2002 Mazda Protege5 Check Engine light on again

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mohsinladha

Member
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2002 Mazda Protege5
2002 P5 has 211K km. Recently replaced spark plugs, ignition coils & wires, air filter, and EGR valve. After replacing EGR valve check engine light was off for 2 days and then it came on again. Car drives fine, but there is a exhaust system like rattle from middle bottom, specially when reverrse gear is engaged. Any idea what else to look for? Need to pass Ontario emission test by May 2013.
Thanks
Mohsin Ladha
 
If it's a metallic rattle, the catalytic converter shield may be rusting off. Just remove it.
As for the check engine light, it would be good to get a code reader and read it.
 
Yea,... my heat shield over my cat. is no longer there. I don't really care and I don't think it affects your e-test. I also had a rattle where the support bracket welded to the exhaust near the second cat. rusted through and it was bouncing around. I just removed the rubber mounts and rusted off pieces but now I have no support in the middle of the exhaust,... I may hang it up again this summer.

A code reader is a great idea and you have a few options. A regular reader for about $50 - $200. But I ordered an Ultra-Gauge for $108 (all in shipped to Canada) and it not only reads and rubs codes but shows 46 different gauges for my car and mounts to the dash and looks pretty clean (it doesn't show closed loop though so Scangauge may be better).

Another option that I didn't look into enough before my purchase, is a bluetooth OBD II wireless reader that broadcasts to your Android phone and with the help the Torque App shows way more gauges, stores and logs data and is completely customizable with different "skins" and colors to choose from. The Elm bluetooth reader is about $25- $30 and the App is less than $5.

I'm intending on getting a Samsung prepaid Android phone for $100 along with the Elm reader and Torque App. I don't even have to activate the phone if I don't want. I can use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with it and the camera and apps without activating it.
 
Thx all of you for your feedback. Getting code read with OBD2 scanner is a good idea. I found few at www.obdreaders.com price $19.99 and up. Will find out tomorrow how much they charge for shipping.
 
mohsinladha said:
Thx all of you for your feedback. Getting code read with OBD2 scanner is a good idea. I found few at www.obdreaders.com price $19.99 and up. Will find out tomorrow how much they charge for shipping.
Click to expand...

The cheaper code readers only give you the CEL code number and not the written description on the screen. It's not too big a deal though,... Just print out the applicable trouble codes for our car from the FSM and put it in your glove box along with the code reader.

FSM pages 01–02B–15 to 01–02B–18
 
Last edited:
Yesterday I had OBDII codes read at Partsource and are:
P0102: Mass Air Flow low input
Should I try to clean the MAF first? What is the best way to clean it?
P0421: warm up Catalyst Efficiency below threshold (Bank 1)
Is it the downstream Oxygen Sensor or the catalytic converter? I drove the car for a few days before noticing the misfire and CEL flashed on 2 or 3 occasions. Then I replaced spark plugs, igntion coils and wires, and EGR valve. Do you think the catalytic converter is damaged?
I just want to pass Ontario emission test next by end of May 2013 and drive the P5 for another year before I can afford to buy another car. Also I don't want to spend >$300 on the car fixing it.
Any tips on how to pass emission test!
All help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mohsin Ladha
 
regarding P0102: The MAF could be dirty, in which case you can use a special cleaner for it available at auto stores. But it's more likely that there's a tear downstream of the MAF in the air intake accordion tube. Remove the accordion tube and inspect it carefully. A new tube is only about $30 from rockauto.com.

regarding P0421: If the coils were damaged and you drove for "a few days" then, yes, that could have damaged the catalytic converter because unburned fuel was being dumped into the cat. A flashing CEL generally indicates a potentially serious (read: expensive) problem, and generally you should not drive the car until the problem is fixed. You can often find a used cat on the forums here for <$100 and installation should take no more than 1 hour of labor. Make sure that you replaced both coils with new, high-quality coils or the new cat you install will also fail.
 
Do the "non-fouler" trick if your pre-cat it smoked (which it probably is) the part is $8 or $9 at napa but phone them first,... they are a little scarce.

Napa part #730-2442 spark plug non-foulers 18 mm

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ure-Cel-Mil-from-removing-cat-with-Non-Fouler

This method tricks the ECU into thinking the pre-cat is fine and it won't throw the P0421 CEL

But yea you still have to fix the original problem that killed your cat (there's books about that,... 1000 ways to kill a cat).
You may very well have a vacuum leak or cracked intake tube. I just put my new intake tube on today and it came to $56.46 CAD all in shipped to Canada ($28.94 for shipping alone,.. plus tax, plus dollar conversion)

Get the proper MAF cleaner it's only $8 or $9. That thing is very delicate and expensive and something like carb or brake cleaner may wreck it,... electrical contact cleaner might be OK but I wouldn't risk it.
 
Forgot to mention Air Cleaner Intake Hose was cracked. So I got Dorman one from rockauto.com and replaced it. I will try cleaning the MAF first and then try OBDII scan again. I have to find a cat. If I cannot find a used cat then how about cheap one from rockauto.com which will cost me about $230 total?
Thx again guys
Mohsin
 
I have found cat by Fast Line for US$ 129.99+tax. Includes gaskets and bolts. Has any one used this cat on a P5 before?
Mohsin
 
That's a pretty good price but I don't know about the brand. Installing a new pre-cat can be a pain. Everything is rusted up, almost welded and can be very frustrating.

You can fix the CEL with $10 and about an hour to install it. People that install a new header have to put do the trick because there is no pre-cat.
 
OBDII Code P0421: warm up Catalyst Efficiency below threshold (Bank 1). Does this mean that the pre-cat(Primary cat) is fried?
 
4 weeks ago on a Fr evening I went to Parts Source for OBDII reading. Check Engine light was still on. Following OBDII codes were read: P0102:MAF Low Input, P0421: warm up Catalyst Efficiency below threshold (Bank 1), P1250:pressure Regulator Control Solenoid Circuit.
Then I drove to Hamilton and Check Engine light turned off on my way back from Hamilton to Markham. CEL stayed off for about a day and then it came on again. The following Fri I disconnected battery and cleaned MAF. After cleaning MAF and connecting the battery I did a test drive and CEL remained off. It has not come on again. On Sat May 11, 2013 I drove on 401 from Bayview Ave to Warden Ave and then went straight for Ont. Emission test. It PASSED. I have not changed the primary catalytic converter and the car seems to be running fine. I just want to get 1-2 more years out of the P5. Rear quarter panels are badly rusted. I wish I had taken care of the rust problem within a couple of years after I purchased the P5. Now it is not worth it. Any one know of any company that does plastic moldings for the quarter panels to cover up the rust. Don't want to spend too much money. 2 of the all season radials are totally worn out. So I have decided to currently drive this summer with winter tires, which are in pretty good shape.
Any advise?
Thanks
Mohsin Ladha
 
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