Discussion
Hi guys, bought my mx5 yesterday , heavy raining , had to drive about 100 miles to get home , it was driving fine with no issue whatsoever, about 10 miles before getting home i turned the lights on and battery charge light started dimming on and off and engine started cutting off ! before i even get a chance to pull the car , engine stopped just middle of the road !! pushed the car to side and it wouldn't start up and all i could hear was that clicking noise ! been waiting for AA break down to arrive and just noticed foot-well's were like a pool ! AA arrived and jump started driving slowly towards home and engine was cutting off badly messed up and rev on dash stopped working .... !! got home parked it and been told by AA that it needs a new alternator and battery !
today went to start it and not even a light coming on dash and is fully dead !
any help and suggestion would be great , thank you .
today went to start it and not even a light coming on dash and is fully dead !
any help and suggestion would be great , thank you .
Thank you so much . I'm not very good mechanically , i had like half an hour time to check the car and test drive , it had 6 years no advisory MOT passed history no rust underneath and sills and i did test whatever i've read on mx5's buying guide in here and it passed them all !! lol
I've been reading in here water on floor could be another reason to cause all electrical messing up !! do you think is Ok to buy a used alternator from ebay ? or must go for new part ??
took carpet& those rubbers off to drain both sides , still don't know where all that water came from !
I've been reading in here water on floor could be another reason to cause all electrical messing up !! do you think is Ok to buy a used alternator from ebay ? or must go for new part ??
took carpet& those rubbers off to drain both sides , still don't know where all that water came from !
Edited by Franco totti on Saturday 9th August 15:09
Its a faulty alternator or dead battery that simple. Nothing to do with the ecu for water to reach the ecu you need atleast an inch of water on the passenger floor to reach the pins for the ecu.
Various breakers of mx5 around the country find the one nearest to you and see if they have a good used one in stock. Its a fiddly job to do mainly the position of the lower bolt which can be awkward to get to. But plenty of guides online.
What part of the country are you from.
Various breakers of mx5 around the country find the one nearest to you and see if they have a good used one in stock. Its a fiddly job to do mainly the position of the lower bolt which can be awkward to get to. But plenty of guides online.
What part of the country are you from.
Hardly an auspicious start to mx5 ownership, but don't let it put you off. Back in the day had a 1.6 mk1 version, j plate with 130,000 on the clock. Kept it for a year and added another 15,000 miles and it never let me down once. Only issue was a split rear screen, but that was my own fault for trying to lower the roof when the temperature was hovering around zero.
Not that quick in a straight line, but a beautifully balanced chassis which you could get the rear out at speeds where you wouldn't kill yourself if your ambition exceeded your talent.
Happy days.
Not that quick in a straight line, but a beautifully balanced chassis which you could get the rear out at speeds where you wouldn't kill yourself if your ambition exceeded your talent.
Happy days.
I bought my 1992 1.6 Eunos last year and have loved it, but you NEED to get a firm grip on the mx5nutz.com forum and/or the owners club forum, and buy a manual, if you're going to own it. I just spent a month sussing out an electrical problem that kept it from starting; I pale at the thought of what it would have cost me to take it to a mechanic to go through it.
As you just bought it, first off you should consider replacing the plugs and leads--the high-tension leads tend to fry and create missing/starting problems, and it's an easy fix. First thing I did to mine. I'm mildly surprised your alternator is gone, but an easy fix again.
My car had 120,000 miles on it and I simply assumed new fluids would do well, so I changed the engine oil, tranny and diff lubes, and took apart the shift lever turret and replaced the gaskets and refilled it with 30W. If your shifting is a bit notchy, that is surely the problem, and it's a job that almost everybody seems to ignore.
The water in the footwell is going to be death on the ECU, as another writer above noted. It is located under the passenger-side carpet and a protective plate held by a few 10mm nuts. I would go in there and try to weather-proof the area as well as the ECU as soon as you can.
The owners club is a great bunch of people and really helpful with all sorts of problems. I recommend joining; I've really enjoyed the car that much more for being a member.
Welcome to MX-5 ownership!
As you just bought it, first off you should consider replacing the plugs and leads--the high-tension leads tend to fry and create missing/starting problems, and it's an easy fix. First thing I did to mine. I'm mildly surprised your alternator is gone, but an easy fix again.
My car had 120,000 miles on it and I simply assumed new fluids would do well, so I changed the engine oil, tranny and diff lubes, and took apart the shift lever turret and replaced the gaskets and refilled it with 30W. If your shifting is a bit notchy, that is surely the problem, and it's a job that almost everybody seems to ignore.
The water in the footwell is going to be death on the ECU, as another writer above noted. It is located under the passenger-side carpet and a protective plate held by a few 10mm nuts. I would go in there and try to weather-proof the area as well as the ECU as soon as you can.
The owners club is a great bunch of people and really helpful with all sorts of problems. I recommend joining; I've really enjoyed the car that much more for being a member.
Welcome to MX-5 ownership!
Thank you , very usefull information ,
My Problem is that i can't move the car and must find someone to fix it in here . i am near sheffield , phoned a mobile mechanic today and told him about alternator and new battery , he said alternator for £170 , battery £60 and £120 for labour to come and sort it out in my home garage ! looked in ebay and found battery for £40 and used alternator for 50! i wish i could do it myself
i was thinking to buy a new battery and just start it up to get somewhere local , at the moment there is not even a light comes on dash !!
keep searching ...
My Problem is that i can't move the car and must find someone to fix it in here . i am near sheffield , phoned a mobile mechanic today and told him about alternator and new battery , he said alternator for £170 , battery £60 and £120 for labour to come and sort it out in my home garage ! looked in ebay and found battery for £40 and used alternator for 50! i wish i could do it myself
i was thinking to buy a new battery and just start it up to get somewhere local , at the moment there is not even a light comes on dash !!
keep searching ...
And still don't know if alternator is faulty or problem is only old battery !! low mileage car and gentleman who i bought it from only used it in summer time , would like to phone him and ask him about any suggestion then thought there is no point to bother him , had chance to inspect the car and if i tell him what happened to me last night and got home 1am he might take it to the wrong way ! it wont start and is in coma in my garage but i love it !
Edited by Franco totti on Saturday 9th August 22:43
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