Electrical system meltdown?

[danmcd]

My wife's 2008 CX-9 experienced some serious electrical shorts over our last long trip and into today.

Initially, sound cut out from the RSES DVD player. We assumed it was the DVD itself (and she reminded me that it misbehaved like this on its first long trip almost a year ago), but when radio, CD, and the AUX port also misbehaved, we knew we had a problem.

Today her window also started flaking out (when it closed, it would begin opening immediately). It's like the problem is spreading, but I'm sure it's something shorting out somewhere. ALSO, her bluetooth no longer bonds to her phone (which was working for a long time).

Has anyone seen this problem previously? We're taking it into our dealer (Tulley Mazda in Nashua, NH) tomorrow morning 'cause this should be under warranty. We're especially worried something worse will occur.

Thanks!

 

[1sty]

I am interested to see the results.

DO things start working again once the car has cooled some?
I am wondering if the DVD/audio player could be overheating

The window I would think would either be missalignement or a faulty switch.

 

[danmcd]

I am interested to see the results.

DO things start working again once the car has cooled some?
I am wondering if the DVD/audio player could be overheating

I thought it might be overheating too, but if it is, it's highly variable, as we've had the car outside in sun, and then get a long time w/o failure. Even if it is heat, that shouldn't be happening. PLUS, it's all audio, AND bluetooth problems too.

The window I would think would either be missalignement or a faulty switch.

Multiple windows show this problem.

We're taking it to Tulley later this week. I'll report back with what they have to say.

 

[ceric]

Today her window also started flaking out (when it closed, it would begin opening immediately). It's like the problem is spreading, but I'm sure it's something shorting out somewhere. ALSO, her bluetooth no longer bonds to her phone (which was working for a long time).

This seems like your entire electrical system has been reset.
The window sounds like the auto-up/down function needs to be reset (there is a procedure in your manual to so that). The BT can also be explained by it. By resetting, I mean it seems like the battery has been disconnected once. Of course, you did not. Therefore, I am suspecting one of the two the battery terminals could be loose. Check that first before you bring your vehicle in.
A loose battery terminal could probably also explain the 1st problem also.
A temporary bad contact will not hinder the operation of vehicle after it has been started. The engine draws electricity from alternator. However, a bad contact could get worse over time. One day you may be stranded and need a jump-start.

Anyway, I am guessing here. It takes 1 minute to check battery terminal, so why not?

 

[danmcd]

Therefore, I am suspecting the battery terminal could be "loose". Check that first before you bring your vehicle in.

I'll make sure to check, but if the battery was loose, wouldn't my CX-9's clock reset to 00:00/12midnight whenever that happened?

Thanks for the tip, but I've a bad feeling it won't be that simple. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[ceric]

Clock draws very small current. Besides, clock sometimes has small capacitor on board (or its own button battery). Clocks may not be affected by a very quick disconnect-n-reconnect.

 

[mitchinpa]

Power port

I too have experienced a very occasional window going down and door locking. We have owned our 08 Sport AWD since late December, and it has happened 3 or 4 times. The power port in the center storage was faulty when we bought the vehicle and was replaced. Now I am wondering if that shorted something else out. One thing I have noticed recently though, is if I leave my cell phone charger in that port when the car is turned off, with no keys in the ignition, the charger still has power. Is this normal?

 

[ceric]

mitchinpa,
The one inside the storage could be constant 12V, not switched. I am not sure of it but you could check the manual. Not all 12V outlets are switched so that you could still use them when the vehicle is shut off.

 

[mitchinpa]

Thanks! I was going to bring it up to the dealer during the next oil change, but if it's normal to be hot, I will rest easy.

The dealership did replace the entire power port assembly in the middle console. Works just fine now.

 

[kwhaley29]

Recently I've noticed that my iPhone would not charge using the center AC outlet. The light on the charger was orange when it should have been green. I assumed that it was a problem with the charger itself. However, tonight I was backing out the driveway and the audio system / display shut down completely. The light on the charger is green now and but I can't use the radio.

I checked the battery terminals as well as the fuses for the AC outlet and the audio. Everything appears to be normal. This is my first Mazda and I've only had it for 3 months. Looks like I'll be spending my day off at the dealership.

 

[kwhaley29]

This is a follow-up to my post above.

I took the CX-9 to the dealer and they said that the "room fuse" was loose. Everything seems to be OK now.

 

[SportE-B15]

My 2007 GT started acting weird today, the battery light came on, all the lights on the dash board started to blink and the radio cut off. The windows would also not lower nor raise. After the car was shut off it seemed to somewhat work but still 4-5 warning lights were on the dash.
Took the car to Discount Auto and their hand held reader could not talk to the computer so the car is at the dealership right now.....

Hope it is a simple fix since my warranty has expired.

 

[ceric]

SportE-B15,
I hope it is a small issue.
If not, call MazdaUSA and complain about it.
Since your CX9 has just got out of OE warranty, sometimes they are willing to pay for the labor, and you pay the parts. Just FYI.

 

[SportE-B15]

SportE-B15,
I hope it is a small issue.
If not, call MazdaUSA and complain about it.
Since your CX9 has just got out of OE warranty, sometimes they are willing to pay for the labor, and you pay the parts. Just FYI.

It turned out to be a bad battery, bad body control module, bad altenator, they had the car for about a week because they did not know what was wrong with it. If the altenator did not fix the issue they were going to replace the ECU

Mazda USA did cover 90% of the parts and labor, all we had to pay was a diagnosis fee, purchase a new battery and the labor to put it in.

 

[ceric]

I usually replace the battery every 3 years no matter it is still fine or not.
It saves me lot of headache trying to debug things or getting stranded at the most inconvenient times (such as a rainy day).

When electrical system goes wrong,
- check battery
- check fuses
then, scratch your head....