Hey Guest!
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Steve_S
Yoda
Offline
From an email my father sent me today:
A fellow on Miata.net forum was having start/stall problems with his 2001 Miata. Sometimes it wouldn't start at all, other times it would start and quickly stall, and other times it would be fine and run all day. VERY aggravating. Dealer couldn't find the problem. Ultimately, he traced the problem to the anti-theft immobilizer module (starting in 2001, Miatas come equipped with a "chip" in the key... if the immobilizer circuit in the car doesn't recognize the key, the car won't run properly). When he removed the immobilizer module and opened it up, he found some "tin whiskers" (very fine strands of solder) between a few of the pins. He used compressed air to blow clean the circuit board, reinstalled the immobilizer module, and all
is well (so far).
"Tin whiskers" are a known problem in manufacturing and assembly of circuit boards. And this fellow's story is well worth noting and committing to the back our minds for that day where we just might benefit from his troubleshooting experience. But there's a bit more to this fellows story....
When he had the immobilizer module out of the car, he took a few pictures. One picture alone explains everything! Have a look:
https://forum.miata.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=63434
A fellow on Miata.net forum was having start/stall problems with his 2001 Miata. Sometimes it wouldn't start at all, other times it would start and quickly stall, and other times it would be fine and run all day. VERY aggravating. Dealer couldn't find the problem. Ultimately, he traced the problem to the anti-theft immobilizer module (starting in 2001, Miatas come equipped with a "chip" in the key... if the immobilizer circuit in the car doesn't recognize the key, the car won't run properly). When he removed the immobilizer module and opened it up, he found some "tin whiskers" (very fine strands of solder) between a few of the pins. He used compressed air to blow clean the circuit board, reinstalled the immobilizer module, and all
is well (so far).
"Tin whiskers" are a known problem in manufacturing and assembly of circuit boards. And this fellow's story is well worth noting and committing to the back our minds for that day where we just might benefit from his troubleshooting experience. But there's a bit more to this fellows story....
When he had the immobilizer module out of the car, he took a few pictures. One picture alone explains everything! Have a look:
https://forum.miata.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=63434
