With heat comes increased resistance in the electrical system. Don't discount something as simple as the starter relay.

 

but that’s not what he wrote
will see?

Goon point …. I totally forgot about that. To much into trying to get the op to have the battery properly load test first. lol

 

He did say it was fixed.

"Anyways, in the end, it was in fact the starter. Solenoid was worn out. It got changed last night, and life goes on."

If he finds out later it didn't work, maybe he will come back for an update.

 

it was, in fact, the starter.

And others here are correct- if it's something else that pops up, you will hear back from me.

The mechanic himself said that he did a test on it and the solenoid and at least one gear were worn out. We're there more messages popping up on my dash after changing it? Yes. Solved by disconnecting negative terminal, then having the starter remote reset. I didn't know hoelw much of a pain in the arsenal resetting electronics would be, and apparently this mechanic didn't know either . Mazda took 2 seconds to get my fob right again as i brought it to them to figure it out. Said battery was low when it wasn't. Just took a few extra clicks of the fob to get it working right again. And before you say i didn't try a simple cable disconnect before I changed the battery on the fob or try the button click trick myself after doing my own research, you're wrong. I did both. I can also tell you that after changing the starter and resetting the negative cable the reconnect displayed nearly 0 spark. When I did this before changing the starter, I actually got quite a bit of a spark - we know worn starters draw more power from a battery due to faulty connections. It's all making sense to me more and more.

I think you're reaching now. Why would I just change the solenoid and risk another part of a starter breaking, costing me even more labour in potentially very short order? I have a brand new one right from Mazda. Yes, i know aftermarket might be better, but whatever. I have peace if mind knowing it's extremely unlikely to break any time soon again - probably won't over the next 4 years when I probably sell the car past 400 000 kms.

I appreciate you calling ne out though- i completely retract my statement that i think you're a good guy. You're simply tryimg to find every way to say "I'm right" and honestly it's a terrible look for you.

Have a good one!

 

I am trying to post better information.
Better meaning that when another reader will consider that some steps mentioned in this thread are not the best way to find and or resolve a mechanical or electrical problem.
A drive gear now added to your last response (so more than just a starter solenoid) yet no mention of the condition of your flywheel. If the starter drive gear was damaged as claimed, then the flywheel is also damaged. Even if slightly on the edge of the gear teeth. This may depend on that damage or wear from the starter drive gear damage cause starters to eventually not engage the flywheel correctly.
You cant reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery. If you look in the I/M monitors as well the permeant DTC file area DTCs are still there until the problem has been resolve. You just accomplished turning of the dash check engine light. Some unresolved DTCs will reactivate the check engine light after a few complete engine cycles. If it were that simple owners would be hiding things from the auto manufacture or some service shops that perform emission testing etc., but sorry you the person serving your Mazda obviously does not know about what is called ECU counters. They make record of DTC's and how many cycles before they were resolved. ECU counters among other important service reporting concerns also protects the auto manufactures from false information or some hiding or not reporting the actual time frame when a problem actually started and then resolved from owners. These counters actually are a useful information tool to help real mechanic's solve issues regarding most all things ECU controlled.
The battery was not checked at least by your description correctly for its health There are old school ways to do this, but it takes several hours and not practical. Thats why a properly done load test is the service that should have been done. "FIRST" This is just common sense (for a mechanic) regarding any electrical problem or problems that are powered by the battery.
And IMHO based on the OPs responses and descriptions of the steps of service whomever is working this Mazda in this thread is borderline a DIY, not a professionally trained mechanic with technology studied at least from the age of OBDII about 1995 to present.

At best anyone can do on a forum when helping a member is "GUESS" all the possible results to help to find the solution. But there are better steps that should be done and in a specific order to rule out problems. It's called the 5 basic steps (scientific) to solving a problem most of us learned in elementary school which can be applied to so many things in adult life or life in general including those that have actually been educated in the field of automotive service.

 

ok, so i paid for a diagnostic, including photos of the fly wheel. Everything cane back with a clean bill of health. At least I can sleep well at night now. 3 hour diagnostic. They were nice and only charged me an hour.

Preventative maintenance for the win!