MTLbroker

So my 8 has been in an unheated garage for most of the winter. I take it out whenever the pavement is dry and let the car "stretch it's legs". But it has been unusually cold here the past month or so with temperatures dipping to -25C at times. There's been a little snow, but what little there is tends to stay because of the cold. The last time I drove the 8 was the weekend before Christmas.

So, it's finally warming up a bit here and the pavement is dry enough so a couple of nights ago, I decide to take the 8 out for a spin. I climb in, go through the usual startup procedure..... seatbelt - check, garage door - open, turn to acc to prime fuel pump - check. The radio came on, I could hear the ventilation system kick in. Everything seemed to be OK.

I turn the key expecting to hear the engine turn over and jump to life in its characteristic whirrr. I'll be darned - I hear the enine crank a couple of times and then a clicking loud clicking sound normally associated with a dead battery. The dome lights dim, the dash lights go out. I turn off the ventilation, shut the radio, give it another crank. Nothing!

At this point, I have visions of flooded rotaty, tow truck, m-n-o-p flash, flat-spotted tires, and scrambled electronics. Since the car is parked with the trunk facing the entrance, I couldn't boost the battery. So I poke around the garage and dig up my old motorcycle battery charger. This thing is about the size my laptop power supply and probably produces about the same amount of current. But I figure, what the heck, I hook up this pathetic looking transformer (it doesn't have any charge indicator or shut off circuit). I leave it charging for about 10 hours.

So last night, I get home, unhook the charger, go through the startup routine. I prime the fuel pump, remember not to touch the throttle, and crank. Fully expecting the car to be flooded and not start, I was pleasantly surprised when I hear the engine catch. It took a couple of extra cranks, but the car fired to life.

I back up out of the driveway, check everything out, seems OK. The only thing was the DSC light came on indicating the system was shut off for some reason. I let the car idle for about two minutes, drive off slowly to warm up the engine. Pull over, took a chance, shut the car off and restarted. The car fired to life instantly, this time, no DSC light. So all the electronics seem to be working OK.

I take it onto the highway, go through the gears, bring up reves. Driving on the highway for about 40 minutes, the car was running perfectly. Went home happy, put the car back in the garage. Hopefully I be able to take it out this weekend and drive a bit more.

In any event, no flooding, no towing, tires not flatspotted, electronics OK, didn't even have to reprogram the radio stations. No boosting, no battery swapping. Only thing was trickle charging for 10 hours with a 20 year old charger bought for 10 bucks when I had a motorcycle.

I think the 8 is more robust than people think. Nothing worse than letting a car sit around for a month and a half in subzero weather, then slapping on a charger because the battery is dead and taking it out for an hour driving the heck out of it. But the 8 came through like a champ.

cgrx

Nice


I had my car parked for 3 days in temps ranging from 70 to 40. I came back and it wouldn't turn over, it almost did a few times and would die. I thought for sure it was flooded. I waited a bit and turned the key while on the gas ( I did this a few times) about the 4th time she fired up. CEL flashed a few time and went away. Exhaust stunk and there was more smoke than normal. (Unburnt fuel in exhaust I hope) It was weird, but at least I didn't have to deal with shitty Mazda roadside. First time anything like that has come close to happening, car is 11 months old with 34,000 miles on it. If it happens again I'm taking it in.

rx8cited

You need to do this if your battery dies. Do it anyway even though the light is now off:

"If DSC light remains on after disconnecting battery or jumpstarting, you will need to perform a Steering Angle Sensor calibration procedure, after battery power is restored: Ignition ON; turn steering wheel to full left lock position; then full right lock position; turn ignition OFF, then ON".

BTW, this is also in the Owner's Manual.