1996 and obd mystery

FWIW, my '96 is the same as yours... nothing under the dash, "diagnostics" on driver side near clutch MC.

miker

Weird. If you check the newsgroup for past discussions of this, everyone says OBD II came in with the 96 model year.

I did google up one reference to some model-year 96 card that were manufactured in 1995 that didn't have obdii. I suppose that explains it.

yeah, it should be there. its normal location is at the bottom edge of the dash but the drivers right knee (north american, steering wheel on left version). i have read that they break loose and so people push them up on top of the radio or into the rats nest of wires under the dash by the steering column. have you popped off the plate under the steering column and looked around for it? it should be in there.

"but the drivers right knee" should read "by the drivers right knee".

If the 96 is OBDII, the underhood connector can be used (with the proper mating connector) by OBDII testing equipment. The OBDII digital data lines, ground, and maybe (don't remember) +12vdc are present on the OBDII underhood connector. An early 96 might be OBD1 There may be a sticker on the door post showing the SN, Trim Level, and date of build. I have a 99 model actually built in Dec 98, according to the sticker. The 99 is turbocharged, and I hesitate to think what the testing facility might say. (even with a "CARB" sticker) Fortunately, (Knock on Wood) we don't have to do such things here. There has been periodic talk of extending the mandatory testing areas to our locale, but, so far, nothing has come of it.

I had my car inspected this afternoon at the same place I've been going for years. Basically, its wink, wink, nod, nod and they pretend that it's a 95 and put it on the dyno. They can't find an OBD II connecter either. They said I should get a note from a Mazda dealer testifying that it doesn't have OBD II in case I ever need to take it someplace else. Not sure I get that. I'll just tell them its a '95.

Chuck, where are you located? What country? Sorry, I should know but I guess I don't pay that much attention. I'm confused by your sentence;

The 99 is turbocharged, and I hesitate to think what the testing facility might say.

Maybe you're just trying to say that your 99 is turbocharged, help me out here.

Speaking of turbo Miatas, what year / years was the turbo available in Australia, anybody remember? It was a predecessor to the MSM in the states.

Thanks, Chris

i think you should call mazda usa customer service and see what they have to say about it...

Good idea. Thanks.

"What country?" Some natives like to still think that Georgia is part of the CSA, not the USA, but that was settled quite a few years back, well before my time. One of my great grandmothers was a young child at the time of that debacle, and lived across the street (in a northern state capitol ) from a tall skinny lawyer that was famous for a tall top hat and a beard. Somewhere in one of the family lock boxes is a ticket to the man's funeral. I have a framed key hanging on the wall that unlocked the doors to the old state capitol building that was in use back then.

Since we are not in the Atlanta smog zone, there is no mandated EM testing in my locale, although there are a few approved testing facilities that survive by doing "tuneups". My 99 is A/M turbo'd. If you were to look at the Mazda 99-00 promo and auto show pictures, you might find a "look alike" Red LS Turbo in some of the pictures. Mazda had several Miata prototypes and Japan only concept Miata models that were turbo'd and never released for production. The 99 in my garage has stock internals, ~9.5-10 psi boost, 220HP at rear wheels. I'd love to put in a LS-x V8, and caddy differential. Unfortunately, the stock market is not co-operating. 300-500 HP (depending on which LS engine is used) at moderate RPM is a new ball game.

"What country?" Some natives like to still think that Georgia is part of the CSA, not the USA, but that was settled quite a few years back, well before my time. One of my great grandmothers was a young child at the time of that debacle, and lived across the street (in a northern state capitol ) from a tall skinny lawyer that was famous for a tall top hat and a beard. Somewhere in one of the family lock boxes is a ticket to the man's funeral. I have a framed key hanging on the wall that unlocked the doors to the old state capitol building that was in use back then.

Since we are not in the Atlanta smog zone, there is no mandated EM testing in my locale, although there are a few approved testing facilities that survive by doing "tuneups". My 99 is A/M turbo'd. If you were to look at the Mazda 99-00 promo and auto show pictures, you might find a "look alike" Red LS Turbo in some of the pictures. Mazda had several Miata prototypes and Japan only concept Miata models that were turbo'd and never released for production. The 99 in my garage has stock internals, ~9.5-10 psi boost, 220HP at rear wheels. I'd love to put in a LS-x V8, and caddy differential. Unfortunately, the stock market is not co-operating. 300-500 HP (depending on which LS engine is used) at moderate RPM is a new ball game.

Sorry, news server burped, did not accept the first try, then when I tried later, it took both the first try and the replacement.

Wow, I'm still confused, what's the A/M stand for ? And are you saying your car is a 'prototype'?

Chris