Car wont start and told its Immobliser
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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…
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Don't know what you mean by pulled up the codes or what they are for , looked at the link but means nothing to me , as in what there for and used for .. sorry
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Fault codes ..when an engine is poorly ie has faults it stores them in the ecu ..you can pull these codes by following the link i posted …
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Just looked at the link again and it still means nothing to me.
Under a bonnet i know where to put oil and water and thats where it ends :-(
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put it this way a garage will normally charge between 40-60 pounds for this but you can do it for free,,
im amazed the garage you went to didnt do this as then you may know what was or still is wrong jane..
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i dont know could be somet stupid like a vacuume leak or dodgy vaf but like people said u cant really be sure without pulling the codes
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I haven't got the know how to pull the codes even tho its been explained,and have not found anyone who specialises in mazda's apart from going to mazda main dealer .
I feel like i've rang half of the people in yellow pages for people that deal in auto electricts etc. Not found one yet that knows much about mazdas.But I live in hope to get it sorted soon.
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@b9050bffc3=Mini-me:
I haven't got the know how to pull the codes
**Sure you have. Until I did the cambelt change 5 weeks ago, I'd only turned a spanner on one of my own cars for 20 minutes.
It's just a set of instructions - a recipe if you will (sexism time!) - and so long as you get the right ingredients and do everything in the right order, you have just as much ability as the next person.
Give it a whirl - you'll surprise yourself.**
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Right guys … had a good guy come round and he pulled my codes , says its def the ECU and yes it has had some water on it . Its got vert slight corrosion on one egde inside.
He said that ECU that that Mikey posted from ebay was a good buy but if its not got a key it will depend on if it can be re coded .So now trying to find one with a key.
But not having much luck so far.
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Jane its your lucky day i was trawling through ebay and….
also you could try giving this number a call and ask for Russ..
TEL.07813205343
i know he currently has one mx3 in breaking and another on the way soon..
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WINNER!
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The latest !!
Got a new ECU , ignition barrel and key and guy has fitted it , well now the key light flashes but it still dies and the key light keeps flashing . My ECU was damaged and this looks like a good ECU but still wont run .
I'm tearing my hair out now .
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Has anyone got any ideas what else it could be ?
It starts , runs for 30 seconds then dies and now the key light just keeps flashing .
The guy says its flashing like got wrong key so sending wrong signal.
My ECU had got water damage so wasn't even letting the key light show up.
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where did you get the ecu and key from…