brake light returned with its host of other accompanying problems. They claimed that the brakes, etc. were ok, but it's about to be July and air conditioning is pretty important, as well as knowing if the brake light is really coming on because my brakes are not functioning.

Does anyone have any idea what could be going on with this? I honestly feel a little mistrusting of this Mazda shop now because they claimed it was such a simple fix....like, isn't there a computer you can hook up that tells you what is wrong? I would appreciate it if they didn't play "guess and check" with my multi-thousand dollar purchase, you know?

PF_Flyer · June 2011

Chasing down electrical gremlins can be downright frustrating, and sometimes it's surprising how one issue can cause electrical problems in some other area that seems completely unrelated.

Seems like the obvious place to start checking is the power supply to the dash. No back light on the speedo, radio, and turn signal indicator on the dash not showing would make me think that the root of the problem is in that neighborhood.

I'm not sure I'd mistrust the shop just yet. They tried something simple at first, which is better than starting at "complicated and expensive" and finding out later it could have been a simple fix.

lindalee2 · July 2011

I bought an 08 Mazda3 in Oct of 2010 and my car is now doing the same thing as yours. It started a month ago with the blue dash lights flickering on and off as well as the orange radio lights. I took it into the shop to have the computerized electrical system checked for $45 and they couldn't find anything wrong. They said it was probably the alternator and would cost between $850-$900 to put in a new one. The car is out of warranty. They weren't sure that was the problem but that's what they GUESSED.

Now, a month later when I was leaving work at 5pm yesterday, my car did the same thing as yours. The AC was blowing hot air, the turn signals wouldn't work or make any noise, the brake warning light came on, the auto lock/unlock wouldn't work, the power windows wouldn't work, and the lights on warning sound didn't work when I turned off engine.

The car is at the dealer's again today but I really don't think this is an alternator problem. They said the battery will recharge itself after several hours. But it sat still for 9 hours yesterday and wouldn't work at 5pm but then at 8pm last night, everything worked fine again as well as this morning.

This is driving me nuts..no pun intended. Any ideas of what's going on?

lindalee

autonomous · July 2011

I really don't think this is an alternator problem
My understanding is that for electrical problems, if your battery is fine then the alternator is an obvious suspect; not the only suspect but an obvious one.
took it into the shop ... They said it was probably the alternator ... cost between $850-$900
Is this shop a Mazda dealership? If you don't trust this shop, you may want to have a diagnostic done at another shop. At minimum, another shop could confirm the cost to install a new alternator. I would be reluctant also to invest nearly $1K on a repair of which I am unsure.

The car is out of warranty
How long out of warranty? When in 2008 was the car built? It is unusual for a three year old car to require a new alternator. Was the car involved in an accident, flood or some other problem? If not, I'd speak to a Mazda dealership about this and then send a letter of concern/complaint to Mazda USA. My ten year old Mazda Protege still has its original alternator.

roadburner · July 2011

This isn't rocket science; the dealer needs to check the alternator output, load test the battery, and check for any excessive amperage draw when the car is totally shut down.
How hard can that be?

lmcdrm · September 2011

I've had some experience - a lot, actually - with faulty Mazda 3 electrical systems.

I have a 2008 (and a half) Mazda 3 "S" Sport hatch (some Mazda sites call it an "RS"). I currently have about 39K miles on the car - I bought it new in May of 2008. I live in the Southern California desert area (Palm Springs) and have been having intermittent electrical issues since 2009.

First time, it happened in a parking lot, idling, AC on (pumping as much as the semi-anemic system could provide) during a really hot (over 110 degrees) day. The power steering failed. Resting and restarting the car a few hours later, no problems. It happened once again that summer.

Forward to summer, 2010. Having electrical issues - again - and trying to figure out how to get to Mazda and get it worked on - heard about the upcoming (at the time) power steering recall. Waited to do that - as that's what I figured was causing the electrical issues; I thought the power steering system was overheating and faulting the electrical system.

Welcome to summer 2011 - still having issues. Taken to the local dealership. First time - they replaced the alternator. A few weeks later, same issues, the replaced the alternator AGAIN. Another few weeks, and the same issues. This time, they replaced the power control module (PCM). Again, a few weeks later (yes, this it attempt #4), Mazda corporate service got involved and they found a potentially shorting wiring harness and the connector to the alternator from the PCM. I'll pick the car up this next week. :confuse:

Hopefully, there will be no more issues with the electrical. Thank goodness for the MEPP Total Care warranty I bought when the car was new...! Not a cent out of My pocket. :shades:

lmcdrm · September 2011

the dealer needs to check the alternator output, load test the battery, and check for any excessive amperage draw when the car is totally shut down.
How hard can that be?

See My reply in this thread - it can be pretty damn hard! :sick:

roadburner · September 2011

it can be pretty damn hard!

Agreed- if the service department is totally incompetent. They were doing what I refer to as "flailing"- throwing parts at the problem in the hope that something might work.

