Car wont start and told its Immobliser
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First off ask yourself wheres my ecu located and then why would antifreeze get on it..(I think you have been blagged…)
Second the immobiliser is located in the ecu and has a chipped key that requires to comm with it to complete the circuit.. does the car crank/turn over on the key.....
do you have spark at the plugs...
do you have fuel getting to the engine...Remember your car should not crank/turn over if it has an immobiliser issue....
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if its just the immobiliser stopping the car from firing then yes. cus bump starting the car basically by passes the starter motor and if its factory fitted like my alarm was then it should be starter motor that is immobilised
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@5e01547f5b=Mini-me:
I've been told you can't just remover the immobiliser as its factory built in , sorry but its only what i'm being told.
I did ring sandicliff mazda and they said they MIGHT be able to bypass the immobiliser.
I've not got it back yet from the guy thats had it 2 weeks and now gonna return it not working.
But b4 it wasn't firing , but had a new distributor fitted since so will it jump start ?Total car num nut here sorry
it cannot be bypassed it has to be removed completely..if it was cranking then it should be a fuel or ignition issue…sounds like someone has been tampering with things theny do not know about,,
Kami your in notts mate aint ya can you not pop around and take a lookie when its returned bud..
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Rainmaker . I have no idea where the ECU is , he told me I needed an engine ECU and immobiliser ECU.
I may being given a load of bull , he did say tho that its out of his field.
He has told me it CAN'T be fixed and its a scrapper , I wont accept that and thats why i'm asking if anyone can put me in the right direction to someone that knows , Yes mazda said they might be able to bypass immobiliser but we all know mazda cost a small fortune and already paid out alot and still not running.
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yei could but im not mechanically gifted heh i can do code reading and have a basic very basic idea of wot to do but other than wot i suggested im not sure wot else could be done.
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The guy thats had it removed the ECU and said he took it somewhere for them to 'do it' do what I dont know , he's not really telling me much.
He said they couldn't do it ! as it had anti freeze on it and they couldn't read the numbers … its all over my head .
If anyone if local and can just have a look and give there advice i'd be very greatfull , as far as I know it might not be immobiliser.
When it didnt start I was very low on fuel and the breakdown guy said i'd prob ran out , but I didnt think it was that low , put £12 fuel in but still didnt start.
The rest I listed above , as in was told it was distrubitor now immobiliser
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heh well i got a spare ecu but its obd1 so dunno if its much good to u im afraid it seems the person u took it to is a burke and ripped u off good and proper. i would say get it down sandicliff and just pay the 60 odd pound and get the alarm taken out like i did. if u really worried u could aways get another alarm installed but for the sake of people stop fleecing u just remove it
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@52082f4c81=Mini-me:
Rainmaker . I have no idea where the ECU is , he told me I needed an engine ECU and immobiliser ECU.
I may being given a load of bull , he did say tho that its out of his field.
He has told me it CAN'T be fixed and its a scrapper , I wont accept that and thats why i'm asking if anyone can put me in the right direction to someone that knows , Yes mazda said they might be able to bypass immobiliser but we all know mazda cost a small fortune and already paid out alot and still not running.ok first off have a look at this threead and it will explain where your ecu is…
http://www.uk-mx3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1700Second lets wait until you have your car back and between us all we will endeavour to help and assist you in solving this issue
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yep yep
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**Yeah… the ECU (which contains the immobiliser, for reference - an immobiliser wouldn't be much use if you could bypass it by pulling a chip out from the engine bay!) is located in the passenger cabin, by the front-seat passenger's right foot.
Getting antifreeze on it would be kinda tough.**
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ye thats wot i though its no where near any anti freeze could have got water on from a leaking heater matrix i guess. like i say just say when the car gets back to u if u want ill come down and have a quick once over and try and bumpstart it see if its the mobbi but if it is i cant bypas it cus i dont have the skill heh. but at least u will know wot the exact problem is
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Thanx guys
He did say he would bring it back yesterday , then lunch time today , now he'll have to let me know !
Rainmaker I did see that topic of where ECU is , but he told me I had an engine ECU and immobiliser ECU and needed both so thought they could be in 2 places but he def said it had had antifreeze leaking on it so he couldnt read the numbers !
Anyway i'll give a shout when I get it back , I could get breakdown to bring it me back but if I need it taking to a garage they only do one recovery per breakdown so really gotta wait for him to bring it back.
Thanks alot anyway
Jane
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Sounds like that garage is a nut job.
I'd have a nice word with trading standards as he's giving you the runaround and i assume will charge you for it.
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I wouldn't expect you to do it Kami, would be nice if you could take a look and say if you think its the immobiliser or something else.
I'm not overly worried about having it removed and not having an immobiliser on it , just was told you can't do that. I hate it when machanics see a woman and tell them all sorts. I know not all are the same, thank god.
I'll let you know when I have it here
Jane
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Hi Jane Everyone seems hooked on a diagnosis of what sounds like a bit of a bumhead and is following what someone else has come up with
Go back to basics and work up from there, it was running but then died.
