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Thanks Cap269 for your advice. My daughter isn’t in the habit of setting the parking brake when she leaves the vehicle. I checked the operation of the DRL by starting the vehicle and applying the parking brake. The headlights did go out as expected. Now I have to decide whether to pull the DRL fuse or teach my daughter how to set the parking brake when she leaves the vehicle. (Or more importantly, how to take the brake off before she heads out again. I don’t have time to replace brake shoes unnecessarily!). Allowing the DRL to work during driving adds to the safety factor, so I’ll try this option first. Hopefully, this will be the final solution to the no-start problem I have been dealing with this vehicle. If things go well during the next week of driving, I’ll have to look at replacing the DRL module as a more permanent repair. I’ll post the results after a week of driving. Thanks again Cap 269 for your help.
Thanks for putting this video together, Eric. It’s a good thing I didn’t video tape me trying to install the aftermarket alternator belt I bought for my Mazda. It would have to be censored. I guess the more experience one has, the better you get at choosing which path to go in terms of choosing original vs aftermarket parts.
I just wanted to post an update as to the progress of my vehicle problem, as well as thank those who responded with advice, especially cap 269 who helped me solve the stuck gear-shift problem, thus saving me from paying for a tow and a possible parking ticket. I did find the over-ride location at the bottom of the steering column. (If I had taken the time to read the Mazda owner’s manual like a responsible car owner should, I would have known about the location years ago. Lesson learned.) I had checked the tightness of the battery connections when the problem first arose and found them tight. After receiving your responses, I took your advice and checked the cables again but this time, I had my son with me who sat in the driver seat to monitor things. When I wiggled the positive cable, like magic, the instrument panel and heater fan came to life! There seemed to be a loss of continuity either in the cable at the post or along in the cable itself. I ended up replacing the positive clamp and this has seemed to have solved the problem so far. This is the first time I’ve come across a situation where corrosion has built up between the cable and the inside of the crimped end of the clamp. In the end, It was a great learning experience and I am grateful for all the assistance I received through your responses. I attached the pictures I took thinking they might help inexperienced guys like me who might have a similar problem and come across this post down the road. Thanks again!
My daughter who drove the car to school didn’t notice the engine light on. I have an OBD reader but I don’t think it covers vehicles earlier than 1996.
I picked up a belt from the Mazda Dealership and it went on without difficulty! Thanks again for sharing your experience. I definitely profited from it!
Thanks for the responses. I pushed the alternator as far as it could go towards the engine and it was still not enough. Tomorrow, I’ll pick a belt up from the MAZDA dealer and hopefully it will reach. Thanks again for taking the time to pass on your advice.
You’ve raised a good point about the unknown quality of free pads. I think I’d rather know that I have dependable pads stopping my vehicle than smile because I saved $30 dollars.
Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciated reading about your own experiences with this kind of problem. I got back under the vehicle yesterday and took a closer look at the AC and alternator pulleys. The alternator turned out to be the culprit. My son and I ran out to a wrecker to grab another alternator and tossed it in. Problem solved and cheaply done. Thanks again to all of you for taking the time to respond to my request for help. I love this site. My granddaughter now calls me the car doctor!
The problem happened with the old belt on. The belt tension seemed OK to me, however, I haven’t checked into what the deflection range should be or where on the belt to check it. Good idea to test it with everything turned off.
No, the belt hadn’t been changed recently. That makes sense to turn off the heater to see if things change. Tomorrow, if the weather warms up, I’ll crawl back under the vehicle to see if I can notice a pulley turning slower than normal. Thanks for responding to my request. I very much appreciate your advice.