'06 Mazda 3 hard start/cold

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'06 mazda3 2.0L auto tranny(full tank of gas)...
My daughter calls me from her appt. in Buffalo the other day. "Hey dad, my car won't start"! So, I asked a few questions:

Q: How long was the car sitting?
A: 4 days!

Q: Is the starter turning and do you have lights/accessories?
A: Yes. Starter/Battery are both strong.

I(dad) put in the battery last year OCT 2010...AutoCraft GOLD 800cca

Q: Open the hood and see if there is any moisture under the hood?
A: Bone dry! We had no rain but the mornings are damp.

I had her stick her cell phone out of the car window and start the engine so I can hear for myself. YUP, turning strong, sounds great!

I had her hold her foot on the accelator pedal to the floor while starting...Nothing! Did this twice.

I said, go in the house and wait awhile so I can think for a minute and I'll call you back!

When I called back, I had her verify that the fuel pump was working by turning the key all the way, just before starting the engine. She could hear the quick--Hummm! Unfortunatly, she had to listen for the fuel pump Hummm through the "beep, beep, beep, beep" from turning the ignition key to "ON". I had her do this 4 times and then "try to" start the engine. It fired right up! "Thanks Dad"!

I said..."drive aroung the appt. complex so, if the engine stalls you don't have far to walk". "Make sure you stay close to the side so you can pull over, out of the way if it does stall".

She drove around the complex and accelerated a bit on a straight away. "Everything seems normal", she said. She call later in the evening and said that the "car started/ran like a top all day".

Guys, what may have happened here? I'm a bit perplexed!
 
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I had this same problem 2 weekends ago, my '09 Mazda5 was in my Dad's garage over night after I did the brakes. next morning, won't start! never had this happen!
tried again, held the pedal to the floor, finally got it running, haven't had a problem since.
I think she wasn't used to being in a garage, you know how they can be their first time.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Did she by any chance fill her tank shortly before parking the car?

These cars are very sensitive to overfilling, the purge solenoid valve can easily malfunction causing hard starts.


She actually filled the tank in Rochester and drove back to her appt in Buffalo(80 miles/50 Km) on Friday and called me on Tuesday. She is ill this week and is working from her appt and hadn't driven the car all weekend. So, the gas tank was actually still near the full mark even after the 1+ hour drive.

Typicaly she uses her car for work and does lots of driving on the job everyday. The car usually doesn't sit very long such as the 4 days that it has.

She may have overfilled the tank but, normaly she stops filling when the handle clicks off. So, I don't really know and she may not remember either! You'd think that the drive back to Buffalo would have taken care of any overfilling issues, hmmm? IDK!
smile.gif


I'm sure she'll call if this happens again. Then, I'll beleive there is an issue and not just a fluke.

Thank you guys on the "purge solenoid valve"
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Do not hold the gas pedal to the floor. Mazda programmed the ECU to cut off the fuel or spark plugs, so that this feature can be used to clear flooded engine.

Your best bet is to pump the gas pedal slightly while cranking.


Excellent advise! Thank you, I should have known this...Shame on me!
 
There is a service bulletin out on these cars for an intermittent no start. It is due to a corroded starter cable. The fix is quite simple.
 
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Originally Posted By: The Critic
There is a service bulletin out on these cars for an intermittent no start. It is due to a corroded starter cable. The fix is quite simple.
But this time it was cranking fine. I was going to guess that the anti drain back valve in the fuel system let the fuel drain.
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Do not hold the gas pedal to the floor. Mazda programmed the ECU to cut off the fuel or spark plugs, so that this feature can be used to clear flooded engine.

Your best bet is to pump the gas pedal slightly while cranking.


Excellent advise! Thank you, I should have known this...Shame on me!


Fun little tidbit, at least on the Ford clone Mazdas when you do this through the factory scan tool to run a relative compression test.
 
Have her get a can of spray starting fluid.
If it happens next time, tell her to give it a good squirt in the intake and see if the car pops.
This will identify fuel or ignition as the problem.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: The Critic
There is a service bulletin out on these cars for an intermittent no start. It is due to a corroded starter cable. The fix is quite simple.
But this time it was cranking fine. I was going to guess that the anti drain back valve in the fuel system let the fuel drain.


That's correct. The starter and battery are both fine in this case.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Have her get a can of spray starting fluid.
If it happens next time, tell her to give it a good squirt in the intake and see if the car pops.
This will identify fuel or ignition as the problem.


Mechtech2,
Thank you but that ain't happenin'!
There is no way she is going to get out of the car fully dressed up in a skirt/blouse, open the hood, and start spraying fluid in the intake. She would have to disconnect the airbox/T-body in order to start sprayin' fluid to even make it into the intake plenum. Don't even try to picture this!...

Yours truley,
DAD
 
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Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
Could it be a clogged fuel filter?


Yeah, maybe and another good thought, thank you!
But, this would then constitute a whole fuel pump/float/filter assembly replacement inside the fuel tank(not a problem). Thus far, things have been OK since it first happened the other day. Could have been fuel leakdown as the car was sitting for 4 days as it has never been before. This car never rests(86,000 miles)
 
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Here's the scoop. Pull the air intake off coming from the air cleaner. Get some throttle plate cleaner and clean the throttle plate and the area around it. I had this problem last winter with the Focus which has the same engine as your Mazda. Fixed it right up.
 
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Originally Posted By: tig1
Here's the scoop. Pull the air intake off coming from the air cleaner. Get some throttle plate cleaner and clean the throttle plate and the area around it. I had this problem last winter with the Focus which has the same engine as your Mazda. Fixed it right up.


Did that this past summer!
 
Thank you all for your comments!
I have ruled out some things such as the battery, starter and T-Body as these were easy deffinately not the problem when I spoke with our daughter. And I have strongly considered that the car, when sitting for several days, may experience fuel drainback from the injector(s) or fuel rail. And as KrisZ and brandini(thank you) have mentioned, the Purge Solenoid Valve is a possibility.

The problem has not happened again/since! As long as the car is driven daily, we'll never know there is an issue(it seems!)
 
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