Problems with the Family Truckster

[black roadster]

Wife's car is acting up. 2005 Mazda MPV 98k miles About 6 months back she got a CEL for the Idle Air Actuator. I removed it and cleaned it and no problem since. Now that it's hot, after driving it awhile and turning it off it will not restart. It acts like a dead battery, slow crank and then clicking. Radio, lights etc work so I know it isn't the battery. To get the car moving I initially tried tapping on the IAA in case it was still sticking. Nothing. No check engine light and no codes on OBDII reader. I put car in neutral and rocked the van back and forth while cranking it and it started up. I'm thinking starter unless anyone has an other suggestions.

[wrxmr2eater]

Flaky cam sensor?

[sxk122]

sounds like what the miata was doing with the bad CAS.... in for updates...

[POS Racing]

How old is the battery? Have you load tested it?

[HudsonHawk]

I had a battery die on me when I drove to the store. All the lights, radio everything worked but it would not start. Turned out to be a bad cell in the battery. Replaced the bat and it ran fine.

[goofygrin]

CPS will try and crank, but not actually fire up.

This sounds like a bad battery and/or alternator. I'd take them both down and get them tested.

[trickyrix]

Sounds like my mom's old Maxima and my old BMW. When the starter began to fail, it wouldn't start when hot. If you can get to it, try whacking the starter with a hammer/wrench and see if that frees it up.

Could also be a bad neutral safety switch. Can you start it in Neutral? Does it help if you hold the shifter up in Park?

[VFR750]

Have the battery tested..................hot weather is harder on them than the cold.

[boisking]

Have the battery tested..................hot weather is harder on them than the cold.

+1 check the battery.

Also, check for good connections without corrosion on the starter and battery cables. If the battery checks out, have the starter checked. Hot start issues can be attributed to a weak starter.

[Sharpie]

I'm in the battery camp also.

[black roadster]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have six winnahs! We replaced the battery about 18 months ago so I didn't expect it to be the problem. Sure enough, battery was the problem. It showed 12 volts but as soon as I put lights on the voltage dropped rapidly. Replaced under warranty for free at AutoZone. Yea! Went I went to return the starter, O'Reillys also said alternator was showing low out-put. Looks like I need to replace that instead.

[gabkwong]

So it was the dieing alternator that prematurely killed your battery?!