To give a little background, my FB decided to stop starting (not even a click, which made me think of a bad solenoid) about a week ago and I was just able to take a look at it now. I got under the car hoping to remove the starter and saw a thin red wire coming out of the solenoid and just hanging off (so I'm assuming it got disconnected). I've looked at the wiring diagram and haven't been able to find where this wire connects to. There was a harness connector hanging off by the side but I didn't want to fry anything so I decided to ask you guys before I tried to connect anything especially since though it looked like the wires would fit, the harness connector had a plastic cover whereas the wire hanging off the solenoid just had a female spade connector. Any ideas?

Luis

 

volt meter

 

got pics?

 

Black/yellow (B/w for auto tranny) wire with plastic covered female spade terminal is power from ignition switch. It clips onto bare male spade terminal on starter. When this wire falls off, no click, no start. Red wire is not stock. Which terminal is it connected to?

 

OP said, thin red wire

 

thans for your help, the Black/yellow wire is connected where it should be. I'll take a photo of the red wire later today so you guys can see what I mean.

 

that would help. sounds like it may be something a previous owner added...

 

So I took another look (pics will come this evening) and the wire is coming out of the terminal closest to the drivers side.

 

Hey guys gere's the picture, any ideas? (I'm starting to lean towards the wire being added by the previous owner)

Luis

 

Can you see where it goes? On the 12A cars, there is usually a fusible link on that side that goes to a LW wire and then to the hot start assist relay. My guess is the fusible link blew or was damaged and the PO couldn't find a replacement, so they just used wire instead.

See if it connects to a blue wire with a white stripe.

 

thats definatly FAR from oem. as Kent suggested, trace the wire back to its origin and that'll help us determine what its been wired in for.

 

Well, the wire turned out to connect to the hot start assist (blue/white wire). Thanks to everyone for their suggestions especially Kent and mazdaverx713b.

 

glad we could help. do you plan on disconnecting the wire?

 

I think I'll keep it connected to the hot start assist for now

 

is the hot start assist not functioning without it?

 

Sounds like sombody was bypassing the temperature-dependent activation of the HSA; wired like that, the HSA would activate every time the starter did.

Betcha you've got (or at one time had) a bad temp sensor... or some other fault in the HSA drive circuit (ECU, relay, etc.)

 

If he disconnects it, the hot start assist will not work. That terminal gets juice only when cranking, so when cranking and the engine is warm enough, the hot start assist pulls the throttle open a bit. There is normally a fusible link there, but I suspect that it got blown or was damaged during a starter replacement or something.

 

Yeah, but wired like that, the HSA will be pulled in on crank whether the engine is hot or cold. It's bypassing the logic, right?

That would make cold starts harder, I'd think; throttle open whether you want it or not.

 

that sounds reasonable to me. i think he should fix the problem or disconnect with wire and forget about the hot start.

 

Not exactly. The LW wire goes to the hot start relay. The water temp switch (No. 1) also feeds into the hot start relay. The hot start relay only activates the hot start motor if there is power at the starter terminal (cranking) AND that the water temp switch indicates that the engine is warm. This way will work just like stock (without protection from the fusible link).

However, I see where some confusion could come from. It turns out the the wire from the starter fusible link and the wire from the water temp switch are both LW (blue w/ white stripe). I assume that he has it connected to the one that is supposed to go to the starter terminal.

Simple enough to test:
- crank the car (cold) and have someone see if the hot start assist motor moves
- repeat with a hot engine

 

Well thanks everybody for the food for thought and I just want to confirm that Kent was right. The red wire indeed plugs into the HSA relay and the water temperature switch IS plugged into the other LW wire. On a starter related note, the long bolt on the starter is stuck in there and will not budge even after soaking it overnight with PB blaster (did this twice in a row) and its starting to round off. My neighbourhood shop said they'll remove the bolt for free as long as I provide them with a replacement. Are the 2 bolts the same? Meaning if I remove the short bolt can I take it to the hardware store and match the long bolt to it? If not does anyone know the size of the long bolt?

Thanks in advance,

Luis

 

Luis, the bolts are different. order a new one from the dealer, they're cheap enough. i can provide you with the part number if need be. try a little heat on the bolt where it threads into the starter. be careful not to overheat the starter ear and melt it. heat it up, turn the bolt clockwise to break the corrosion and then once it breaks free, loosen it out.

 

Thanks for the suggestion Dave, if you could provide me with the part # it would be greatly appreciated

 

So I just spoke with a Mazda dealership and they said the bolt is discontinued. Anyone know the specs so I can pick one up at a hardware store?

 

Where were you able to find a new bolt for your starter? Mine is doing the same thing that your did, and I need a new one.
Thanks,