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Mazda MPV Electrical System/Lights

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Comments

  • shorty422shorty422 Member Posts: 1
    There was also a recall on that module. I had to have the one in my '03 replaced; check with your dealership to see if your vehicle fell under the recall. Issue was that the fan would either Not run ever causing serious overheating issues OR would run constantly even after the car was turned off thereby running down your battery.
  • brown26brown26 Member Posts: 2
    I got 13 yrs from a ford , 14 yrs from a nissan and only 8 from the mazda, very upset over the cost of repairs I have spent over 4,000 in last two years constant engine light coming on constant misfire problems now I am told I am looking at another 4,000 repair never again I would like to see a car company take some responsibility there is something wrong the design of this van
  • stevenzhulistevenzhuli Member Posts: 2
    I have exactly same issues as yours, I currently remove bulbs of door light.
    Mechanics spent 1 hour and can not figure out what's wrong. Did you fix yours problems?
  • sramamur1sramamur1 Member Posts: 21
    For us it happens only when it is wet (rain/snow). Apparently the problem is an electrical short somewhere under the chassis near the parking brake area. The tech told me that it will be time consuming to rip it apart and fix the problem. Hence we have decided not to engage the parking brake while parked.
  • stevenzhulistevenzhuli Member Posts: 2
    Thanks, I am doing the same thing for almost 1 month: not use hand brake, it seams going to stay that way forever. I did remove the seats and carpet to check if any water accumulated around hand brake area. But everything looks fine. If like you said under the chassis, I may have to dig deeper on that.
    My van was sitting outside garage in 3 days rain, then it happened. So must be shortcut. Another issue is driver side sliding door remote control not working, but manual power door works fine. The day head light flashing sometimes. The Tech said Ford and Mazda has similar issue due to some electrical module failed. I am not sure about that.
  • rollingrolling Member Posts: 5
    edited June 2011
    While travelling a year ago, my 2003 MP3 had a one-time cylinder misfire. I had the code checked at the time, but the problem did not recur for a year and thousands of miles.

    A few days ago, also while I am travelling, the MPV had a cylinder #5 misfire CEL, this time repeatedly and with loss of power. We had the #5 coil replaced, as well as all the spark plugs. Driving the van back home (10 miles) was fine. The next morning within a mile of starting the van, the CEL is on again and the van is losing power. I haven't had the codes checked again yet.

    Can anyone comment on the claim by 'buzzk' that the factory coils have a vent which permits water to short the plugs?
    http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1025bf/54#MSG54

    This explanation would account for the fact that our failures have occurred while travelling and on holidays (when our car is not stored in a garage) and after rainfalls and in the morning. Others have also observed these things. Thus, I am convinced that moisture is the problem, though I am not sure what part of the vehicle is at fault.

    I have already paid to have one coil replaced and fear repeating the same exercise endlessly. I am away from home and cannot do the repairs myself. My questions are
    1) For those who have gone ahead and replaced all 6 of the original factory coils, has the problem been solved?
    2) How can I identify which coils to buy to avoid this moisture problem?

    A hearty thanks to anyone who can help!

    Update
    Yesterday morning, I couldn't touch the accelerator without the check-engine light flashing (with loss of power and rough riding). Today, I waited until 4pm when it was over 90 degrees outside. I let the MPV warm up for 5 minutes, and then I drove it around and couldn't make the check engine light flash once. It does look like something is getting wet.
  • buzzkbuzzk Member Posts: 15
    I’m ‘buzzk’ & the vent in the OEM [jargon: “original equipment manufacturer”] coil design
    most assuredly IS there. I dug out one of the factory OEM coils that I replaced, several years ago,
    with after-market units. I am looking at it as I type. The vent is about 21 mm long & is
    rectangular in cross-section, loosely about a little over 3 by 1 mm, on the inside. However, at the
    top, which is outside & exposed to atmospheric conditions under the hood, it only has a small
    opening you could easily miss. It’s round & easily allows passage though of an acoustic guitar
    wrapped 4th string - about 32 to 36 thousandths of an inch. Not big, but HUGE where water vapor
    molecules are concerned. Until we fixed this, driving in, or just after, a heavy rain could be quite
    exciting. Some wag said [I thought somewhat dismissively], that the vent is “one-way.” The
    vents in the coil units that came from the factory on OUR 2004 MPV are most assuredly NOT
    “one-way.”

    Re piece-meal repairs [one coil at a time]: I doubt seriously that it’s good practice. In fact I
    wonder about repair dishonesty. In my partly mis-spent youth I worked in the shop for a
    Motorcycle & used-car dealer. If I did such a half-baked repair the owner of the shop would
    probably not have been happy. The usual better practice would be to replace the whole set, but....
    If everybody’s replacing these with OEM parts, AND if the OEM design has not been modified
    to fix the problem, [or they’re using up old stock before buying an improved design] you gain
    little & will be back reliably for more repairs [& it’ll cost a bundle; the whole set of after-market
    coils I got from ebay were apparently less than what our dealer wanted for ONE OEM coil]. I can
    understand the dealer could well feel pressure to use only “genuine” factory parts, but a savvy
    independent should do better.

