Alright so i've looked throughout the forums and haven't found anything that is helpful for my particular situation. I recently purchased an 04 6spd manual with 50k miles and have been running into some minor issues. No heat is my current problem.

I went outside to start my car, didn't start. Battery looked old and corroded so i wanted to replace it soon anyway hoping it would solve my problem as well. It did not, I needed to jump it to get it going again. I drove it to my friends house after the jump without testing it first like an idiot. Left it there a few days cause i couldnt get it started and it was too cold to try to move, turns out my friend had bad jumper cables to begin with, and a loose ground connection on the battery due to a shitty clamp. I had tightened it all the way but the clamp was still not on tight which i did not realize some how. I had to bend the clamp tighter.

but anyway, on the way to my buddies house i noticed the heat wasn't working. Figured it was just temporary after a battery change or something. his house is close by so didnt give it much thought. Then when trying to jump it, I ended up flooding the engine, I deflooded her and she was eventually running again. Now she starts on two cranks in 32F. Only problem is my heat still doesn't work. Ive read the forums ... i tried soldering the three wires, it did nothing. It was my first time soldering anything in a long time so I may do it again. I run an aftermarket sound system so i can't check the temp cont the normal way. Is anyone aware of how to do it with the metra kit installation? single din
Blows out cold air always, didn't just gradually get colder. happened after battery replacement. temp gauge is reading fine, coolant topped off. Im lost, PLZ helppp

 

The battery likely has nothing to do with the heat not working. You probably need new HVAC controls or it is related to the Metra kit but really the issue would have to be troubleshooted properly and it doesn't seem like you have the skills to do that.

 

Wow bro....rude. I may not be a pro like you but i'm trying, jeez . Only had this car a few months so i'm learning along the way. I only included the info about the battery because it was unusual to me that the heat stopped after replacing. Seems unlikely to be a coincidence. Any more steps i can take to narrowing down what the issue can be? I was considering taking to a mazda dealer and seeing if theyll let me install and test a new control unit. very easy install so if they let me try that would help a lot.

Again, sorry im not that experienced but i'd like to save the money and do it myself. I enjoy it anyway. I find it hard to believe no one else has run into an issue with the heater control unit as well as having a metra kit. if i could just find out how to do the temperature **** test with the metra kit, i could probably do the rest.

Also, is anyone able to list other things it could be and how to diagnose/fix. actuator? heater control valve? flush coolant system? radiator? etc.

Thanks in advance

 

There's lots of info regarding issues with aftermarket radios in this thread if you haven't seen it.

 

I'm sorry if you took the comment as rude but it's just the truth. I am not saying you could not learn to do it yourself but electrical troubleshooting can be rather complicated and you are not going to learn that by starting a thread. There are many variables, and guessing what the issue is won't help.

The metra kit has known issues, determining if your problem is related to it or not is where the troubleshooting know how comes in.

 

9k tells it like he sees it/reads it.
You may like it or not

 

I was only messing 9K, i'm well aware i'm not qualified for this kind of a fix. but hell, if by some chance i get lucky and it works then i just saved a few hundred bucks.
That being said i'm starting to think that's not going to happen. At this point my only hope is if someone can tell me how to check the damn motha fckn temperature knobb with a metra kit. That will tell me if its just the control unit i need to replace/fix or if its something i most likely will need to bring it in for. Learning step by step so no complaints here, but ill admit it would be nice to have heat in the winter, living in chicago and all.
Thanks for the responses. ANY help, is more then appreciated. ill be sure to follow up with the fix

 

Good deal.
You might consider trying to find a used factory unit to swap into it.
Might save yourself some time and trouble.

 

Video of what i think the issue might be. air compressor and or relay?