Hi there,
I am new to both the forum and Mazda ownership - and I'm quite impressed with what I see from both so far! This post is a little longwinded, sorry, trying to be specific as possible.
1999 626LS Auto V6
My issue is this: My car likes to play head games with me in the early early morning and I am going a little nutty. Although I'm sure it will learn to do this anytime of day. I will go over its idisyncrosies in chronological order, they may not all be related.

One single dash light went out behind the gauges a few weeks ago.
The stereo used to stay on but lose display power and controls - tapping it would bring it back to life.
Beginning a few days ago, you would get a shock when you got out of the car.

NOW, it occasionally produces this string of events ALL AT ONCE:
Absolutely no power to the stereo/display/radio - NOTHING
"Door open" light stays on. Repeatedly closing all doors does nothing to appease it.
Power door locks (which were working fine) will only function during these "episodes" if the key is in the ignition and power turned on.

These "episodes" occur in the morning. My routine is to start the car, let it run for 15 minutes to warm up (canadian winter!) then I drive about 15 minutes at decent highway speed with heat, lights, defrost and factory stereo running. After dropping off the hubby I drive back the same speed/time/accessories running and I stop for coffee. When I start the car to leave the coffee shop, it displays the symptoms of its "episode" as listed above. I then scratch my head, have a smoke and go to work. When I leave at the end of the day after the hubby comes to meet me at work, the car acts as though all is fine and normal and he thinks I'm nuts!

As scary as this may sound, I try to do as many of my own repairs as possible, but my last car was an old Chevy Blazer and I have always hated electrical issues, so this is literally foreign territory for me!

Thank you very very much for any advice!

 

As for the dash light bulb, these are easily replaceable. The cluster must be removed and the bulb comes out with the socket. Just locate the bulb in question first. Then twist about a quarter turn and it will come out for replacement. I am unsure if you are familiar with the back of an instrument cluster and what it looks like. There are quite a few bulbs behind it for all the different indicators.

Now with the electrical problem. The first place to look is the fuses or a loose ground. The socket that the fuse goes into can be loose too, not giving firm pressure on the blade of the fuse.

It is quite normal for me to get a shock when getting out of the car. Especially when the humidity is low. I have the fabric seats in my car and the static electricity can be bad at times!

 

Thanks so much for your suggestions!

Now I just have questions, but more concrete ones if anyone would like to offer up more knowledge...

Where do I purchase new bulbs and how do I find out what part number the bulb is? I am in Canada, and would like to avoid dealership costs.

As far as the electrical... i will check the fuses. how/where/what do I check to see if I have a loose ground?