I have a problem with my 05 mazda 6i 2.3. Last week my battery light came on one day and the car was a little slow starting. A couple days later I put water in the battery (it was low), got the car started, turned on the AC and something blew. Even with a jump start the car doesn't run right now, all the warning lights come on, the headlights are very weak, the engine idles ok, but sometimes it won't rev up. If I hit the gas it stumbles, then after I let off the pedal then it revs up, it's delayed about 1.5 seconds. I checked the fuses with a flashlight and didn't see anything obvious, but then I got it to drive again back a couple blocks to my house, but it seemed to be losing acceleration again just before my house. Also, at one point the electric locks wouldn't lock, but a little while later they did.

The terminals don't look corroded, I will check better tomorrow in the daylight. It couldn't just be the battery causing all these problems could it? I am thinking maybe my alternator is fried. Any ideas?

 

I would say buy a new battery. Make sure you get the battery designed just for your car. Many auto places will sell you a universal battery or a battery they have in stock but it's really not for your car. I was quite pleased with the battery I bought at Walmart.

It's also possible your alternator is bad. And a bad alternator can ruin a battery and sometimes visa versa. But start with the battery. And remember, if you have a dead battery, a jump start won't get you going again. It can take HOURS of driving to fully charge a dead battery. The best way to charge a dead battery is with a trickle charge battery charger.

 

One solution to intermittent or permanent electrical problems, specifically for headlight failure can be found on the post by SEVARGMT on 9-29-2010.

It seems to lie in corrosion of the wiring system connectors in the PJB, a specific wire connection junction box located under the passenger side glove compartment box. This box serves numerous electrical items on the car.

It seems possible to repair the corroded pin connector but it is probably best to have the dealer replace the entire PJB to avoid repeats of this problem, as it is a dangerous situation when headlights go out at night, like mine did.

Brilliant problem solving by SEVARGMT and DJS2571. They also developed a convincing theory of what causes this problem: the air conditioning line located above this box creates condensation, which then drips down on the wire connectors and causes them to corrode, causing an electrical fault. They suggest a plastic drip sheet to avoid future corrosion.

Wouldn't it be great if Mazda assigned an engineer to read the forums for problems with their cars and prepare posts with solutions? It is plainly obvious that a problem is very common when you look at the number of "views" listed for certain topics, such the headlights (many thousands of owners have headlight failure problems). Mazda should have issued a bulletin or a recall since the corroding PJB is clearly a safety problem. This looks like a design/engineering flaw. Every electrician and plumber knows to never put moisture sources above electrical boxes. Shame on them.