Flashing cel

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Mazda P5
So now my car just had a check engine light come on and it drives like s*** and sounds like s***.
I checked and I don't see any broken lines.
 
That's engine misfire.

It's the only code that flashes the CEL. Then your car goes into limp mode.

If you still have a pre-cat you can wreck it in seconds.
Headers don't have a pre-cat and need the non-fouler mod.
 
A code reader will tell you whether you have a random mis-fire(P0300) or cylinder specific (P0301- P0304).

Many people here have found that the misfire was caused by coils.

If I were you, I'd start with a new set of ignition coils. They are notoriuos for giving us grief.
 
Only time my pro5 threw a code was a random misfire, new coil packs and cleared the code. Been fine since, id also check out your plug wires. The girlfriends kia optima ruined the plugs and wires when the coils went out
 
If you've got a header and no pre-cat then it's not an emergency and you've got some time to figure it out.

If your CEL is now on all the time (no longer flashing) it means that limp mode is working and has stopped the mis-fire but you'll need to fix it to get out of limp mode.
 
I'd pull that plug and take a look at it.

Maybe run the car in the dark and look for sparks around the plugs wires and coils.
 
Sounds like it's not firing.
I'm guessing bad coil ??

Do you have 4 coils now or still two ?

Check the plug wire for cracks.

You can mist some water around the wire, coil and plug and check for sparks.

Inspect the sparkplug boot for signs of sparking.

It could also be a partially clogged injector.
 
So you cleared the code first and it came back again as cylinder 3 ??

That's sounding like injector.

Try swapping coils too, just to help make sure.

 
Yea, don't start throwing money at it until you know what exactly is wrong.

I'm pretty sure both an injector and coil could have an instant and complete failure.

I'm pretty sure the coil swap is easier to do than swapping injectors.

There's wiring and connections for both the coils and injectors that you can inspect.

Your injector could be stuck open.
 
I switched the coils around and the light is taking forever to come back. I cleared the light twice and it came back quickly, this time sheet switching the coils it still runs horrible but no light.

Ok light came back it jumped. It's the coil pack, I'm going to buy another one and have them warranty it. Haha
 
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Haha yeah, this coil pack is only 7 months old and been on the car for 4 months. So they're going to change it for me one way or another.
 
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