28firefighter · October 2011

My fiancee's car has had its fourth no-start in a year. Here is the outline of what has happened (posted in another thread that is unrelated to this). My fiancee does not drive much, however, it does get driven 2-3 times per week, at least one of which is a significant jaunt.

First time: December 2010 - car no starts after having sat for a day without being driven, in 3 degree weather. Car jumps fine, dealer says just to drive it, its probably the weather. Fine.

Second time: March 2011 - Car no starts again, no real explanation as to why. Dealer says bad battery, we buy a new battery, all seems fine.

Third time: July 2011 - car no starts AGAIN, throws a check engine light. Dealer says it has a negative ground wire cable, and replaces it under warranty.

Fourth time: October 2011 - car no starts after having been driven approximately 80 miles the day before without issue. Dealer says car is fine, battery is fine. They say the battery was completely dead and would have needed far more juice than a simple jump would have provided. They further tested the alternator, and said it was fine, as well as doing a parasitic load check which came back normal.

I don't buy it. I am thinking about filing a grievance with Mazda corporate, because this is not normal at all for a brand new battery.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

autonomous · October 2011

Based on your description, except for the fourth case, I don't find the problems unusual or their resolution unreasonable.

In the fourth case, was the battery "fine" or "completely dead"?
Fourth time: October 2011 - car no starts after having been driven approximately 80 miles the day before without issue. Dealer says car is fine, battery is fine. They say the battery was completely dead and would have needed far more juice than a simple jump would have provided. They further tested the alternator, and said it was fine, as well as doing a parasitic load check which came back normal.

Finally, have you added any audio or electronic equipment to the car (e.g. additional speakers, remote starter, GPS)?

28firefighter · October 2011

They said the battery itself was fine, just run down to completely dead (which happened in a period of 48 hours somehow following a 70 mile drive).

No extra electronics of any kind.

mboria · December 2011

Simular issue with my 2003 Mazda 3.

I noticed that when I lock my doors with my remote and the lights don't flash the car won't start the next day due to a dead battery.

Root Cause : Trunk switch issue. For some reason the light stays on in the trunk and drains the battery.

So try to notice if the lights blink when you lock the doors with the remote. If they do not drop a rear seat and look inside the trunk to see if the light is on.

The light switch is located in the trunk lock mechanism.

isopropyl · December 2011

Okay so I have looked everywhere and not found any sort of solution or fix for my current problem.

I have a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3, and currently I have been experiencing some on and off problems with my left side turn signals.

Week 1: Left side markers do not light up when locking / unlocking car, then when driving and turn on the left blinker I get 1 quick dash light and click however the blinker never lights up.

Week 2: No problems everything is normal

Week 3: Same as Week 1, left side does not work (Checked all bulbs and fuses none have problems) Additionally if I used the hazard lights only the right side lights up on the dash and only right side blinks. Normal clicking noise heard during hazards and right blinker.

Week 4: New issue, no turn signal lights on dash for either left or right and no clicking (tic-toc)noise heard when blinker blinks. The right side blinker works when used however no notification on dash nor any noise. Left side now is completly dead, no noise or lights.

Week 5: Driving to work started with nothing working (just as Week 4). When I arrived at work right blinker works as normal including noise and dash lights, left blinker completely dead.

I am so lost as I believed it was a relay or flasher unit however everything I have read states the car does not have either of those rather the ECU controls the blinker and the noise. I am really hoping it is not the computer as this would be a very expensive repair at a very hard time (Just informed my job will be elimated due to downsizing in March.)

Any thoughts, suggestions, or insight on this problem will be great as I have so much on my plate at the moment hard to try and imagine everything.

28firefighter · December 2011

I will check this out!

Thanks.

autonomous · December 2011

so I have looked everywhere
Could you be specific? For example, have you checked the fuses?

p.s. has your car been in an incident recently? I mention this only because in a former vehicle, someone bumped the front which affected the lighting.

28firefighter · December 2011

Car died again, but dealer is unable to reproduce the problem and says the car is perfectly fine.

At a complete loss as to what to do here.

whobodym · December 2011

I apologize that this sounds so snarky -- but you have a clear-cut case of "Find Another Dealer" and/or "Insist they keep the car until the problem manifests itself to them too". You might ask around, which is the smartest dealer in your area. I should too, actually; I've been underwhelmed at the Seattle-area dealers so far. Luckily my 2 Mazdas have no issues right now.

28firefighter · December 2011

It has been to two other dealers since I posted. No resolution - they recognize that there is a probable issue, but will not throw parts at it unless they have a clear issue to throw them at. So far all we have is an electrical gremlin that will not reproduce itself consistently.

I have no doubt that bringing the car home tonight (which I am) it will be fine, but that 3 weeks from now I'll go out to start it and it'll be dead with no apparent reasoning.

The problem with leaving it with them is that we do need a second car, and they will not give us a loaner car because to them, there is nothing apparently wrong. Right now, the problem manifests itself once every month to two months - I can't and won't leave a car with them for a month or two until a problem shows itself. Not to mention, I shouldn't have to.

mboria · December 2011

So I guess the issue is not with the trunk light staying on ?

