hello people,

my 02 protege es had broken down on me on valentines day! mainly due to my own ignorance and not properly maintaining her. to make it short, i ended up having to swap the engine. a week ago we had the replacement engine in and she started up beautifully. kept her idleing for a good 1/2 hour while we celebrated over beers. took her around the block a few times and she was good! she sounded brand new again! anyway, my tires were low so we went to the gas station... on the way during a turn, she just died! she didnt chug down or bog in any way. she just totally lost power and i came to a rolling stop.
my friend figured it might be the fuel pump from sitting for so long or the fuel pump relay... i switched the relay last night, and no change. changed the pump today, checked if it was working... and same thing. she'll crank but thats it. she has battery power and has spark. we're stumped! not sure what else to do. i'd try to get a code reading... but my battery drained itself over the week. not sure whats draining power from it, but that was an issue long before i had my engine problem.

please help... any suggestions is greatly appreciated! thanks...

 

What kind of 02 Protege? How many miles? 1st Engine history, including circumstances of failure? History of replacement engine? Transmission, man. or auto? How old is battery?
Any trouble lights on (cel, alternator) when engine quit? Was it idling, cruising, or what?
Get the battery recharged and professionally tested first, or if more than 5 yrs. old, replace it.
Batteries go flat for 2 reasons, 1. The vehicle imposes an unswitched electrical load.
2. The battery has deposited +ve plate material at the base of the cells and is discharging internally and is scrap.
If your electrics are out of whack, getting a full OBD scan is dumb since defective sensors, relays etc. which drain the battery will sure as hell throw some wondrous codes too.
Get back to this forum when you've sorted out the above, and don't go buying stuff in hopes of getting lucky; that's a crap shoot.

 

The way a coworker of mine tracked down a battery drain was:

- Put an ammeter in line with the battery
- Pull & replace fuses until you see the current drop

That will narrow the current draw to the right circuit - my coworker's radio was the culprit - it was drawing 100 mA even when off.

 

its the engine i put a turbo in a car the one time and the engine proubly sat a good 4 months without starting and it took us about a week before it starting running good again you just need to work with the engine and get things going again if you have power fuel pressure spark its oviously the engine try jump starting it scan the computer and see if it came up with anything

 

hi guys!

thank you for your swift response's! they are much appeciated.

replacement engine has 114km. came from a rear end write off and was
compression tested with a good bill of health prior to install.

it's a manual transmission, and battery was replaced just last year.


just a thought. after reading some other member posts, i was just wondering, considering the car was running perfect for a good hour after engine swap and then shut down while driving, could it be possible that the timing belt had slipped? i still had battery power after the car died and the engine cranks but just doesn't catch. maybe im just being hopeful...

thanks again for any interest in helping me reunite with my lady

 

Recheck your battery: if off load it's under 12.5V, recharge it. Meanwhile, have a look at your plugs, are they in good general shape? are they dry, wet? What color?
Whitish grey (running lean), light tan (good), black/sooted (rich mix or weak spark)?
What is your spark like? It should be a fat healthy blue. Sometimes an ignition problem is hard to find because although the spark is there in open air, the plugs won't fire under compression.
The other thing about ignition in Proteges is that the ECU won't allow fuel to the injectors until it has decided the spark is good.
How long was the car laid up from the time your !st engine died 'til the time you fired up the replacement engine? (I'm thinking fuel contamination).

 

It's possible. You chould have lost a tooth on the belt and jumped timing, if your not familiar with the timing specs of your car take it to a mechanic and have them check it. If your timing belt is bad and needs to be replaced change it and the water pump, I'm not sure on your model but if you timing belt drives your water pump you'll need to have it changed to.

 

the spark plugs were also just changed out less than a year ago. they were light tan when we installed them into the replacement engine. ill check em' again this weekend when i drop by the garage.

fuel contamination might be the issue. the car had died on valentines and we didnt swap out the engine untill just a couple of weeks ago... so it sat for approximately 2 1/2 mths. the tank was also near empty when it crapped out. the other thing was... the guy who did the swap grabbed a jerry can from the back yard labled "mixed" and emptied it out and used it to get new gas. i know!!! i even offered to purchase a new can but he said it would do. how can i test for bad fuel? think i can just top the tank up with new fuel? the tank currently has only a quarter tank of gas. or should i siphon out whatever is in there then try new gas?

ughhh... this whole situation is really mentally and financially drainning =(

thx again for all your help so far!

 

just wanted to mention, i totally appreciate everyone for taking the time to possibly solve my problem! please forgive me if it seems as though im ignoring certain suggestions. im not... im just super financilly strapped at the moment and hoping i can figure this out without the help of a mechanic if possible. so im trying the things i can do myself for now. its really been a testing year for me and having my ride back would definately turn things around. thx again to everyone!

 

No problem: fuel contamination could be the gremlin; I suggest that regardless of your financial stress, you go out and buy 1 $3 container of methyl alcohol (methylated spirits) from your local hardware store, and add 1/2 cup (no more!) to a half tank of your regular 87 octane gas. Do this every time you refill for a couple of months.
The reason for this is the alcohol (a) will wipe out any water or oil residue in your fuel system, (b) the engine is rated for use of fuel containing this kind of alcohol (b) this alcohol is widely sold anyway, masquerading under the name of gas line de-icer, and selling for 10 times the price.
I hope this helps you out without putting you into bankruptcy.