Short. (What'd you call me?)

Strange things are afoot on the Mazda GD.

Anyways, on my way into work today, i noticed that my cooling fan wasn't turning on when i pulled into the parking garage.

Meh. No big deal, i was getting ready to re-vamp the cooling setup, anyways.

I worked my shift, then went to leave, and it all went bad.

Car started right up. Weather is getting E36 M3ty, so i flipped my lights on. Car dies immediately. Hrm. Shut off lights. Start car again, flip on lights, car dies again.

Leave lights on, try to start car, unsuccessful. Check alternator and battery, both are good.

Find out the car keeps running with the running lights on, but will only shut off if the headlights are turned on. So, i decide i'll just drive it home.

Here's where it gets weird. Since it's crappy out, i decide to make sure my wipers work. On the lowest setting, they make it halfway across my windshield, then stop. Work fine on the higher settings.

ALSO, if my running lights are on, and i flip on my turn signal, i get some bleed-over on the dash lights. If i flip on left, the left blinks, the right blinks faintly and my high beam indicator blinks faintly.

If i flip on right, the right links, the left blinks faintly, and the high beam indicator blinks faintly. In all scenarios, they're flashing too fast.

If i turn on the hazards, the car shuts off.

If my running lights are on, and i flip a turn signal, and check and see what it looks like from the OUTSIDE, pretty much all the signal lights are blinking. Oh, and the running lights blink at the same time as well. It's really REALLY weird.

Basically, the only way the car drives without a hitch at the moment is if it's daylight and sunny. HALP.

I know it's gotta be a short of some kind. Would it be a power wire grounding to the chassis somewhere likely? Any ideas if i should start at the light end? Or if it sounds like something more likely to be found in the dash? (Dear god i hope not)

Bad ground. Shorts blow fuses, grounds make you car seem possessed. Almost everything weird in the electrical system of a car can be traced to a bad ground. Check them all.

Bad ground

Toyman01 wrote: Bad ground. Shorts blow fuses, grounds make you car seem possessed. Almost everything weird in the electrical system of a car can be traced to a bad ground. Check them all.

Hooooo boy. There's a lot of grounds. I don't even know where they all are.

So basically i need to find a ground block that incorporates wipers, front lights, and wipers? That would narrow it down a little, as i find it pretty unlikely that three separate grounds have bit the dust all at once, yes?

I appreciate the help, guys!

id actually say the instrument panel/dash grounds from what you were saying. on a lot of muscle cars, etc, the just depended on the metal dash to ground when bolted to the body. adding an auxilary there really helps stabilize the system.

id start at the negative battery terminal, and work your way out, cleaning, tightening, and tug testing every ground wire. its been my experience that with the older stuff, once one starts to go bad, the rest arent far behind.

I think it is a main ground line that is bad and it easy to check. Take a jumper cable set and clamp one end of one of the cables to the negative battery post and the other end to a bare metal area of the block (like a bare bolt). Start the engine and see if anything changes. If not, take the clamp off the block and move it to a bare bolt on the chassis and check the symptoms again.

NOTE: Always clamp and unclamp the cables with the engine off. The sudden grounding of an open circuit can cause a surge that may blow electronic components. Ask me how I know

Thanks guys, i'll be tearing into it tomorrow. Luckily she's off work today so i drove the Jeep, since i need to go install my MFactory diff in the MX3 trans for the Escort this evening anyways.

Hopefully it's nice enough tomorrow that i can just drive to work and to the garage without the headlights on.

carzan wrote: I think it is a main ground line that is bad and it easy to check. Take a jumper cable set and clamp one end of one of the cables to the negative battery post and the other end to a bare metal area of the block (like a bare bolt). Start the engine and see if anything changes. If not, take the clamp off the block and move it to a bare bolt on the chassis and check the symptoms again. *NOTE:* Always clamp and unclamp the cables with the engine off. The sudden grounding of an open circuit can cause a surge that may blow electronic components. Ask me how I know

carzan is right on the money.

On that subject... how do i replace that ground line? Just.... cut it off and put new wire there?

Or are the things i'm seeing on rockauto actually direct replacements?

1990 MX6 GT

Check to see if there is a ground strap from the engine block to the chassis. Many times I have found that there is none. Usually the battery ground cable goes directly from the battery terminal to the block, that is probably the best spot for the block to chassis strap. Often the factory installs them from the bellhousing to chassis or around the rubber motor mount with a very short strap.

My first hairpulling session with lost grounds occured when a VW diesel pulled up in front of my shop that could not be shut down by turning the key off. He said he thought the car may have been hit by lightning on the commute from work. I saw that the radio antenna was missing and a black spot had burned into the paint at the ant. mount. I looked into the engine comp. and saw several ground wires burned off. It turned out that ALL the ground wires in the whole car were burned off.

No, it's really possessed. Find a young priest and an old priest as fast as you can. Sprinkle with holy water hourly until it can be exorcised.

ultraclyde wrote: No, it's really possessed. Find a young priest and an old priest as fast as you can. Sprinkle with holy water hourly until it can be exsorcised.

I think i'll just send it to hell first.

First rule of electikery is that "if it is behaving really weird, it is ALWAYS a ground issue.

I learned this lesson many times while working n the boat repair business. Trailer wiring was forever falling to bad grounds and doing weird stuff.

Trailer wiring= heart palpatations and lots of swearing,

I just want to say that this thread got good responses! Brings a smile to my face to read problem-solving posts that make sense.

I think it is Dwights rule with fiats... "always check the ground"

That's pretty freaky with the rabbit diesel

you say this is a Mazda ? sounds more like lucas electronics British sportscar to me

wbjones wrote: you say this is a Mazda ? sounds more like lucas electronics British sportscar to me

It's a Mazda with 185k miles on it, totaled twice, and just generally neglected for most of it's life.

This being really the second problem i've had out of it in two years, i'm ok with it.

But yes.... it DOES seem that Lucas has visited me! I am honored.

you should be able to find a replacement ground strap in the HELP! section at autovance if you can find the bad ground.

also, i think i remember that lights, cooling fan relay, a/c relay and blinkers are all in the same box under the hood, just aft of the stock airbox. or at least i think i remember it being there on my probe.

Sounds like a poor battery terminal connection. But then maybe not, since it starts. Worth checking anyway.

Strizzo wrote: you should be able to find a replacement ground strap in the HELP! section at autovance if you can find the bad ground. also, i think i remember that lights, cooling fan relay, a/c relay and blinkers are all in the same box under the hood, just aft of the stock airbox. or at least i think i remember it being there on my probe.

Yep, it's all in the same box. It's not in the same place anymore, but they're all in the same box.

Anyways, drove the car in to work today and it drove just fine. Without lights, at least.

Hopefully you don't let the smoke out of something by driving it before fixing the car properly...

^Heh, true, but so far, so good.

It's my DD, so i don't have much choice on days she has to work anyways.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

Understood. Sometimes electricity finds a route home that you didn't envision.

I dont know what these jerks are talking about, but, to me, its obviously a ground issue.

Joey