2006 Mazda 5, Problems after changing Alternator.....Please Help!

Hi all,

I'm new here, my name is Mike. Sorry if this is not posted in the right area.

Here is my problem. A few days ago my battery light came on, in my 2006 Mazda 5 Van. So I went to have the battery tested at Auto Zone and they said it was the battery, it was bad, so luckily I had warranty so a new one was put it. Well started driving again, about a few hours after replacing the battery and the battery light came on again. Next thing I thought to check was the Alternator, had that tested and was told it passes.

So now a day later, driving all of a sudden the battery light comes back on, the check engine light comes on, the AT light, and the Power Steering Malfunction light came on. I slowed down to pull off the street and the steering got really tight on me, had a hard time steering. So I pulled over, turned the car off, waited ten minutes and started the car, it started, no lights were on, I then drove home to make an appointment at the Mazda dealer to have it diagnose. Only the battery light remained on. It's seems as though it would sometimes kick on after driving at a certain speed or distance.

I took it in yesterday and the dealer told me they looked it over and said that the Alternator was bad, everything else was fine. So picked it up and went and got a re-built Alternator and put it in last night. Drove it today, car sounded weird, and idled really low sounding as it wanted to cut out, stepped on the gas to go take it for a quick drive and car didn't seem to wanna pick up power, kinda stuttered and died. I turned it back on and drove home.

I took the new re-built Alternator off and put the "Old Bad" one on and car starts right up and idles fine, doesn't cut out but battery light stays on. I took the re-built Alternator to a different place to see if it was good and was told three times they tested it and three times it passed.

I'm at my wits end not sure what it is.

Do you guy's have any idea what it could be? Is it possible this new re-built Alternator is no good? When I had it on the car it did have this weird wining sound to it, at one point it smelt a little burnt but that went away.

Any help or ideas is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks
Mike

Wires in charging circuit bad?

Try another alternator and once installed you must do an idle learn procedure that's why your Mazda was idling weird and turned off.

Mike5401 said:

… Is it possible this new re-built Alternator is no good? When I had it on the car it did have this weird wining sound to it, at one point it smelt a little burnt but that went away.

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Remanufactured parts are susceptible to failures - hence remanufactured. That weird wining could be b/c the AC belt was not fully tightened on the new alternator. Do you know if the battery and alternator was original? Being 6 yo, both could be in need of replacing.

Davicho said:

Try another alternator and once installed you must do an idle learn procedure that's why your Mazda was idling weird and turned off.

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+1 on why it could be acting weird but I wouldn't expect all the lights to come on.

Thanks all for your responses.

I took the Rebuilt one back today, there're gonna have another rebuilt one for me tomorrow. Once I put it on, what is this Idle Learn Procedure? How or what do you do, I never heard of this?

Thanks!

1. Connect alternator and battery terminals (finish the job) and close hood.
2. Get in car and make sure all doors are closed and any accessories are turned off and/or unplugged from power source.
3. Wait for dome lights to turn off.
4 Place key in ignition turn to ACC so that dash lights come on but don't start engine.
5. Leave key in that position for 60 seconds but no less (use timer if need be).
6. Turn key to START position and start engine. Do not press any pedals just let it idle and don't turn on anything.
7. Let it idle for 5 minutes no less. Then turn it off. Wait for 60 seconds before restarting and driving.
8. VOILA!!

PS. This must be done everytime one disconnects battery and/or battery or charging system goes dead.

Thanks for the help! Got the new rebuilt one put in, and it started right up, no noise, nothing. Did the idle relearn procedure and everything works great. Battery Light went out, no lights on....knock on wood!

Thanks again, I really appreciated!

Thanks Davicho! This worked great!

Davicho said:

1. Connect alternator and battery terminals (finish the job) and close hood.
2. Get in car and make sure all doors are closed and any accessories are turned off and/or unplugged from power source.
3. Wait for dome lights to turn off.
4 Place key in ignition turn to ACC so that dash lights come on but don't start engine.
5. Leave key in that position for 60 seconds but no less (use timer if need be).
6. Turn key to START position and start engine. Do not press any pedals just let it idle and don't turn on anything.
7. Let it idle for 5 minutes no less. Then turn it off. Wait for 60 seconds before restarting and driving.
8. VOILA!!

PS. This must be done everytime one disconnects battery and/or battery or charging system goes dead.

Click to expand...

Had to replace a battery in my Mazda 5 (2006) and it started fine after battery replacement last night. Wife took it to work this morning and it was not a happy car. Found this thread, followed the instructions, took it for a spin... aside from a little chugging from a rapid stop/go, everything worked great.

Credit given where due: Thanks Davicho.

