1998 MillyS getting swapped, but now loud noise and no start?
 

Hello all. Bear with the initial dialogue, as I feel it is necessary to establish some background. I'm not a novice mechanic, but this is my first Millenia.

I've been messing with K series engines since 1996, with most of my time spent on the Ford Probe GT & Mazda MX-6. I've done simple maintenance through Motor swaps and custom turbo/supercharger installs using stand alone engine management. My wife has insisted I grow up and get a 4 door, so I've been leaning toward a Millenia for the past 5 years or so and I've been looking for the right one to come along.


So as of last week, thank you craigslist, I'm the new owner of a 1998 Millenia S with a "bad Motor".

I went to pick it up and the seller fired it up. It had the a faint but classic deep knock that I've become familiar with as spun bearing / Rod knock. The seller said that he got it from a mechanic that diagnosed a "bad turbo".

So anyway, the price was good, the car was straight, so I fired it back up, pulled it onto my trailer, and pulled it home.

2 days later I managed to spend some quality time with it, I started it up and pulled it off the trailer, it sat there and happily idled for around 10 minutes, no knocking, just some consistent "noises" from the supercharger. I then shut it off and my daughter and I were listening to the radio cleaning the interior, till the radio shut off, which I assumed the battery got too low. I put it onto a charger and went inside.

4 days later I went to start it up and there was nothing with the key in the start position.

<<<< AND THEN THE NOISE STARTED >>>>

SINGLE, MONOTONE, "ALARM" type sound. I could hear the radio in the background, and adjusting the volume controlled the radio volume but not the really lout "ALARM TONE".

If I hit the power button then it shut off the radio as well as the alarm. But the car will not start. No Clicks from the starter. And no flashing from the little "Anti-Theft" LED on the top left corner of the BOSE double DIN Radio Faceplate.

I'm not "really" concerned about the engine. I have an entire parts car that I'm swapping in a Ford Probe GT KL 2.5 with a MTX Transmission and a T04 Turbo kit. This was to be my winter project, but a NO START condition will seriously hamper the starting of the freshly transplanted driveline.


k, so now what? I've searched online Mazda Millenia forum tech sections but can't find any hits on this really loud monotone noise with a no-start condition.

I've confirmed the car did have keyless entry, as it has the little black box attached behind the driver side rear seat.
FCC ID KPU41049
Unit-Keyless 6A08A
TA17 67 502 A45

Does this sound like a start-disable Anti-Theft thing?

And how to disable?

OK, well I worked on it some more today. I originally tried to remove the programmed key FOB from the memory of the car, and after repairing a stuck driver door enrty switch I was able to de-program all key FOBs from the car. Thinking it would revert back to a simple door lock access to disable the alarm.

But after hearing the confirmation chimes the car still does not attempt to start.

Irritated by the 100db noise coming from the stereo I pulled the fuse under the dash and the noise went away, along with the radio stations as well. It looks like the under hood audio fuse powers the amplifier? Because the radio still had power, and didn't go dark until I pulled the "radio" fuse from the inside fuse box. After replacing them and going through the motions of unlocking the car from the outside and attempting to start I was met with failure again, The car just won't start. But now the noise is gone.........weird?

Extremely frustrated with the car. I've driven the car, and now it won't start.

Can ANYONE CONFIRM with any SIMILAR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that this is in fact Anti-Theft Behavior?

How do I disable or bypass any potential anti-theft situation?

Will a code reader reset any OBD II problems that may have arisen with this? I saw somewhere that you reset the ECU and it is happy for 2 minutes in a sort of Valet mode, then it cuts off permanently?

DO I just need to Hotwire the starter? It is an S, it'll be a PITA to get to....

I'll try to methodically work through all the insightful and helpful responses I've gotten so far........................


however in the mean time I'm going to try and bypass the ignition switch and fire up the car from under the hood. Does anyone have a diagram of the wiring from/to the fusebox so I don't have to rip open the wire harness and pin test each wire to find which one goes to the starter solenoid?

Thanks!

Good news everyone. It was the starter solenoid.

Thank you all for the help.