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[Help] Car Electrics Experts - Recommendations



Westdene Seagull

Westdene Seagull

aka Cap'n Carl Firecrotch
NSC Patron
Oct 27, 2003
21,529
The arse end of Hangleton
Mrs WS' Mazda MX5 is doing weird and random things with the electrics - drivers door sometimes not unlocking, passenger seat seat belt alarm randomly going off with nobody or anything on the seat and lights on the dash coming on randomly and then going off.

Loathed though I am to use a dealership I contacted Brighton Mazda. Unbelievably they don't have any Mazda technicians on the books so can't help ( not sure where that leaves people that actually buy a car from them ! ).

Can anyone recommend a local (Hove or Brighton) car electrics expert ? Thank you in advance.
 
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wellquickwoody

wellquickwoody

Many More Voting Years
NSC Patron
Aug 10, 2007
13,915
Melbourne
Mmmm, intermittent electrical fault, absolutely nothing worse on a motor vehicle.

Do not over invest in monetary terms. Spend as much time as you are comfortable wasting then get rid if there seems no logical conclusion.
 








Justice

Justice

Dangerous Idiot
Jun 21, 2012
20,696
Born In Shoreham
It’s often a ground fault meaning the negative side of the battery may be lose or where it bolts onto the car body may have become loose. I only say that as you have many faults and not one in particular.

Of course I may be wrong although it’s something to check out. Another thing you can try is disconnecting the battery for a while and it may reset the PCB.
 




Cotton Socks

Cotton Socks

Skint Supporter
Feb 20, 2017
2,159
First thing I'd check is the earth wire & clean the battery terminals. Has anyone put in any 'after market' stuff like a radio or camera? Electrical faults are a nightmare to fix as it usually needs to be doing one of the random things while it's being looked at. Without wishing to alarm you, there is now a fire extinguisher in the vehicle I go in because of an electrical fault. Like your wife's it was intermittent and doing strange things. It liked to lock you out completely sometimes, immobilise the engine. Dashboard lights just going completely crazy along with the rev counter and speedo whilst stationary. Radio & clock resetting etc. Ignition switch was changed, helped for a while but then it started doing the weird stuff again. As others have said, set a budget for it or time taken to identify the fault. 2 mechanics said they wouldn't even start to look for the fault. We 'think' the fault is fixed now but it's not trustworthy anymore.
 


WATFORD zero

WATFORD zero

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 10, 2003
27,786
My first questions would be how old is it and how many miles are on the clock ? Because you're answer may be here before it starts getting complicated (and expensive) :shrug:
 


AIT76

AIT76

The wisdom of a fool
Jul 29, 2004
475
Whilst 'just get a new car' is the sort of helpful advice normally dished out on Mumsnet, in the case of electrical problems it's often the only solution.

I had a low mileage, well cared for Ford Ka and one day the odometer on the dashboard started flashing. Couldn't find an explanation or fix online. Also from then, the battery wouldn't hold a charge.

That particular model shared it's chassis, engine and electrics with the Fiat 500. Ford told me it needed to go to Fiat to be diagnosed, Fiat told me their machine wasn't compatible with the Ford interface...

A couple of independents gave me a 'go away' quotes for a diagnostic and the one that did look at it told me it 'might' be the telematic unit (£1200) and that would 'probably' fix it.

It ended up going to an auction, which was galling as otherwise it was a perfectly good car.
 


Westdene Seagull

Westdene Seagull

aka Cap'n Carl Firecrotch
NSC Patron
Oct 27, 2003
21,529
The arse end of Hangleton
WATFORD zero said:
My first questions would be how old is it and how many miles are on the clock ? Because you're answer may be here before it starts getting complicated (and expensive) :shrug:
Click to expand...
A 2014 plate with about 26k on the clock so I'm not keen to get rid of it.
 


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