I have a 2005 Mazda Tribute and am having problems with electrical problems. Here's the deal: When driving, if you accelerate and then let go of the gas, all the dash gauges (except radio), interior lights, power windows, high beam lights, fog lights, cruise control, turn signals, power locks, quit working. They stay off until you hit the gas again and then go back off once you let off the gas.

Any help would be appreciated? Also, does anyone have an electronic copy of an owners manual that they can send me. I used to have a zip file copy, but lost it when I got a new computer.

Thanks!!!

 

I wonder if it as simple as a really loose drive belt. I doubt it, but its a possibility. The drive belt runs the alternator, and if the belt is slipping on that pulley, it might stop everything from working. What causes me to doubt it is that most vehicles will run accessories off the battery in that case. Might be worth checkin' into...

 

Thanks for the reply. Since we started having problems I had the alternator tested, which Autozone and a local body shop said that the alternator's output was high. A few places told me that I should try replacing it, so i did, along with a new belt. Unfortunately, it didn't fix the problem.

 

Auto or manual?
Disconnect the battery negative, then check the connection between the battery neg. cable and chassis. Loosen it off, clean it and retighten. Now locate the engine ground and clean and tighten it too. On my '99 Protege (manual) its on the passenger side engine mount. The engine ground is the most suspect ground in your case because your electrics go "twilight zone" on you when you apply and relieve load, i.e. when the engine tilts forward and backwards on its mounts. If you have an automatic, you may as well check its ground out as well.
You've got to sort this out because bad grounds result in no load or insufficient load on the alternator which can take out its voltage regulator.
Keep us up to date on how you're doing.