P0303

Sailingsenses

Member
:
Mazda, Protege5, Stock, 2002
Hi all,

Stock P5, no mods.

More misfire problems, but why so freakin' soon?

August 2015, at 301,375 Miles, CEL came on, two codes: P0302 & P0172
Did all of the following:
- Ignition Coil Packs (2)
- Wires (2)
- V-Power Spark Plugs (4)
- PCV + Grommet (was a wreck)
- Professional Fuel lines chemical cleaning (nothing was clogged but I went ahead)
- Sea Foam in tank
- Air filter
- MAF cleaning (only)
- Intake hose (was cracked)

Both codes went away after all that ^^, no issues until late March 2016 (today CEL came on, 4/02/2016).

Fast forward to late March 2016 (309K+ Miles), and the car was acting off coming out of a stop, as if there wasn't enough power, then it drives perfectly fine. I thought the soggy weather was to blame, but it happened when it was warmer and bone dry out, too. Finally, the CEL came on today.

April 2016, at 309,700 Miles, CEL came on, one code: P0303
- For now, all I've done is erase the code and swap out the two coils to test, and I will need to drive it until cylinder misfires or does not. Likely 50 miles or so.

Note from manual and "PCB" here on the forum:
<> Swapping coils should give a code (P0301) or code (P0304) if the misfire follows the coil.
<> Cylinders 1&4 fire simultaneously and cylinders 2&3 fire simultaneously. (Wasted spark ignition.)

WHY would this be happening again so soon? I replaced everything that usually causes these misfires back in August of last year, just over 8K miles ago.

I planned on replacing the EGR but have not bothered, as it's hard to reach and I suspect the bolts are impossible to remove. Also, I've never had any EGR related codes, so is it safe to assume it's fine? It would produce its own code, right?

Any idea why misfires would come up again so soon? I hear a lot about faulty coils, but how much of that is true? I also see posts where replacing them or swapping them around does nothing to resolve this. The service manual points to some things I wouldn't have a clue how to investigate.

The one thing that has been going for YEARS is this annoying sputtering sound ("pinging"?) and it does seem more obvious to me now. This is only audible off a stop, but the car runs like a dream otherwise. Also, the Neg battery (battery is under two years old, highest quality) terminal is all foamed up/caked. I don't think any of this is related, but thought to add that in. I do wonder about the fuel pump and EGR, but without other codes pointing in that direction, should I bother replacing them?

Please help! Thanks so much.
 
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Yep, I did a full tune up at the end of August last year. Almost eight thousand plus miles ago. Full tune up all new stuff including the wires.
 
What coils did you use? It's hard to get good ones these days. It's not uncommon for them to go bad in a few months.

EGR is a possibility. If it's only sticking a slight amount, it won't set a code.
 
... I swapped the coils to see if it would move from the 3rd (P0303), to the 2nd (P0302)....

Swapping coils should give a code (P0301) or code (P0304) if the misfire follows the coil.

Cylinders 1&4 fire simultaneously and cylinders 2&3 fire simultaneously. (wasted spark ignition)

 
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Hi Mr. Giggles,

Somehow I deleted my last reply to you.

<> Coils: Used some made by BDW, branded as "Import Direct" brand for O'Reilly Auto Parts. Part #: 23-0252
<> Wire set: NGK (5659) ZE76

Did full tune-up at 301,500 miles, Sept 2015. This was 8K miles ago.

The coils are still under warranty, so I'll go that route and see what happens.

I'm just stuck feeling like I need to check out the fuel pump and EGR, and right now I'm thinking the latter is much easier to deal with.

The loss of power uphill and the sputtering sound is a huge concern, but I have no idea if it's related. I thought maybe that if it was the EGR, I'd be getting random misfires, and not a specific one. Not sure that is an accurate statement.

Thank you!
 
I think you should do another seafoam treatment regardless... You could have a slightly fouled injector and it can clean away carbon and other contamination.

I put a shot in my gas with every fill-up and put some up the brake booster as soon as I notice any sort of stumble.

The next likely culprit I think would be the coils as Mr. Giggles mentioned... They can be a real PITA for our car.

Apparently Polish coils are the best,... I know I like them...

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...The loss of power uphill and the sputtering sound is a huge concern, but I have no idea if it's related. I thought maybe that if it was the EGR, I'd be getting random misfires, and not a specific one. Not sure that is an accurate statement...

That's why I'm thinking a dirty injector and even carbon buildup in that cylinder specifically... (because you would think a coil would fail for both cylinders it's connected to, unless the one with the plug wire is more or less inclined to missfire ???)



If (perhaps) you have a slightly fouled injector, it can lead to carbon buildup in the combustion chambers which reduces the volume in the cylinder and increases compression pressure... then under heavy load (coming out of a stop), the bad spray pattern of the injector, the high compression, dirty cylinders and a potentially weak spark combine to give a misfire or even predetonation giving you "ping" or "knock".

Seafoam apparently burns away carbon buildup in the combustion chambers but it takes time and a bunch of continuous treatments to clean and burn everything away. (don't forget to put it in your oil to to dissolve and wash away all the sludge that can build up there too.)


If it doesn't work, it didn't cost very much money and is REALLY easy to do... I buy three or four cans of it when it's on sale, keep it in the car and use it at every oil change and fill up.

Another thing to possibly consider if your car has been "pinging" or "knocking" forever (not "missing") is a bad knock sensor... the ones on our car tend go weird and drip goo and can start to give a bad signal.
 
I had pinging when my intake hose was cracked. Wondering if your new one is seated correctly? Just guessing here... Also, I recently started using only Top Tier branded gas in hopes the detergents are better than generic gas and I'll have a cleaner fuel system as a result. It's not Seafoam, I know.. But then again, I don't submit my body to "cleansing," so I won't ask my car to do it either. :)


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Also, I replaced my original coils two years ago to fix a P0300 code. Just a few days ago, the P0300 code returned (just two years later). One coils from O'reilly and the other from Autozone. Each store had only one...


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