01 protege sometimes runs rough, check engine light on/flashes

[jgrant59]

Coil Issue

In light of the circumstances that I had and that you are having, Could we be dealing with simply a loose, or poorly designed connection between the coil and the plug below the pack?? or some other ignition circuit connection??

I am wondering if when I put back the old plugs and cleaned all related connections, that the connection issue was corrected and the plugs had nothing to do with my issue??

Food for thought.

 

[ColinG]

In light of the circumstances that I had and that you are having, Could we be dealing with simply a loose, or poorly designed connection between the coil and the plug below the pack?? or some other ignition circuit connection??

I am wondering if when I put back the old plugs and cleaned all related connections, that the connection issue was corrected and the plugs had nothing to do with my issue??

Food for thought.

Honestly, I have no clue. Makes sense though. The trouble is that there seems to be so many "wires" leading to and from the various parts of the engine (the cylinders etc etc) that I would imagine any one of them "shorting" would/could contribute to the problem. The challenge is how the heck do you isolate THAT?

BTW, I had a small misfire today ... so I dunno!

Prot_ES20 ... any developments??

Colin.

 

[jgrant59]

Try cleaning EGR valve

I found a thread in this forum call "How To clean EGR valve". The random misfires you have been receiving may be directly related to a sticking EGR valve.

I completed this on my 01 ES 2.0 last night and it seem to be idling a lot better.

Kind of tricky to get the bolts out, and it took me a couple hours for the whole job, but I think you should give it a try.

John

 

[ColinG]

I found a thread in this forum call "How To clean EGR valve". The random misfires you have been receiving may be directly related to a sticking EGR valve.

I completed this on my 01 ES 2.0 last night and it seem to be idling a lot better.

Kind of tricky to get the bolts out, and it took me a couple hours for the whole job, but I think you should give it a try.

John

John,

I did one even better when this all started ... I REPLACED that valve with a brand new one. (Dealer "recommendation") and the misfiring continued on merrily.

History of what I've done so far.

Replaced EGR valve.
Replaced leads
Replaced spark plugs
Did a Fuel Injector flush
Now switching out ignition coils

Still had a little misfire yesterday again ... but I must admit it "seems" better now to SOME extent ... only had two misfires this week since my latest switchout on Sunday night with the new coil that I have. Still "runs rough" though, maybe BOTH coils are bad. Will bite the bullet next week and get another new coil (see post #20 regarding the "one" coil situation) as that's the only way I can truly eliminate if its the coils I guess. Seems an expensive way to check something that may not even be the problem. (they cost me $149 bucks + tax each here in Toronto)

By the time I'm done here I may have a whole new electrical system. Wish Prot_ES20 would let us know if his double coil change worked!

 

[wannabe]

update...


got a code scanner, and i am getting code: P0300 - "Random cylinder misfire"

this is the code that the mechanic told me was on when i first brought the car to them. they said it was the plugs.

well there are new plugs in it now, and still the code shows up.

one thing i did notice is that one of the wires coming off the left coil does not click in tightly. would this cause a misfire condition, but only intermittently? i tested by unplugging it, effectively disabling that cylinder, and it runs a little rough, but the check engine light does not come on. also it does not run as bad as when we see the problem while driving.

i got this exact same problem today on the way home from work. i had the code read at autozone, they said p0340 and p0300. its been very intermittant and i did notice that the rubber spark plug cover thing, which im not sure what its called, on the leftmost plug was sligthly popped out of the block, so i pushed it back in tightly and i didnt experience any more problems for the drive home...

i'm gonna try swapping out the plugs tomorrow and take it out on the highway...i'm afraid of running it too hard and hurting things more though...

 

[wannabe]

DTC P0300 Random misfire detection

POSSIBLE CAUSE

CKP sensor malfunction
CMP sensor malfunction
Ignition coil malfunction
High-tension lead malfunction
MAF sensor contamination
Excess air suction in intake-air system (between MAF sensor and dynamic chamber)
Fuel pump malfunction
Fuel pressure regulator malfunction
Fuel line clogged
Fuel filter clogged
Fuel leakage in fuel line
Purge control solenoid valve malfunction
PCV valve malfunction
EGR valve malfunction
Vacuum hoses damages or improper connection
Related connector and terminal malfunction
Related wiring harness malfunction
Poor fuel quality


i also found this while searching on here...it seems to be everything that could possibly go wrong...

 

[Brian MP5T]

i have an 01 protege that is having some problems. sometimes it runs perfect, other times i will start it and the check engine light flashes, and it runs like crap.. car/engine shakes, rough idle, wants to stall.

does anyone know a good resource for looking up trouble code meanings?

thanx for any help.

Flashing is Very Bad. The codes must be read by Mazda IMO... Ask them to read the codes... Not just change the oil.

 

[wannabe]

Flashing is Very Bad. The codes must be read by Mazda IMO... Ask them to read the codes... Not just change the oil.

if you read above he says he took it to the dealer with no luck.

 

[ColinG]

DTC P0300 Random misfire detection

POSSIBLE CAUSE

CKP sensor malfunction
CMP sensor malfunction
Ignition coil malfunction
High-tension lead malfunction
MAF sensor contamination
Excess air suction in intake-air system (between MAF sensor and dynamic chamber)
Fuel pump malfunction
Fuel pressure regulator malfunction
Fuel line clogged
Fuel filter clogged
Fuel leakage in fuel line
Purge control solenoid valve malfunction
PCV valve malfunction
EGR valve malfunction
Vacuum hoses damages or improper connection
Related connector and terminal malfunction
Related wiring harness malfunction
Poor fuel quality


i also found this while searching on here...it seems to be everything that could possibly go wrong...

Would any of the above give the same "random misfires" code though?

 

[wannabe]

Would any of the above give the same "random misfires" code though?

thats what the other thread said...i found my problem to be that one of the boots wasnt down all the way on the plug, so it caused an arc to the head. i reaplaced the plugs anyway, but that appears to have solved the problem