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Replaced my starter slow crank/no start and no crank no start.

18K views 37 replies 11 participants last post by  VWandDodge 
#1 ·
2006 Mazda 3 2.0L
*top bolt wasn’t stripped, they were just dumb and couldn’t get it to screw in*
Anyway, replaced my starter, my battery was dead so after an hour of it hooked up to jumper cables, it started. Told my buddies to drive it for a bit to charge up the battery, they didn’t. I get home from work and excited to drive my car finally, and it gave me a no crank no start.
Took my battery to AZ and they charged it up and it tested as a good battery.
Go home, put it in, car slowly cranks, but will not start.
I tried to start it a few more times, then it gave me a no crank no start, as if the battery is dead.
The starter I put in it is from an 08 m3 with the 2.0L.
 
#3 ·
If, and I mean if, the battery was indeed charged and OK, then it should have started again like it did when the jumper cables were on it and it was charged for an hour. Sounds like the battery isn't good. Did you try doing the jumper cable thing again? Plus, are the power and ground connections good to the engine and starter from the battery? If they are not, you could have a voltage drop issue that is only overcome by the battery aided jump start giving the extra boost over the stand alone battery. In addition, it is possible that the used starter could be bad causing the same issue and jump start only starting. But the fact that it goes dead after slowly cranking a few times sounds like a bad battery. As far as a parasitic draw causing this, you would know it because you would get a serious arch when you connect the cables. It would be a large parasitic draw to be killing the battery that fast. I seen it once on a 1998 Camry. Ended up being the starter shorted internally. In that case, the starter didn't work but went up in smoke. Clearly not your issue.

Try jump starting again. If it starts, then I would suspect a bad battery. AZ and other parts store testers aren't always accurate. Even the one we have at work can err on the side of pass on a bad battery sometimes, not often, but sometimes.
 
#4 ·
...
Try jump starting again. If it starts, then I would suspect a bad battery. AZ and other parts store testers aren't always accurate. Even the one we have at work can err on the side of pass on a bad battery sometimes, not often, but sometimes.
^^ Although it's never happened to me, I've seen this same thing reported a number of times on various auto forums.

And just an aside that I can never understand why so many people just hang on parts instead of trying to do a bit of research and diagnose problems. I guess maybe it seems like the easiest thing to do, but so often it works out just the opposite.
 
#5 ·
I’ve found a snapped wire.

And this black connector that seems like it should have a wire, (reference the bold you see is my lower starter bolt)
I’ve taken a screenshot from a different video and it seems like I need that wire to go into said connector.

Is this the oil pressure sensor?
Anyone know exactly what the black and green connector is?
 

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#6 ·
A little back story.
When I bought the car last April, it had an intermediate starting issue to begin with, over nights it would take a few try’s to get her going, but if I drove to the store, was in there for about 10 minutes I’d come back out and it’d fire right up. A few times of a no crank no start I tapped my starter and she started. One morning about 2 months ago she gave me nothing, even with tapping the starter so I figured it finally went out.
When I was replacing it I noticed whoever did it before me never put the top bolt back in, maybe because it was a pain to get to.
I’m thinking one of the people I’ve had help me with this starter accidentally snapped the wire.
I still find it weird it turned on with the cables, and ran not hooked up to them, but now acts crazy.
 
#7 ·
That black and green one sure looks like the oil pressure sender, if it's screwed into the housing that the oil filter attaches to then it definitely is.



What rickkari said about battery testers is correct. We have two testers at work, one is a load tester and the other is a small Midtronics tester that tests the battery in a way that doesn't use load. I've had batteries pass on the Midtronics tester but fail on the load tester and vise versa. Also, using a manual load tester and not applying the load for long enough can also give a false "good" test on a battery. Either of these could cause the the parts store to give an incorrect report on battery health.
 
#10 ·
It won't. While the oil pressure switch wiring should be fixed it isn't the source of your problem. The issue is most likely one of four things: A bad starter, a bad battery, a bad connection at or between the starter and battery, or a bad engine ground. As theblooms said, a parasitic draw could also be part of the problem but it wouldn't be bad enough that your freshly charged battery wouldn't be able to start the car after just putting it in. If it was then you would have a huge spark when hooking it up and the wire sheathing on the battery cables would start to melt. Barrow a known good battery from another car or buy a new one from a place that will allow you to return it if it isn't the problem (Walmart) and see if it starts.
 
#9 ·
I lived in Alaska for over 30 years, where a bad battery can mean the difference between life and death. Now I live in Florida, where the summer heat is just as bad for batteries, and while it may not be life and death here, it can be a major annoyance. If I am in doubt about a battery, I just replace it with the best battery I can find. If I still have a problem, I will attempt to troubleshoot it, and if that is beyond my ability, I will have a professional do it.

