Hi I have a 94 mazda 626 with the v6. I replaced a bad distributor. Then jumped the ten and gnd pins and set the timing to -10 with a timing light. Then I turned off the engine and removed the jumper. Then the car would be normal when turning the key (dash lights, and chime) but when turned to the start position I heard a small click and lost all power, dash lights, and chime. Even when I cycle the key I get no power at all.

Then I unhooked the battery and walked away for lunch, came back and hooked up the battery and gave it another shot and BOOM it works just fine and runs. I let it idle for about 15 min and then I opened the drive door and click! All power gone again, even if I cycle the key.

I checked ground the the motor and chassis and those seem great. The battery cables are definitely not lose or corroded

Please good people of the 626 forum, please point me in the right direction

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Hi thank you I hope the forum is still active, the 626 is a great little car!

 

it’s active Dailey with members participating and has the highest visitor count daily then the other Mazda forums.

 

This doesn’t sound distributor or timing related at all.
Because you’re losing ALL power (dash, chime, everything), the issue has to be in the main battery feed, not ignition or ECU. The big clue is that:
It clicks and everything dies when you turn to START
It dies again just from opening the driver door (interior light load)
Power comes back after disconnecting the battery
That points to something opening under load.
Most likely causes (in order):
1. Battery terminals, even if they look tight and clean, remove them and properly clean both the posts and inside of the clamps. A slightly loose or oxidized connection will carry small load but fail when demand increases.
2. Main fusible link / main fuse near the battery these can crack internally. They’ll pass light load but open under higher load, then “reset” after sitting.
3. Main ground cable (battery to chassis) . Do a voltage drop test while trying to crank.
This is almost certainly a primary power interruption,
I’d start with fully removing and cleaning both battery terminals before digging deeper.