Cel

:
2003 Mazda Protege5
Well, after getting done talking about how reliable my 237k mike P5 has been it starts throwing me a CEL.
Car has been running a little rough since I got the timing belt done by a Mazda dealership and Ive heard a vacuum leak but the codes I got were P0300 and P0660.
I see the P0300 code is a random misfire so I was wondering if plugs and wires would be a great start. But the P0660 code is stumping me. Im seeing different things on the internet. Does anyone know what it is?
 
They're kinda expensive at Rockauto but they're cheap on eBay.

There's a few different types of vacuum switches for our car and they're not described specifically as "VICS solenoid valve".

Take your broken one off your car to compare it to the picture on eBay if you order on from there.

They're probably over $100 at the dealer and one from a junker is going to be 16 years old and probably ready to crap out.

 
I can see a vacuum leak causing a random misfire.

Get a spray can of carb cleaner and spray it around your engine bay with the car idling.
The rpms will go up when the spray gets sucked into the leak.
 
They're kinda expensive at Rockauto but they're cheap on eBay.

There's a few different types of vacuum switches for our car and they're not described specifically as "VICS solenoid valve".

Take your broken one off your car to compare it to the picture on eBay if you order on from there.

They're probably over $100 at the dealer and one from a junker is going to be 16 years old and probably ready to crap out.


Thank you. I just woke up and was about to try to dive into the issue. Ill probably end up getting one off of eBay.

My concern with the random misfire is Ive been hearing the leak for weeks now (work and a few other things have sucked all my time) why would it just now send a CEL?


But as for the brake/carb cleaner, is it okay to get some on electrical connections? I dont mean douse it but if it over-sprays some
 
This is how my parts car had the solenoid hooked up.
The electrical connector blades were spaced farther apart so the connector wouldn't plug in.
It may have been a purge control valve but they're all the same, they just plug in differently.

 
...why would it just now send a CEL?


But as for the brake/carb cleaner, is it okay to get some on electrical connections? I dont mean douse it but if it over-sprays some

Perhaps the leak is getting bigger like a crack in a vacuum hose that keeps splitting ??

It's common practice to use carb cleaner to find vacuum leaks. Your connections should be fine.

Pay specific attention to the VICS solenoid and it's vacuum lines, that could be where the leak is.
 
If you get your new solenoid valve and the electrical connector won't plug in, you can remove the metal tabs from the plastic then connect them without the plastic instead of the jumper wires like my parts car.

There is a tiny plastic tab you push with a tiny screwdriver and it releases the metal connector from the plastic.





 
I was wondering why yours looked like that lol I just got it off and gonna fun inside to grab a new one off eBay.
As for the vacuum leak I dont have time. Ill probably get a tech to smoke test it when he does the state inspection this week
 
If you get your new solenoid valve and the electrical connector won't plug in, you can remove the metal tabs from the plastic then connect them without the plastic instead of the jumper wires like my parts car.

There is a tiny plastic tab you push with a tiny screwdriver and it releases the metal connector from the plastic.






Got them off and ordered! thanks for all of your help!
I'm going to pull the spark plugs and coils to see how they look
 
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