28firefighter · December 2011

Not that I can tell. Seems to be turning off properly.

dan7166 · December 2011

Put my mazda 3 in garage three nights ago, tried to start it in AM and nothing. It has not been in shop since then and they are pulling pieces one at a time. Whole thing appears to be on one fuse and they have no idea what is causing drain.

28firefighter · January 2012

Consider yourself lucky they they have been able to pinpoint a fuse. Ours has done this 4 times in a year, and they can't trace it to anything.

isopropyl · January 2012

Could you be specific? For example, have you checked the fuses?
I have checked every fuse (both under the hood and in the passanger footwell) Seriously I checked every fuse to make sure they were all good. I also tried every connector under the hood to see if there was a loose wire and nothing helped. I am still without my entire left side blinkers. (Now I will say it is a safety concern, and wish I could find the issue!)

-No the car has not been in any accident, nor hit anywhere.

dj_flores · January 2012

We recently purchased a brand new 2011 Mazda3 hatchback from a dealer back in July. The car is only driven on weekends as we use mass transit to commute to work. In November, the traction control and power steering failure light came on after turning the car on and remained on through several restarts. Upon taking to the dealer that sold us the vehicle, it was determined to be caused by a faulty steering sensor. Replacing this sensor resolved the issue until January of this year.

The lights returned, and upon further investigation, it was determine that the issue was due to interference from the headlight switch. While all under warranty at this point, our concern is the level of work needed to make the repair. The dealer stated the entire dash is to be removed and have the wiring re-routed to correct the issue.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue? The vehicle only has about 5,000 miles at this point. Our biggest concern is that by re-routing the wiring in the dash, other potential issues could arise, even after our standard warranty expries. Any recommendations on what we should discuss with the sales and service department once the repair is completed?

All help is appreciated!!

autonomous · January 2012

If the work is being done by a Mazda dealership I would not worry too much. Just make sure to keep the documentation in case something untoward occurs.

stackman1 · March 2013

My niece's Mazda 3 hatchback couple of years old (sorry don't know actually). Is sitting too much and while we try to drive it - we don't do it enough apparently. Battery goes dead. Normally we can jump it but couldn't get it going over the weekend. She has been away since December. I checked the voltage on the battery and it was show ~9.3V after letting the battery get charged for about 20 minutes from my subaru and it its battery.

Here are my questions:
1. How bad is 9.3?
2. To just make sure it is only the battery - is there any reason I couldn't (for the sake of the test) - pull my battery out and attached it to hers - just to see if it turns over?

Thanks All

chizuru · May 2015

28firefighter said:
My fiancee's car has had its fourth no-start in a year. Here is the outline of what has happened (posted in another thread that is unrelated to this). My fiancee does not drive much, however, it does get driven 2-3 times per week, at least one of which is a significant jaunt.

First time: December 2010 - car no starts after having sat for a day without being driven, in 3 degree weather. Car jumps fine, dealer says just to drive it, its probably the weather. Fine.

Second time: March 2011 - Car no starts again, no real explanation as to why. Dealer says bad battery, we buy a new battery, all seems fine.

Third time: July 2011 - car no starts AGAIN, throws a check engine light. Dealer says it has a negative ground wire cable, and replaces it under warranty.

Fourth time: October 2011 - car no starts after having been driven approximately 80 miles the day before without issue. Dealer says car is fine, battery is fine. They say the battery was completely dead and would have needed far more juice than a simple jump would have provided. They further tested the alternator, and said it was fine, as well as doing a parasitic load check which came back normal.

I don't buy it. I am thinking about filing a grievance with Mazda corporate, because this is not normal at all for a brand new battery.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I see that this is an old post. However, clearly this is a continuing problem with Mazda 3s.

I have a 2011 Mazda 3 that did not start three days ago. After allowing it sit for several hours, it began starting once more. I took it to a dealership for a check up. Unfortunately, the dealership could not reproduce the event and the diagnostic test revealed nothing. The dealership told me that the event must be replicated before they can begin replacing parts. I understand where the dealership is coming from but what the dealership couldn't understand is that what they were asking of me is to risk my job, risk leave my child stranded at school, etc, waiting for this to happen frequently enough for the dealership to witness the issue.

I further explained that in addition to the above, this is possibly the second electrical issue we've encountered in the 13 months of owning this car. Coincidentally, the 12 month bumper to bumper warranty expired last month. Anyhow, when we had issues with the horn, it too worked intermittently, taking several trips to the dealership over a three month time span for the dealership to replicate the problem and arrive at a decision to replace the horn. At this point, I was given the number for the Mazda customer experience department. (800)222-5500.

Mazda made a suggestion that will hopefully save me months of frustration. I was told the next time the car does not start, do not continue to attempt restarting the vehicle. Contact the Mazda Roadside Assistance line at 800-866-1998 to have the car towed to the dealership. This service is free of charge until the vehicle reaches 100,000 miles. It was explained that when the car restarts, the error codes are deleted. Restarting the vehicle means that there is no longer a problem with the car.

I hope this information is helpful to others.

Mazda3 Lighting & Electrical Questions

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