Jarretthere said:

Had to replace a battery in my Mazda 5 (2006) and it started fine after battery replacement last night. Wife took it to work this morning and it was not a happy car. Found this thread, followed the instructions, took it for a spin... aside from a little chugging from a rapid stop/go, everything worked great.

Credit given where due: Thanks Davicho.

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No problem! I feel this procedure should be printed on every Mazda5 owners manual. Glad to help!!

First time i've heard of an "idle learn" procedure. Then again, all the alternators i've changed on all the cars/trucks i've worked on, i've probably have done this procedure without even knowing. I was pretty sure the alternator he was given was a screw up out of the box. I've had remans go bad after a few days, i've found the "too cheap to be true" remans are always the ones that end up getting tossed back to the auto parts dept.

Davicho said:

1. Connect alternator and battery terminals (finish the job) and close hood.
2. Get in car and make sure all doors are closed and any accessories are turned off and/or unplugged from power source.
3. Wait for dome lights to turn off.
4 Place key in ignition turn to ACC so that dash lights come on but don't start engine.
5. Leave key in that position for 60 seconds but no less (use timer if need be).
6. Turn key to START position and start engine. Do not press any pedals just let it idle and don't turn on anything.
7. Let it idle for 5 minutes no less. Then turn it off. Wait for 60 seconds before restarting and driving.
8. VOILA!!

PS. This must be done everytime one disconnects battery and/or battery or charging system goes dead.

Click to expand...

BEST POST EVER. Freaked out after getting battery replaced because started fine then died on way home. Started right back up but idling weird. Started worrying about alternator and other stuff, found this post, did directions, voila!

I wanted to disconnect the battery to check a few things on our 2008 Mazda5 GT, but was concerned about strange car behavior and engine lights coming on upon reconnecting the battery. Thank you very much for sharing knowledge, this really helps so much.

This really should be "stickied" if it hasn't been already.

For anyone that has Googled or searched "Mazda5 battery light" like I did and found this post, definitely look into getting your alternator replaced ASAP. I just had this problem the other day. I should've not had my wife drive the 5 when she called me on her way to work and told me that the light came on. She made it to work but on her way home, the car went dead on her and could not steer the car. Good thing she wasn't in a busy street where the worst possibilities could have happened. Needless to say, I replaced the alternator the following day, and now all's well. You can follow a DIY here as a reference. Also important to do an idle re-learn as posted here by Davicho. No battery light and most importantly, no more malfunctions. Thanks to this forum. Cheers.

Davicho said:

1. Connect alternator and battery terminals (finish the job) and close hood.
2. Get in car and make sure all doors are closed and any accessories are turned off and/or unplugged from power source.
3. Wait for dome lights to turn off.
4 Place key in ignition turn to ACC so that dash lights come on but don't start engine.
5. Leave key in that position for 60 seconds but no less (use timer if need be).
6. Turn key to START position and start engine. Do not press any pedals just let it idle and don't turn on anything.
7. Let it idle for 5 minutes no less. Then turn it off. Wait for 60 seconds before restarting and driving.
8. VOILA!!

PS. This must be done everytime one disconnects battery and/or battery or charging system goes dead.

Click to expand...

But what if you drive a manual...I gotta press a pedal! (attn)

^I don't have m/t but my best guess would be as soon as you've started the car, let go of the pedal and do not press anything else while in idle.

Mike5401 said:

...........................

So now a day later, driving all of a sudden the battery light comes back on, the check engine light comes on, the AT light, and the Power Steering Malfunction light came on. I slowed down to pull off the street and the steering got really tight on me, had a hard time steering. So I pulled over, turned the car off, waited ten minutes and started the car, it started, no lights were on, I then drove home to make an appointment at the Mazda dealer to have it diagnose. Only the battery light remained on. It's seems as though it would sometimes kick on after driving at a certain speed or distance.

...........................................
Mike

Click to expand...

I had my battery replaced Dec,13 & alternator replaced end of Feb,14. The car feel weird & choke a little bit especially while I was waiting on red light. The battery light came on 2 days after I had the alternator replaced.

Same thing just happened to me an hour ago!! The car just dead after stopping on red light, steering wheel was stiff/tight. Engine light, battery light and the light below it were on. Turn off car & restart (thank god it was a quiet street) and drove home.

Googled & found THIS. Did the idle learn & I hope everything goes well tomorrow.


Thanks Davicho!

Unlucky me ... car dead on me again! Took it back to garage, I was told the alternator is defective & the battery is wrong size. They exchanged another battery & ordered a new alternator. Car stalled on STOP sign AGAIN while waiting for new alternator.

Really tired of it new & asking ppl giving me lifts.