To start was it running a bit rough before it died ( hard to start, jerky from lights, stalling or drinking loads of fuel )
If yes check the plastic pipe from the air filter to the throttle body isnt broken the car will not start at all if that is broken and comes across as there being a fault with the immobiliser. If that pipe is fine then look at the next option
Electronics - take it to mazda or find a garage or mobile mechanic that specializes in mazda in your area and get them to put it on their diagnosis machine, it gives the same as an immobiliser if a sensor has gone and the diagnosis machine will pick this up instantly and it could be fixed for under £100 and unless you mechanic has this equipment he would not have a clue which of the 25 or so sensors on the engine has packed up
If your mechanic is delivering it on a lorry get him to take it straight to a mazda dealer and put it on the machine to find if it is a sensor
Fuel, is it getting fuel to the engine, the fuel pump may have packed up, you can turn it over but will not start like the immobiliser is on.
Things to check .. does it have a fuel filter ?? if it does and you run it with the fuel warning light on you could have blocked the filter with crap from the tank - this needs replacing
Fuel pump working?? take a pipe off the common rail running under the inlet manifold on the top of the engine and try turning the car over
If fuel squirts from that pipe then the fuel pump is working fine if not it will either be the fuel pump broken OR the immobiliser has stopped it as I think the immobiliser disables the fuel pump in these to immobilise it.
Key fob?? if it is immobilised then has the microchip in the key packed up, look on ebay as a guy there does the keys for £15 to be replaced.
I could keep going on but these are the basic things to try first after that it gets a bit more technical
A diagram so you know what to look for, this can all be done with a basic tool kit and in less than half an hour
The Green arrow is pointing at the injection rail joiner, remove one end of the pipe and then try starting the car, if petrol sprays out of one of the ends its NOT the immobiliser and its NOT the fuel pump, that rules out a lot of items
The RED Arrow is pointing at the air induction pipe, if there are any cracks, splits or holes or pipes missing in this pipe your car will not start like its immobilised, it might look fine but you need to undo each end lift it out and bend it a little while you turn it looking all over it, if you find any damage that will be the fault and they cost £50 from mazda and should be the first thing to check on the car if it doesnt start or just dies.
Also the big black box on the end of it has the air filter in it, if that hasnt been changed for a long time it wouldnt be the first time I have heard of a filter so choked it wont let the car run
Good luck
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Hi Jane,
Some good advice given already. Deffo the right places to check.
As far as I know anything to do with the immobiliser is contained in the ECU. There isn't a seperate one for the Immobiliser. Looking at the on line manuals I can't see anything either. Only other ECU in the car is the ABS one under the passenger seat.
See here: http://www.mx-3.com/manuals/index.phpMain ECU is behind the center consol accessed by the kick panel in the passenger foot well.
I do get the impression you're being passed around by garages. Nothing is impossible to fix and shouldn't result in scrapping the car.
If you have immobiliser issues you should get a warning light on the dash. When you turn the key to crank the engine over there should be an orange light at the bottom of the speedo with a picture of a key in it.
Normally it will light when the engine turns over and then go out when fired up. If you've got a fault on the immobiliser it will flash. This either means it can't connect with the key or there is another fualt. Either way it'll let you know.I get a funny feeling your original mechaninc that changed the disty has fooked up some where and trying to palm his fault off on something else. Problem is there are a few different distributors for the V6 depending on age as Mazda changed the wiring for the connectors on late models. 2 wires on the 3 wire connector to the disty are swapped, meaning if he's put an early model distributor on your 1997 car, it won't fire unless you swap those wires around.
I don't think the immobiliser stops the car from turning over, so firstly does it turn over on the key? Does the orange light flash? Can you push start the car? I understand you can't tell untill you get it back. Check all fuses in the engine bay and in the pannel on the drivers side by your right foot.
Before the disty was suspect what was happening with the car? Any loss of power or juddering, this is the frst signs of the disty going, they don't just stop working, they break down over time due to heat so it's gradual.
Also, in the pic DJmarco has posted, the pipe with the red arrow, there is an electrical connector to the VAF on the pipe. If he's forgot to plug this back in it won't start either.
Sorry for all the questions but trying to get a good idea of all symptons you had before the disty was changed. I still put good money on the wrong one being put on there!
Thing is you'll be surprised how many mechanics haven't got a clue when it comes to the Mazda V6 and they do more harm than good. Even when it comes to oil changes 99% of garages put the wrong oil in it!!!
If you do have immobilers issues this will sort you out straight away, not bad for 60 quid either!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ECU-LOCK-K862-079700-6871-MX3-MX-3-P-reg-V6_W0QQitemZ180482343489QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item2a05960241
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Thanks for all your replys.
Before it failed 2 weeks ago it was running fine, but did have a problem starting it twice but weeks apart, it just wouldn't fire , tried and tried then after about an hour it started, but that was during that very cold weather and when i'd not used it for a couple of days so put it down to that. but been fine for weeks.I'll let you know what its doing when i get it back.
The big air pipe I replaced last year so that should be ok.
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Well here is the latest , got it back not working
It starts , with white smoke from exhaust but dies within seconds.
That yellow light on the dash with the key in it doesn't come on.
Can't tell if its got petrol coming out that little pipe as only me here so can't try it.
Thanks for offering to have a look Kami but if i wait till wed it will be another week gone and still no car :-(
Jane
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Have you or anyone pulled up any codes yet??
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if it has'nt had them pulled Jane take a look here at this thread…