05' Mazda 3 Starter Question... Help Please!
 

I was hoping that some of you expert Mazda people could help with this one... my 2005 Mazda 3 will not start. All the lights, bells, radio, etc. are working but the car will not turn over. I just drove it a few hours before I tried to start it and all was fine but now nothing. I have checked fuses, wires, etc. and all check out but for some reason I am not getting any power from the fuse box to the starter. I realize this could be several different obvious things but not sure where to start. I was able to "hotwire" it using jumper cables to the starter and it started right up so I don't think it is the starter but could however be a relay or solenoid. I have also read several threads about the immobilizer but cannot find anything in the manual or books about it. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Unless its an Automatic, You could try to pop start it.

If it runs, that will rule out everything else and leave you knowing that it's the starter and starting system only.

It's actually a automatic/manual transmission so I don't know that I could pop the clutch. Any other ideas????

Nope it's an Automatic Transmission. You are not able to pop without a clutch

Set the car up for starting, if you can put the + of the battery cable onto the motor (fat) terminal and the starter motor runs, your dtarter motor is OK. If you connect the battery + to the solenoid terminal and the starter motor runs, your solenoid is also OK, if not, then your solenoid switch is kaput.
Now I've never heard of an automatic/manual transmission. If your car has a clutch pedal, it is a manual. If it does not have a clutch pedal, it is an automatic (even if it has manual functions).
For a manual, this problem is due to an open circuit/ maladjusted/ defective clutch interlock switch located on the clutch pedal assembly.
For an automatic, this trouble is due to an open circuit/ maladjusted/ defective P/N (Park/ Neutral) interlock switch section in the T/R (Transmission Range) switch on the transmission. It is fairly common for this to occur due to wear in the cable linkage between the console shift lever and the T/R switch located on the transmission, and if so, it can be easily corrected by realigning the indexing adjustment on the transmission end of the cable linkage. You cannot do this yourself though unless you have a shop manual.

I need to rephrase... my transmission is an automatic with the manual-shift feature and does not have a clutch pedal. Sorry for the confusion.

Does the T/R switch have to be replaced or just realigned if this were the problem?

Depends on what you find: the PN switch section can be replaced without replacing the whole TR assembly, but it's very often either just a simple connector issue or else the cable linkage indexing adjustment.

Thank you, oldeng... I will post after I try these things out.

Well, finally found the problem thanks to your help, oldeng... It was not out of adjustment however it was a wire that had broke loose on the T/R switch. I can't believe I didn't see it before but thanks to you I was looking in the right place. I soldered it back for a temporary fix and will either have to replace the wire harness or try to find a new switch with a little extra linkage on the wires to get it to hold for good. Thanks again!