Battery Problems

[daniela71497]

Hi all, I have a 2005 Mazda 3 and the battery just keeps on dying. It's been replaced twice in the matter of a year but it just keeps on dying to the point where the car is completley dead.

My husband seems to think it's becuase we don't use the car enough, maybe once a week or twice a week. Is that possible? I have a hard time believe this, does anyone know if this is a known problem with the Mazda? Any suggestions?

[Walrus]

Once or twice a week - how far do you drive when you do use it?

You have actually replaced the battery twice in one year? Who replaced it? If it was the dealer - did they actually test the battery? You could have a charging system problem - could be as simple as bad contacts, or a bad alternator.

[01Racing]

Have you added any aftermaret accessories? A stereo, car alarm etc?

[daniela71497]

Have you added any aftermaret accessories? A stereo, car alarm etc?

The only thing we've added is a remote starter which was put in when I first got the car in 2005.

[ZeroChalk]

I'm gunna debunk the theory about driving once a week. I sometimes don't drive my car for 2-3 weeks... and the battery is fine. Same year.

Maybe the remote starter?

[daniela71497]

Once or twice a week - how far do you drive when you do use it?

You have actually replaced the battery twice in one year? Who replaced it? If it was the dealer - did they actually test the battery? You could have a charging system problem - could be as simple as bad contacts, or a bad alternator.

The battery was replaced by the dealer twice this year. They said I had a "faulty" battery but is it possible to have two or three faulty batteries in a row?

We only use the car once or twice a week becuase my husband has a company vehicle and we have another car that I use. The only thing I can do is try to use the car more often to see if it works but it just doesn't sound right to me...I've left our Nissan sitting there for over a week and the batter never died.

[MRT_MS3]

Using your car once a week should have enough charge for it to turn over. Who installed your remote starter? Theres a possibility that your remote starter could be on the "always on" position and draining your battery everytime you park the car for a while. If the remote starter is not wired right, it could drain your battery in a day or two.

OR you have a faulty alternator and it keeps damaging the battery by putting stress on the battery.

OR it could be as easy as loose ground connection.

[kevcol74]

Unhook the remote start for a while, see if the problem persists... Usually the aftermarket accessories cause the problems.

[iagraham2]

If you know anyone technically inclined or you are yourself, start by disconnecting the neg battery cable and using a multimeter set on the 10amp range, place the leads between the neg cable and the neg post of the battery and check the reading. If it's more than .5amps (you may have a spike when you first touch the leads but it should die down after 5sec.) than you have a high amp draw. The easiest way to determine where its coming from, assuming that you don't have any pin out box's (which I guess you don't, its normally a dealer tool) is to remove the fuse one by one and see which fuse eliminates your draw. It's just kind of a guideline and you may have some other unforeseen variable but I hope this helps.

[Halogen]

Pulling fuses won't damage the electrical systems ?

[mf5781]

Hi all, I have a 2005 Mazda 3 and the battery just keeps on dying. It's been replaced twice in the matter of a year but it just keeps on dying to the point where the car is completley dead.

My husband seems to think it's becuase we don't use the car enough, maybe once a week or twice a week. Is that possible? I have a hard time believe this, does anyone know if this is a known problem with the Mazda? Any suggestions?

I have similar problem. Mine is 2004. Last April the battery was dead after 2 weeks in the cold without using. Then I replaced the battery bought from Walmart. Later after another 2 weeks without moving, it died again. I returned the battery to Walmart and got a new one. Then took the car to a Mazda dealer to check. They charged me $50 and found nothing wrong and blamed the connections to battery were not tight enough. So they tightened them.

The only aftermarket things added are HID lights and ipod adaptor. I also bought a solar charger from Can Tire to charge the battery when it's not in use.

The car this time were driven almost every day but only for a very short distance. Then two weeks ago the battery even though not completely dead (the horn was still working), the car could not be started. It needed a boost from CAA. I really don't know what happened. For the past two weeks, it worked fine.

[McGuyver_3]

Hi all, I have a 2005 Mazda 3 and the battery just keeps on dying. It's been replaced twice in the matter of a year but it just keeps on dying to the point where the car is completley dead.

My husband seems to think it's becuase we don't use the car enough, maybe once a week or twice a week. Is that possible? I have a hard time believe this, does anyone know if this is a known problem with the Mazda? Any suggestions?

like stated earlier disconect the remote start module unless it is a factory installed system. There is a good chance that possibly the remote starter module or brain is causing the issues. There is a good chance that they can go bad over time. good example is my own system died after 1 year wouldnt disengage the starter. You say you are not driving the car very often now especially with the cold weather the battery is more likely to drain then in the summer. If you leave it sitting and drive it a short distance you are not giving the car enough time to recharge the battery so there is a good chance it needs more consistant driving.