Bad batteries can cause a whole array of electrical parts to fail, particularly when the vehicle is being started. Much like bad tires, if you have a bad battery, your car is an unreliable hunk of junk until you replace the battery. Just my opinion, mind you, but it is one based on experience. You REALLY need to rule out the battery.
 
#13 ·
Fixed the wire, still didn’t start(you told me so 😂😆) Wouldn’t even crank.
I didn’t hear my starter click.
Anyone else think the used starter I got went bad from sitting for over a month? When I got it from the salvage yard the first one they sold me was a dud, took it back and they said they tested it and it was good.
I’m gonna get down there and tap on it today, if that still dosent help I’m just taking it back out and getting it tested and buy a new one.
The only time it’s started the last two months was 12/30/18 when we jumped the battery, hasn’t started since
 
#15 ·
I am not sure as I got it from a salvage yard and they first one they sold me was a dud, who’s to say the second one isint.
It’s only taken me so long because, Ohio weather with a car that’s outside and no where else to work on it.

If the solenoid is bad that will show up on the test right? (Maybe a stupid question but I don’t know a lot about cars) I know that the solenoid is technically a different part then the starter, but would be pointless to replace the solenoid and more practical to replace the whole starter.
 
#17 ·
Before I picked up the relay my buddy said he wiggles a cluster of wires that are in between my engine and radiator and my car fired right up. Drove it about for a while, pulled back in the drive and turned it off. Went to turn it on and nothing. A few seconds later it fired right back up.
 
#19 ·
I would trace all your wires and clean all ground connections. The 1st gen M3 has a TSB about a wire that goes to the starter. The TSB tells the tech to sandpaper the spade connector piece and wire in a new "cord short" in place of it. Doesn't always fix the problem but you are definitely on the right track of wiring issue. I have an 08 hatch and it just did that to me. All lights came on, a jump wouldn't start it and I tapped the starter and wahla. Or - I bumped one of the bad wires down there and it started. No problems since. I only have 98K on mine and it shouldn't be a bad starter at that mileage. It's also been cold as hell, mag water on the road where I live so a multitude of things could apply here. When it warms up I am going to take the starter out and clean up all connections for now.
 
#24 ·

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#35 · (Edited)
Starter problems/Difficulty REMOVING starter?

This isn't going to help the OP but for others experiencing the same in the future...
I had nearly the identical symptoms at first, went through all the same battery testing, charging, replacing nonsense. Coincidentally, I'm also in Northern Ohio.

For me the problem turned out to be the short cable running from the solenoid to the starter. It was corroded until only a few strands still made a connection, unable to handle the load, until the last strand went. Maybe I'm also having the problem mentioned in the Tech Service Bulletin and its merely a coincidence that I found this while exploring.

I haven't finished yet.

I did learn that these wires rotting out on Mazda 3s seems to be a common issue so something for you to keep in mind and look out for.

Did any of you that replaced the starter motor have difficulty removing it?

I'm trying to replace mine ( on a 2004 Mazda 3, 2.3 liter, automatic).
I do not have a (Mazda, Chiltons,etc) shop manual. I found at least one suggestion online to address it from above after removing the air box, etc.
but, so far I've been approaching it only from below.

The previous owner removed and did not replace the plastic splash guard/kick plate causing corrosion underneath. This should be a super simple job but so far I haven't been able to get past the first nut.

I've applied penetrating oil more than a dozen times, used sockets, wrenches til the points got too rounded, then tried extractor sockets (resisting as long as I could but, eventually,) even resorting to vice grips but all to no avail.

*top bolt wasn’t stripped, they were just dumb and couldn’t get it to screw in*
OP kreimo16,
What did you mean? Wondering if I may be doing the same dumb thing?
Is there anything I could possibly be overlooking?
..or is this just a particularly stubborn nut?

The only other thing that I can think of left to try is putting a torch to it which I'm a little reluctant to do. Could it make things even worse possibly causing irreparable damage the stud?

Plus, considering how difficult this one is, I have no reason to believe the second nut --that I won't be able to see and barely be able to access -- won't be as bad.

I try to do things correctly, already have the new starter and got it at a good price but I'm growing tempted to just try replacing that wire with the starter still mounted ..even if to drive it to a garage but then, once there, what would/could they do that I'm not?

Has anyone here experienced anything similar with replacing their starter? Any helpful insight, suggestions, etc are appreciated.

Thanks
 
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