Mazda3 2014 not starting, battery light on

thoughttly got a Mazda 3 towed to my shop, and the customer said after driving the vehicle they went to the pump station and then parked at home, the car never started again.

my first thought was that they added diesel in the tank instead of gasoline, but it was not the case, when I tried to start the car I could see black smoke while cranking, I didn't take the scanner out yet, I went and remove the maf sensor and wala car started immediately.

so if you are experiencing black smoke while cranking, your maf could be the culprit.

battery light on.

while working on this mazda I notice that when I unplug the maf sensor the alternator light came on and the car stopped charging (Mazda did it for safety reasons) so if your mazda stopped charging it is worth to check the maf out before buying a new alternator. actually this sensor is 2 in 1 air volume and heat sensor, open in the heat sensor will trigger the no charging problem.

of course there are other no starting causes, but this one got my attention.

for regular no starting problems open a tread in the forum section..