Sorry for double posting, I made a mistake on the title

I have a Mazda Protege 1.8L with 155000 kms.
Here are the symptoms:
1. It takes a couple of times cranking before ｉｔ will start
2. Idles rough with sputtering out the exhaust. Low rpms
3. Coming to a stop, it will sometimes die with the CEL, battery, and engine oil lights illuminated.　Cranking up will get it running again.
４. Pressing on the brakes, i notice the dashboard lights dimming slightly
５. 　Ｃｈｅｃｋ　ｅｎｇｉｎｅ　ｌｉｇｈｔ　ｗａｓ　ｓｏｌｉｄ　ｂｕｔ　ｈａｓ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｓ ｔａｒｔ ｅｄ　ｆｌａｓｈｉｎｇ．
６．　Ｓｙｍｐｔｏｍｓ　ｓｅｅｍ　ｔｏ　ｇｏ　ａｗａｙ　ａｔ　ｈｉｇｈ　ｓｐｅｅｄｓ，　 ｗｉｔｈ　ｔ ｈｅ　ｃｈｅｃｋ　ｅｎｇｉｎｅ　ｌｉｇｈｔ　ｆｌａｓｈｉｎｇ　（ｉｍ　ｎｏｔ　ｄｒｉｖｉ ｎｇ　ｉｔ　 ｕｎｌｅｓｓ　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｔｏ　ａ　ｍｅｃｈａｎｉｃ．　Ｉｔｓ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｓｉｔｔｉｎｇ 　ｉｎ　ｍｙ 　ｄｒｉｖｅｗａｙ　ｎｏｗ）


The mechanic said it might be the MAF so I changed it , but the problem is still there. After reading the forums and doing my own research, i figure it could be a few things. Vacuum leak from intake hose or gasket, EGR, O2 sensors front and back, cat. converter, fuel pump, ignition coil. I highly suspect it is the ignition coil because my dash lights are dimming and exhaust is sputtering. Is there any way to check the ignition coil? Where is it? and How do i replace one if I buy one off the net? A picture pointing to the ignition coils would be perfect. Please help!!

 

Anyone agree with my diagnosis?

 

anyway to find out what code is lighting the CEL ? Clean BOTH battery ground and engine ground. Find out why CEL is lighting. Any previous work on car will be helpful information. Does car have remote start or alarm installed ?

 

With ignition and everything off, measure your battery voltage after the car has been used for at least 20 minutes. It should be at least 12.5v. Start the engine and running at about 1800 rpm. check that the battery voltage is at least 14v. Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery and clean up your grounds, the two vital ones are the grounding plate mounted on the chassis at the top of the suspension strut tower near the wiper motor; this one you should completely dismantle and thoroughly clean both sides of the grounding plate before reassembling and securely putting it back.
The main engine block ground is on the passenger side engine mounting; just be sure it's clean and secure. There is no way that with a healthy electrical system the dash lighting would be affected by the ignition coils.
If you want to do some good stuff without wasting a fortune, look up what I wrote for Adam S back in mid-april*. Your coils are easy to find. Just look for the 4 spark plug wires coming out of the top of the engine facing you, and you'll see that a pair of those plug wires go to two electric looking things at the front of the engine on the driver's side. Those are the ignition coils, and beyond doing what I described in the Adam S process, don't mess with them yet anyway.

Reference:-

04-13-2009, 11:30 AM
Adam S
Junior Member
I have a 2000 Mazda Protege, 1.8L with 5 speed manual transmission @ 190,000 kms

 

I brought it to my mechanic guy and he did some compression testing and said my 1st and 2nd cyclinders were ok and could run 80? (i dont remember what unit he said). 3rd cylinder was slightly shot at 40 and last cylinder was dying at 20? I dont quite remember what he said.

He said that my engine is shot and that he could replace it with another used engine (same amount of kms as mine 155K kms) along with timing belt water pump and changing my plugs and wires. He wants 1700 dollars for the job. Should I go for it?

I'm leaning on just getting a new car but afraid that they wont give me much trade in value for my car.

or should i just buy a new car and keep my mazda in my garage and convert it to run on something else later on (body is in excellent condition)

Thanks for your help.....

 

codes he pulled b4 compression testing was P0301 and p0170

 

Based on your lack of experience, converting it to something else would be a huge challenge and is not a good option.
Based on the evidence re the compression check, that is not a good picture, but alone is insufficient grounds for condemning an engine; it may be grounds however for having a major overhaul. 155K Km. is not even near an end-of-life odometer reading for the 1.8L engine unless it has been horribly mistreated or neglected.

"Codes he pulled P0301 and p0170." Right: The first code indicates misfiring, and the second indicates overly lean idle mixture. If an engine is fuel starved (or air drowned), it runs too lean, so it will misfire, and that misfiring will also set the CEL on too, OK?
The two codes can be and very often are, related to the same thing.
So for the second (and last time) I urge you to go to that Adam S thread I referred to in my last post and do exactly what is specified and get back onto this forum with the results.
It would be very helpful too if you could tell us what you know of your car's background and maintenance history, particularly important is whether its timing belt has been replaced yet.
The other things you have to do are:
1. Specify how much oil your engine uses.
2. Describe what color of exhaust you get when, after warming up the engine, you give it a burst of throttle.
3. Go and look at the color of the inside of the end of the exhaust pipe immediately after having done 50 Km. or more of highway driving.
4. Remove the spark plugs, and state the color of the insulator cone around the center electrodes, whether they are all similar, and whether any are sooted up or wet.
5. Get a second opinion from a mechanic or dealer for whom you have first obtained a good reference. If you can't remember what he said, then for pete's sake WRITE IT DOWN, IT'S IMPORTANT !!!

(For your info, the cylinder compression numbers he gave you are in pounds/ sq. inch i.e. psi.
For the 1.8L engine, 125 psi. is excellent, 90 is getting poor, and a mismatch greater than 20% between any two readings is also bad.
A static reading much greater than 125 psi. indicates hydraulic lock, where there is so much oil lying on top of the piston that it's affecting the cylinder volume; obviously a bad thing too).
The rebuilt engine might be not a bad choice since the body is excellent, and since selling or trading the car as is would net you very little.

 

pulled the plugs and they were in really bad shape. Timing belt and water pump have not been changed ever. Exhaust smoke is white after letting a bit of gas.

I must admit that there was a time I didnt drive the car for a year and a half because i was overseas working and I'm sure my dad, who drove it a couple of days per week, didn't do any maintenance on it.

I've come across the Adam S post in my previous research and I just finished reading it again. I'll tell my mechanic to do what the post says and update the results.


Thanks for your help oldeng!!