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You need to have someone listen with their ear against the fuel tank to hear the fuel pump most likely.

Leave the key off, ear against tank, turn the key on/engine off, fuel pump should be audible.

I've had two cars go similarly. This is free, if it works. Next time it refuses to fire up, turn off the switch. Then bang the heel of your hand against the shifter. As if you were making sure it goes "more" into the park position. On both my cars it was slack in the switch that allows the car to only start in the park position, or neutral.
You can also try putting the car in neutral, then trying the ignition.

Our daughter's Mazda did the same thing also.

lrb111 wrote:I've had two cars go similarly. This is free, if it works. Next time it refuses to fire up, turn off the switch. Then bang the heel of your hand against the shifter. As if you were making sure it goes "more" into the park position. On both my cars it was slack in the switch that allows the car to only start in the park position, or neutral.
You can also try putting the car in neutral, then trying the ignition.

Our daughter's Mazda did the same thing also.

But the Park disconnect switch would not allow it to even turn over if working correctly. His car turns over, just won't start. Did your cars actually turn over??

Yes. My 88 ford Ranger still does it occasionally. I don't really move the shifter back and forth., Just bang the floor shifter forward a couple times, and it fires right off.

I think the problem is how secure the car got put into park when it was parked. One of the cars had a coke spilled into the console. It was never "right" after that.

I would have never thought of that, since I have only ever owned one car with an automatic (our current Honda Pilot, 2 years old).

But my Miata won't turn over if the clutch is not down.

Russell wrote:This car is manual.

Actually, my first thought was fuel pump, I was just suggesting another possibility.

If it has been trash in the tank affecting the screen around the pump, it takes a awhile for it to die, and can cause intermittent problems.. I think you mentioned you had changed the fuel filter?

On this Mazda, do you get to the fuel pump by removing the rear car seat? If so I would do it immediately. Fuel pumps can cause all kinds of weird problems. After-market and rebuilt pumps don't always last as long as some of the oems either. NAPA had a known problem with their brand of pumps, and refused to admit it. My brother put 4 pumps in a row on a car over two years, with the last one being oem. the first three were NAPA. NAPA put out a press release about their "improved" fuel pumps. This was a couple years ago.

Keith B wrote: Did your cars actually turn over??

this should have been the first question

Russell wrote:Well, went and picked up the car so that I can have it for next week. He said he couldn't find any reason for it to be acting the way it is, and it started just fine all three days he had it. He said the connections behind the ignition were a little loose so he tightened those up.

Guess we'll see

The loose connections could have been the answer.

When a fuel pump goes out, typically it quits all together.. You *might* get a buck here or there before one goes out. For a fuel pump to act like your describing, that doesnt happen. Although a bad relay can cause it, and it can also cause the engine to quit after driving a while ( the coil that actually drives the relay loses strength to keep the contacts closed )..

What your describing, I'd put my money on the ignition system ECM or other electrical problems.. The reason it was starting with the ether is because it's much more flammable than gasoline, therefore it takes less spark to ignite it. When it fired it heated things up enough that the gasoline could continue to burn with a weak spark. I've seen ignition problems cause some weird things.. I fight electrical problems everyday, I find it fun, but it's a nightmare if you dont know what your looking for..