Help!!! Ahhhh!!!

[00protegeracer]

OK heres the deal, I have been having a problem with my Protege that seems to be a common problem. It used to idle unsteadily low and after running it for a like 25-30 min and turning it off, it wont turn back on. If its really hot(Im in Florida so this happens alot) and im stuck in traffic, it starts stuttering especially around 3000 rpms and it wont go over 3000 rpms. then itll die. If either of these happens all I have to do is open up the hood and let it sit for about 5 min and bam problem is gone car starts right up. I read in one of the forums that it could be the EGR valves. Got them cleaned like last week, car is idling steady but its still low and everything still happens. What do I do next? Im going crazy here, an y suggestions would greatly be appreciated. I also just bought a new battery, new spark plugs, and new spark plug wires. What could be causing this??(bang)

[00protegeracer]

another thing will this help?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230202179071&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013
will i be able to put that in myself or would i be better off letting a mechanic do it

[Witchdoktor]

changing the ecu is not difficult, it's located under the passenger carpeting. however throwing parts at a problem is not a good approach to it. is the car throwing a cel?

[00protegeracer]

yea it was throwing a cel for a o2 sensor which i got fixed and cleared the cel and actually now that i look at it it still has the cel light on. before i got it fixed it had the cel light on and i had cleared about 2-3 times and every time it came back on. im confused this crap has me confused. i have to take it back to where i got it fixed after the new year cuz they didnt fix anything but my dome light

[zerocover]

Did you install an intake? If not your maf could be fried, there was an extended warranty put on the zm mafs. Mine went out stuttering at 3000 rpm is usually the maf.

[00protegeracer]

yea i do have an intake and its not little stuttering, it makes all the nnoise but it starts slowing down no matter how hard i hit the gas, then dies. im going to get the new maf sensor from the celica so it reads all the air from my cai but i highly doubt thats whats causing this. will a maf keep it from starting?

[00protegeracer]

but will the new maf from mazda read all the air im getting from my injen intake? i heard i was better off getting the maf from a celica cuz it was the same shape as mine but it read all the air coming from a 2.5" tube(the size of the injen tubing) rather than the stock piping of 2.25"

[red95_240sx]

If thats the problem it wud still work.

[00protegeracer]

so no one else has experienced this problem huh? i guess ill be on my own with this one

[red95_240sx]

If u have a 2.5" intake then thats probably the problem. did u just put the intake on. go back to stock and see if it runs right.

[00protegeracer]

yea thats what the mechanic said but ive been having this problem since last summer and i got my intake this summer

[red95_240sx]

Its definately the MAF i had the same symptoms. Theres two on ebay pretty cheap. one off an rx8.

[00protegeracer]

i heard that the one from a celica is just like the stock protege one except it read air from 2.5" tubes, will the rx8 one even fit in a protege? i highly doubt thats the problem but ill get one tonight on my way home. hopefully this fixes things

[IAMHOLLYWOOD]

i heard that the one from a celica is just like the stock protege one except it read air from 2.5" tubes, will the rx8 one even fit in a protege? i highly doubt thats the problem but ill get one tonight on my way home. hopefully this fixes things
did it work?
what size engine do you have?

[00protegeracer]

i have the 1.6 and it didnt work. i just got it though so it might need time but i doubt it. r u having the same problem??

[red95_240sx]

Really? Was it brand new, you reset the ECU? where ya get it from?

Oh i just picked up a bottle of seafoam too. TRy that. If the car DRIVES fine, but idles bad its prolly not the MAF.

[zerocover]

No NO NO NO NO!

All the mafs read the same. The celica one is more forgiving, Ie if you run a 2.25" intake thats not optimized you wont surge. However its not a magic bullet for the problem. IF you refuse to run the proper sized intake you need a signal conditioner $$ and some tunning $$ to get it to run right.

You cannot run a 2.5" intake, its too big. You need exactly a 2.25" intake, even then if its not the perfect design you will lean surge.

[red95_240sx]

???

[Witchdoktor]

No NO NO NO NO!

All the mafs read the same. The celica one is more forgiving, Ie if you run a 2.25" intake thats not optimized you wont surge. However its not a magic bullet for the problem. IF you refuse to run the proper sized intake you need a signal conditioner $$ and some tunning $$ to get it to run right.

You cannot run a 2.5" intake, its too big. You need exactly a 2.25" intake, even then if its not the perfect design you will lean surge.

I'd be curious to see what afr are with the celica maf and a 2.5" intake but no one with a celica maf has a wb02 or dyno.

00protegeracer - did your cel come up out of the blue or did is come up after a mod?

[00protegeracer]

its been on for almost as long as i can remember. even before i got the intake. i get it cleared like once a month but it still keeps popping up. and it does run fine but the idle is bad. could it be the throttle position sensor? i bought one just in case but cant get to the screws that hold it in place. any advice on how to change that?? could it also be the fuel filter? i cant remember ever changing it and ive had that car for quite some time?? is a fuel filter change something i can do myself or should i just take it somewhere?? thanks for any advice u can give. really appreciate it

[red95_240sx]

take it somewhere... U ever got it read?

