Power Issue/question

iJay

Member
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Mazda, Protege 5
So Last week my car was doing some wierd stuff, took it into autozone had it diagnosed as a misfire and EGR valve.

To remedy the misfire I changed the sparkplugs, seemed to have taken care of most of it. I am waiting on the wires and coils to come in from a friend in Canada.

Also I know the rear motor mount is toast, again that should be here in the next week or so. Well today while driving I had my system up on blast bc I just insulated the trunk and doors. Well the bass kicked out, which is never has before. It came back on, but flickered. I know allt he fuses and wiring is fine for the system.

So i checked my cap which has a digital read out, it says the car is holding 11.6v while @ idle. Usually its at like 13.x v while @ idle. I wanted to know if a misfire caused by coils/wires would cause this? Or even the EGR. I am hearing alot of whine from the exterior of the car from alternator.

I am hoping this is just the wires causing a loss in power.

Oh yea the car is hesistant on start up. i have to told the key for an extra 1-1.5 seconds
 
It sounds like you're losing your alternator. I can't speak to your misfire and EGR valve diagnosis. But like you said, a good alternator will push that voltage above 12V. The fact that it's dropping below says that (1) your alternator is dying/dead or (2) you're pulling a loooooot of power from your battery. What is the voltage reading when your sound system isn't hooked up or turned on?
I might say that a misfire could be caused by the sparkplugs not getting enough juice from the battery because it, too, is dying and the plugs are competing with your sound system for electricity from the battery.
The hesitation upon start up is typical of a dying battery, which is typical of a bad alternator. I would try to jump start your car, even if it doesn't need it. If it starts right up, it further indicates that your charging system (alternator) is bad and the battery is quickly dying.
Finally, alternator whine could be a bad bearing in the alternator, thus preventing it from generating electricity or worse, from working at all.
I have zero knowledge about EGR valves so I can't incorporate that into my thought process :p. Surely somebody else will weigh in.
So Last week my car was doing some wierd stuff, took it into autozone had it diagnosed as a misfire and EGR valve.

To remedy the misfire I changed the sparkplugs, seemed to have taken care of most of it. I am waiting on the wires and coils to come in from a friend in Canada.

Also I know the rear motor mount is toast, again that should be here in the next week or so. Well today while driving I had my system up on blast bc I just insulated the trunk and doors. Well the bass kicked out, which is never has before. It came back on, but flickered. I know allt he fuses and wiring is fine for the system.

So i checked my cap which has a digital read out, it says the car is holding 11.6v while @ idle. Usually its at like 13.x v while @ idle. I wanted to know if a misfire caused by coils/wires would cause this? Or even the EGR. I am hearing alot of whine from the exterior of the car from alternator.

I am hoping this is just the wires causing a loss in power.

Oh yea the car is hesistant on start up. i have to told the key for an extra 1-1.5 seconds
 
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Put a meter on the battery itself and measure volts before starting and while running at 1500RPMs. Then turn up the stereo. Measure volt now.

Report back.

It may just be a bad ground or power connection at the cap too ;)

I really doubt it caused a misfire. Really low voltage will affect the ECU.
 
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