WTF Happened Moment This weekend.... Any Suggestions

Driving Down I65 merging with I10 going about 70. Radio, Wipers on, and Fan blowing to defrost windshield. It is raining. Out of the clear blue sky... The wipers stop, truck is off, as in like you turned off the ignition. I pushed in the clutch hit the hazards and tried to start, nothing just a click. I pulled over in the high speed breakdown lane and tried three times to start it, started then stalled on the second, started and revved on third try. the truck was running, I managed to get up to speed to move over to the low speed lane, as I am doing my last lane change. Dead again. I am on an long overpass, I push the clutch and drop it to neutral and try to start, It spudders and died, then again.
I got it running and pulled off the highway, I looked under the hood, the battery connections were solid. I have no idea what happened. I am at a loss for words... This has happened once before on a bright and sunny day, but I had the heater on.. My truck has had an alarm installed but I had pulled the fuses, because the alarm was going off and would not stop. The alarm was not a ignition kill alarm, it was a basic noise one if someone opened the door while it was set. I went back to get the truck the other day, and it ran like nothing happened....

Any Ideas? Where to start looking... I am leaning to electrical but please open for all..

assuming this is a 84? so likely no or not much of a computer in it? Cant see how the heat would kill it, unless your so low on coolant it had overheated. Only reason I say that is I over heated and mine shut off. I would lean on electrical...but it sounds engine derived. Low on oil? Low on coolant? Is your thermostat any good? Check your mechanicals first...since it fires back up after a short period of cooling time and electronics dont really care if its cold or hot, if they broke, they are broke usually period. Just some suggestions to look at

sounds like your fusable link
a wire ment to burn up if there is an electrical shrot
it comes off the + terminal off the battery check that it powers the electrical system

Ya know...I completey forget about them lil links. Good call Todd!

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the curse of I-65 strikes again..

I had a similar problem, so this may give you some ideas to look at...

My problem was just about the same thing, except I was able to narrow it down to happening when I would switch gears. I ended up blowing one of the big fues that reside up next to the battery.

The real problem was under my dash though. When I would engage/dis-engage the clutch, I was shorting out the wire harness coming off the steering wheel and ignition with the top of the clutch.

I ended up replacing the fuse that had blow and running a bungee chord around the wire harness and attaching it to the back of my seat. This pulled the wires away from the clutch enough to drive home. Once I got home, I was able to re-route the wires a bit to keep this from happening again.

I am going to check those fusable links.
I dont know if it was coolant/oil, all levels are where they need to be.

My truck is an 87... I know it has a computer... but to turn off the wipers..
I am going to look at my key load... I know I had a problem with that once...

I mean it was just so weird that a good running Mazda would just roll over and play dead!
I am going to check all of my wiring as soon as I can.. I just dont trust it until I know whats wrong.

Is this a possibility.. My truck has AC, it doesnt look like a factory job.. Or maybe it is, it has a little blue button on the dash to turn in on. and just a long black wire running to the compressor. Is it possible that the ac clutch wire grounded out and shorted my electrical system killing it...

sounds like to me its something electrical. if your not using the alarm anymore, remove it and fix all the wires that you cut into. maybe one of them is grounding out. when i bought my truck it had an alarm installed with power locks and door poppers. my truck died a few times just trying to get it home after i bought it. i removed all the wire jungle and it has never had that problem again.

i had one do this before..i found the internals of the ignition switch were shot (the copper contacts in the ignition switch harness were smoked) or the little plastic slot the key cylinder fits into was shattered...did the same thing..cruzing along, running mint and it just quit...it happened a few months after i lowered my first 87'..the vibration killed it...just a thought..it's worth a look..just pull the column cover and the one phillps holding in the harness and give it a look....


hope it helps!