2001 Mazda 2.O LX Starting Issue
 

Good car, 220,000+ and going strong, well taken care of, but has one funny trick:

Turn the key to "start", and just a "klunk/click" comes from the starter area. Wiggling the steering wheel, jiggling the ignition switch, rocking the shifter through the gears, all sometimes work. Sometimes all these measures fail, and I let it sit for a few minutes, then it starts right up!

New Battery, Alternator.

Does it intermittently, and I mean intermittently:for the past four years, it's done it once a week, then doesn't do it for a year. Lately it's been doing it more often, like once every 10-20 starts.

Anyone had this kind of symptomology? Some say a bad ground, while 20,000 other say something else.

I don't think it's ignition switch, as I can hear the clicking sound near the starter when I hit "start".

What do you all think it might be, gearshift/steering wheel/brake/ interlock, ???

I'm not turning into a mech when it's so inconsistent-a diagnostic fishing expedition @100/hr dictates I just let it fail, then have it towed in.

Anyone ever see this and find out what it was?

Thanks to all in advance.

Looks like no-one wants to touch this one!

After some experimentation, think it might be part of the gearshift interlock system; when it pulls this stunt, stepping on the brake, turning the key to :ON", and ramming the shifter thru the gears and cranking it in park seems to work. Dealershipparts=$$$$=OW.

Anyone seen an issue with a gearshift/interlock? C'mon, folks, step right up, it's been nearly two weeks and nobody's bit on this one! :)

Check your starter and battery cables. The loud "thunk" is likely the bendix drive engaging but not supplying enough juice to crank. Perhaps the brushes are sticking or worn.

The interlocks generally prevent the starter from engaging entirely (no thunk). An old school trick is to tap on the starter with a hammer (I did say "tap", not bang). All that ramming the shifter may cause enough vibration to seat the brushed better.

Thanks, Saudade! Appreciate the input, matches what a friend said yesterday about it. It's an incredible car. My last 1990 1800cc Protege went 240K before the trannie went out; Slapped a rebuilt in, and it went for another 40,000 before suffering "Massive Systems Failure" over a week or so; hydraulics, cooling system, electrical shorts...but it still got me home. (I think the record for a Protege is somewhere around 340,000 with the original engine and trannie!)

I'll go get that hammer now, and throw it in the trunk...of course, they put the starter on the driver's side UNDER the battery and battery tray/bracket.. Maybe I can find an extension....

Actually, anything that's beefy and metal should work. I had this happen on my Cherokee. I could see the starter looking from above but not reach it. I had a long 1/2" extension I was able to snake past everything and Tap, Tap, Tap without crawling underneath. That worked until I was able to replace the starter.

If you battery is a regular battery (not JIS batttery where the negative post is slightly smaller than the positive) but your car still has the original JIS connector, your terminal is probably loose even though you think it is tight. The JIS connector is smaller than a replacement connector or universal cable and most of the time it cannot be tightened enough. You can tighten the connector until it seems as tight as it will get but it is not. Grab the negative connector on the battery and try to move it to either side. If it comes loose, that is probably what is causing the issue. A weak battery not putting out enough CCA's can also cause that. Take your car to an auto parts place and they will do a complete battery test. Age is not always an indicator of a good battery. I have seen batteries go bad in a couple of weeks.
As for not tightening, you can purchase battery shims for not much $ at the parts store and use one of them. One complete shim is too much and will not fit so you will need to split the shim in half and use just one side (they are made to allow you to do that). Even if you have a regular battery and connector, taking the battery connection on and off a lot will chew up the post and not make it possible to get a good tight connection without a shim.
If you have a battery charger, give the battery a good charge and see if it stops the issue. If you don't drive a car much the battery gets drained over time. It takes about 20 minutes of driving to replace the battery drain when you start the car. I have found in many cases, keeping the battery charged will also solve the problem.
I would do these BEFORE buying a starter etc.
I have seen this issue on several Mazda Proteges.
I own and work on Proteges and comments I post have worked for me.