Story Time
It was 11 months ago today that I wrecked the Honda Insight into the back of a slow moving SUV at highway speeds in a hail storm. I have served 11 of the 14 month driving suspension for not having insurance at the time of the accident(mail problem, didn't receive notice of cancellation..).
..I'm back..!
I purchased a new-to-me car to get around for school, work, etc, and will be driving it in a few weeks once the application for hardship driving permit goes through. I will be updating this thread with my projects and results. I am hoping to have as much success with this Mazda as I had with the Passat and Insight(for the month I owned it). However, my living situation does not allow for major projects such as removing the engine in favor of weight reduction, so I will be sticking to minor stuff until the middle of the year.
The Car
The car is a 2006 Mazda 3 iTouring sedan with a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine and 5 speed manual transmission. There are 122,500 miles. The clutch and all fluids were replaced just prior to purchase, there are no Check Engine Lights (CEL) and it drives very nicely. The suspension is great, the car has a lot of pep for a 2.0 non turbo engine (insert subtle future turbo conversion hint here?), it does not leak and is very clean. Overall it appears to be my "Next 5 years" car. Why only 5 years? Because I get bored of things and need to always be tinkering. I would love to get another Honda Insight and Passat, then swap the engine from one to the other.
The issues:
Airbag Light: An airbag light remains lit after initial startup check indicating an issue with the airbag system. The Passenger Airbag Disabled (PAD) indicator bulb does not light as it should during startup check.
The issue was a burned out PAD indicator bulb, or so I thought. A 2 pack of replacement bulbs (14 volt, 2.7 watt) from Autozone was $5. The original bulb from factory is 12 volt, 1.7 watts. Occasionally the light will pop back on although replacing the bulb fixed the issue for 95% of startups. I can regularly reproduce the issue of the airbag light in the instrument cluster remaining on by turning the ignition to on but not starting the car right away, then starting the car. I am thinking the issue is related to the battery dying after a few days. Perhaps the battery does not have the required voltage when the engine is not running to perform a successful check of the airbag system? A 12 volt versus 14 volt when the car is running thing, seems likely considering the issue never happens if the car is started from the off position in one go with no time to sit in the on or ACC position. Blehh, getting new battery in one hour to test my hypothesis. if that does not fix the issue, I will order the correct bulb and see if that does.
Bulbs - Ash tray, Accessory plug ring, Glove box, Trunk[Semi-Fixed]: The bulbs are not lighting. Burned out bulbs suspected. Will check sockets for current with multimeter. Glove box bulb is the same as the PAD indicator bulb so I have an extra on hand to replace bulb.
The trunk bulb was replaced, works now. Removed the ash tray bulb and wiring to make way for two hidden USB plugs in the ash tray. Glove box and Accessory plug ring are still out. Glove box stays out even with new bulb. Wiring issue? Short? Related to dying battery?
Rear Window[Fixed]: The driver side rear window switch will only move the window down, not up. Oddly enough, the opposite is true for the driver seat switch which controls the same back window. To successfully put the rear driver side window down and up requires using both switches.
Rear switch had a broken switch part. Took apart and confirmed metal spring inside snapped on one side. Window works correctly when connection is made manually. Will replace at junkyard. Front window switch had an issue with the same piece being bent from someone pulling the switch too hard. Bent it back and window works perfectly with front switch.
Rear Bumper: The rear bumper was involved in a slow impact, perhaps walking speed which broke the left rear reflector, caused paint flaking, and caused the bumper to pop out of the tabs which hold it in place where the bumper meets the trunk.
Popped the bumper back into tabs, gap closed.
Parasitic Drain: The battery will die over the course of a few days if the engine is not ran. The previous owner had the interior amenities fuse wired to be live when the ignition is turned to ON to avoid the drain. Possibly related to unlit bulb issue, possible short circuit. Also, possibly related to the aftermarket Android head unit installation. I would like the trip computer to not reset, interior lights to turn on when the door is opened, etc, so the previous owners' wiring fix will be removed and the parasitic drain fixed completely. After messing with issues for a few days, I am leaning towards a bad battery also. Testing ideas today. Got rid of some parasitic drain however, or at least I think I did.
SO...I'm excited to be back. Time will tell whether I can get better than the 32 MPG the car is rated for (Highway). Should be pretty easy starting with a good reliable platform.