My 1989 626 is undergoing some form of electrical problem. While driving, I can place an electrical load on the vehicle such as headlights on, A/C on,radio on, and turn somthing else on such as power windows, wipers etc and make the "hold" light come on and the which makes the vehicle to downshift. Local Autozone checked the alt. and says its good, new batt and belts. Any ideas? Voltmeter on the batt while running indicates 12.30-14.80.

You need to pull the code to see what it is. Probably a solonoid pulling too many amps in the valvebody.

I'll check it out, I'm assuming we are talking about some form of transmission (internal) problem?

Yes although there are trans controls external of the trans too.

I have a 1991 929S and I am having the very same problem. so far I have'nt found the solution, will let you know if I find out anything.---Pat

Yep - mine's doing the same thing. For those of you unfamiliar with this one this is unlike the fameous flashing hold light problem of later models. This one actually happens with the transmission hold function engaging and disengaging randomly which really affects drivability. The effect can be triggered by putting an electrical load on the system, especially pulling up on the power window switch when it's already fully raised. I have an aftermarket radio with an external amplifier and I've had the hold engage and disengage with the beat of the music! I'm guessing the problem is a bad ground somewhere and my wife and I just dumped a lot of money into this car to get the brakes/shocks/and steering fixed and we really can't afford to put any more money into this thing. I'd love to be able to fix it myself but the #%$#%*%^&^ Haynes manual is USELESS for just about anything with this car. So if anyone finds the cure PLEASE post it on every Mazda chatroom you can find

I have an Australian workshop manual published by Gregory's Automotive publications of Sydney and it is very, very good. Their book for the 1987-1992 Telstar and Mazda 626 is numberd 252 and covers Ford Telstar (a badge engineered Mazda 626) TX5 AT, AV Series, GL and Ghia... Nov 1987 to Nov 1992 and Mazda GD 626 sedan and hatch... 2.0 Litre and 2.2 litre (excluding Turbo and DOHC) but includes Australian and New Zealand market models.

Gregorys can be contacted on telephone: +61 2 9857 3700 and their address is:

Gregory's Automotive Publications,
Universal Press Pty Limited,
1 Waterloo Road,
Macquarie Park 2113,
New South Wales,
Australia.

The manual I have, is a third reprint dated July 2001 and the book number is ISBN 0 855 66763 X

It's very detailed and written during a vehicle strip-down.

I have no association with Gregory's... I'm a New Zealander in New Zealand.

Have you guys read the post below for the 90 626 doing the same thing?

Hang on, is that anonymous with the 90 626 above, the same one as in the other post? I thought you'd fixed your problem!

my damn 1989 929's HOLD light is ALWAYS on. I dont know whats going on. Any ideas? My DOOR light is ALWAYS on too...and the doors are closed. Any ideas??

I just did a quick search on google for these guys and found that hanyes acquired them just this year... perhaps their books will actually help now! ;-p

i mean last year...

Sorry for the confusion - no I havent fixed the hold light problem but it has gone away - for now. I've driven the car all week commuting without a single incident. I did not change anything so I still am at a loss as to the cause fo the problem. Any further thoughts on the source will be most appreciated

I know nothing about auto electrical circuits and a little about things mechanical!So I tend to look at problems from a mechanical perspective, even electrical! My thoughts here, as has been said, are to check the connections and earths, which are mechanical! Sometimes just disconnecting and reconnecting a connection can make a difference and undo both ends of any earth straps, give them a file and tighten them back up! These things may or may not fix your problem but they won't cost anything to try!

Update - OK, I think it's been over a month now since I last posted about this problem. After my last post I went under the dash on the drivers side and checked for loose or corroded wires. I didn't find anything directly but I may have done SOMETHING as the problem has not reoccured since! Since then I have driven the car daily without an incident - I have even gone so far as to test it by trying to raise the driver window past it's stop, formerly a surefire way to trigger the problem, but now does nothing! The only other thing I can factor in is a change in the weather, it got much cooler around that time. Anyway it may be worth your while if you are having a similar problem to try disconnecting and reconnecting the wires underneath the steering column - don't take out the whole dash, just the lower part and the cover above the pedals. There are several wires to play with.

Good luck!!!