[red95_240sx]

Yesterday i got my codes read, and i got ughhh the PCM has determined there is excesive airflow in the EGR system. The other: The PCM has determined during testing, the fuel system for bank 1 was too rich.

Im thinking maybe clean/replace the 02 sensors and clean the EGR, and seafoming. Is there a such way to clean the o2 sensors?

[00protegeracer]

man iget it checked and alot of the times it says not getting enough power from batt(something like that) but i just got a new batt, new spark plugs, spark plug wires, and coils. i also just got my egr valves cleaned and a new 02 sensor. if i cant get it fixed soon im gonna have to get rid of her, which i really dont wanna do but its become too much of a headache. half a year later and x amount of dollars and its still not fixed(shrug)

[red95_240sx]

oh yeah....alternator

[Witchdoktor]

man iget it checked and alot of the times it says not getting enough power from batt(something like that) but i just got a new batt, new spark plugs, spark plug wires, and coils. i also just got my egr valves cleaned and a new 02 sensor. if i cant get it fixed soon im gonna have to get rid of her, which i really dont wanna do but its become too much of a headache. half a year later and x amount of dollars and its still not fixed(shrug)


stop throwing parts at it and listening to e-mechanincs saying "it's definitely the maf"

take it to a mazda dealer

[red95_240sx]

He replaced everything cept the alternator

[Witchdoktor]

stop throwing parts at it and listening to e-mechanincs saying "it's definitely the maf"

take it to a mazda dealer

.

[luwe]

take it to the dealer

in my part of the world, we've had problems a bit similar to that caused by the camshaft position sensor dying or the coilpacks.

[IukekiniProtege]

ok, it is most likely not the maf, I had mine basically crap the bed completely, I had three different CEL codes for the maf. It ran like crap, but the symptoms you are describing are no where near the problems I had. I'm with witchdoktor, take it to mazda.

witchdoktor, my friend has a wbO2 with his tuning stuff for his civic, I'll see if we can get a bung welded up on my old j-pipe and then hook the wideband up and if we get that far, I'll take a video of the afr as I'm driving around. I just dont have the afr from before to compare.

[Witchdoktor]

He replaced everything cept the alternator


after your "it's denifinitely the maf" comment I think you should refrain from giving advice. if anything listening to you would result in more frustration and a lighter wallet.

[Witchdoktor]

ok, it is most likely not the maf, I had mine basically crap the bed completely, I had three different CEL codes for the maf. It ran like crap, but the symptoms you are describing are no where near the problems I had. I'm with witchdoktor, take it to mazda.

witchdoktor, my friend has a wbO2 with his tuning stuff for his civic, I'll see if we can get a bung welded up on my old j-pipe and then hook the wideband up and if we get that far, I'll take a video of the afr as I'm driving around. I just dont have the afr from before to compare.


if you guys were running lean with the stock maf then the celica maf has the ecu dumping more fuel. notice any difference in performance or mpg?

[IukekiniProtege]

lol its a 1.6 theres no gain in performance. The closest thing to a gain in performance is my ability to go up larger hills around here in either 4th or 5th rather then going to 3rd. mpg, I haven't noticed much of a difference, stays right around 36mpg with a combo of highway and in town driving.

[red95_240sx]

yea i do have an intake and its not little stuttering, it makes all the nnoise but it starts slowing down no matter how hard i hit the gas, then dies. im going to get the new maf sensor from the celica so it reads all the air from my cai but i highly doubt thats whats causing this. will a maf keep it from starting?


man iget it checked and alot of the times it says not getting enough power from batt(something like that) but i just got a new batt, new spark plugs, spark plug wires, and coils. i also just got my egr valves cleaned and a new 02 sensor. if i cant get it fixed soon im gonna have to get rid of her, which i really dont wanna do but its become too much of a headache. half a year later and x amount of dollars and its still not fixed
__________________


He had two different problems.

[IukekiniProtege]

Quits

[red95_240sx]

Hes having a problem, but the codes do not relate if im not mistaken.

A vacuume sounding problem with charge problem codes.

[00protegeracer]

yea, and actually its just that one problem, not sure y the code keeps coming up as not enough power. car runs smooth until the sputtering and thenit dies. i pop the hood leave it open for like 5 min and bam starts right up like nothing ever happened. other than that, there is no more problem. just bought a for sale sign, hopefully that fixes the problem(sad2)

[IukekiniProtege]

00protegeracer, what is the number for that code?

[Witchdoktor]

throwing parts at problems is not a smart approach. it leaves you with less money in your pocket and more frustration. take it to the dealer. jeeezus.

[00protegeracer]

i dont know the number but will get it for u, and i thought some people on the forums knew what they were talking about so i took their advice, which is y i started "throwing" the parts into it. JEEEZUS

[Witchdoktor]

I'm not flaming you racer00. I feel your frustration. if anything I'm a bit pissed at members who say "it's definitely" this and you go out spend your money listening to them and what happens? same problem, less money, more frustration. and what does that person giving the advice say after....."I'm sorry" or maybe "oh gee I was wrong", no, they go off listing more parts to change. how about an apology and then learning to keep your mouth shut unless you know what the fuck you're talking about.

racer00 dude - put your stock air box on and take it to the dealer