Well, I bought a new battery for my car. (mazda 121 1992).
Why did I buy it. I needed one, I think. Remember it wasn't holding it's charge and i got the new alternator belt and all that stuff.

Well I had fully intended to buy a new battery tomorrow when I had money but today as I drove into the city centre.....the car simply cut out. I tried to start it up again, and it seemed keen but it just wouldn't. I called my brother and got him to buy a new Battery anyway, as I needed one. I put it in. It still tried hard but wouldn't start. What is it now?

Gav, is it turning over when you try to start it? Is the check engine light on? Have someone check for any hard or soft codes set in the computer. Due to your battery problems I would start by checking all grounding points in your engine compartment they need to be clean and tight. Unfortunately with the information given it could be anything from a bad ground point to a crank angle sensor to a bad ECU, plus many more possibilty. Any more information will help to diagnose the problem.

Hi Burt,

God will I ever have some peace with this car?!
There was no warning at all when the car just cut out. No warning lights. When I turn the ignition it seems very keen to start but it's just not sparking. That's about all I can say

Well, I got a mechanic to it. He thought it might be the fuel pump-it wasn't. He then checked to see if there was spark-there wasn't. So he suggests changing the coil and distributor, and that the only way to be sure that it could be either of these would be to change them and see if she starts. That's what he's doing now, so he'll call me when he has done that.

Well, it was the distributor. It's fixed now. He put a second hand distributor in it to keep the cost low. However it still cost €120. SO along with the new battery I bought yesterday, it cost me €180 this week. Things seem to go wrong every few weeks. Would it be a case of something different knocking on to something else, meaning there could be another problem soon? Or is it just pure bad luck?

Glad to hear you got your car fixed. Sorry it was the distributer, probably one of the most expensive repairs to the ignition system. Hopefully this will be the end of your problems for a while. They always seem to come in bunches.

Cheers for all your help Burt