    You need a coil that has NO vent whatsoever and seals the spark-well effectively & reliably. I’ve
    worked with many similar spark-well designs over the years & never encountered something like
    this. It really takes the cake

    Cheers, BK
  • rollingrolling Member Posts: 5
    Thanks BK.
    Yesterday, we were able to drive the MPV 3 hours in the hot afternoon without a problem. Today the misfiring recommenced immediately upon starting. We got the codes checked and now it's cylinder #4 misfiring.

    I've ordered a set of coils and plan to replace them all myself or pay to have a mechanic do it. Any idea if these have the venting defect?
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PV0XRM
    I figured I'd see when they arrived; the cost savings is so great it's worth a try.
  • buzzkbuzzk Member Posts: 15
    that's about what I paid for them on ebay & they're the same color as my non-eom ["aftermarket"] replacements. but.. if the picture is accurate, they are the same shape as the factory vented coils & I can't tell from the picture if they also have the vent. the eom part sits flat on the rim at the top of the spark-plug-well - this picture looks the same. over many years of working with otherwise similar designs they always fitted over & around the raised lip like a fitted cup and NEVER had a vent. My aftermarket coils from ebay also fit like that [likely makes a lot better seal] AND have no vent.

    I'm just a guy whose been around the block a few times, used to be a well-trained Navy tech, did some mechanic work [still work on my own], etc, but this vent business seems just plain whacky to me..

    Good Luck & let us know for sure, OK?

    BK
  • rollingrolling Member Posts: 5
    Hey BK, I haven't got the new coils yet, but I found the small, round external vent in an original ignition coil in my 2003 MPV. I swapped two of the coils (one of which had been throwing a CEL misfire) and drove around a bit. Everything is perfectly dry at present. Once again after one mile of driving, regular throbbing misfires commenced. (No CEL again yet.) In Drive at a complete stop, the throb occurred about every second. I parked the car and it sounds a bit like hissing. I think our problems are caused by a vacuum hose.
  • buzzkbuzzk Member Posts: 15
    wouldn't be surprised at other causes of running problems - that would be normal enough & I've had other problems to trouble-shoot & fix. [I'll have the fun of replacing the most inaccessable o2 sensor soon - bank 1, sensor 1]. I've gathered from other's comments, etc that the PCV valve [+/or it's hose] can be a problem & might relate to your symptoms. OTOH, w/the voltages generated by ignition coils a small amount of retained, inapparent dirt or moisture can cause mis-firings. It doesn't have to be obviously wet.

    One of the unpleasant jokes some sailors [usually techs] thought of as fun was to lightly run the tip of a sharpened lead pencil to draw a line down the side of the usally black distributor cap [acts as a conductor] from a plug wire to the base of the cap - it was claimed [many swore that] it would cause an impressive mis-fire..

    good luck, BK
  • rollingrolling Member Posts: 5
    I got impatient waiting for a set of ignition coils to arrive by mail for our 2003 MPV. I got one at Autozone and installed it to correct our second cylinder misfire within a week. (The remaining 4 coils are still the original ones, though I have replacements in hand.)

    With the new coil, the minivan worked fine on short trips for three days. Then 70 miles into a long trip, the CEL came on again. However, the van still seemed to be operating fine. In a few miles, we stopped at an O'Reilly's. This time the error code is P0431 'warmup catalyst efficiency below threshold (Bank 2)'.

    We stopped at a local garage and were advised that the problem could be an oxygen sensor, a failing converter, or just a bit of bad gas. Also, that if the CEL was not flashing and the car had plenty of power, then it was probably safe to drive it. So we did. 400 miles later we arrived at our destination without incident. The CEL never flashed a second time. We are visiting some relatives and are still 500 miles from home. I wonder if we are taking a big risk by trying to drive more on our MPV prior to any repairs?
  • rollingrolling Member Posts: 5
    After 2 cylinder misfires in the last month on our 2003 MPV with 83k miles, the vehicle now has all new spark plugs, ignition coils, and a PCV hose (while we were there). For the second time since, I got the CEL 'warmup catalyst efficiency below threshold (Bank 2)'. I got the O2 tests run today and sure enough, the warm-up converter connected to the cylinders that were misfiring is no longer effective. Fortunately, it is the less expensive one(!), and the MPV is now running well again.
  • buzzkbuzzk Member Posts: 15
    Tonight while buying an IAC valve I looked at AutoZone's MPV coil & it has the same vent that the factory coil has & will therefore be subject to getting water vapor & dirt, etc, into the plug well, **and the same failures as OEM coils***. [AND they are NOT "one-way" vents as someone said - they are just a lot smaller on the top but there is NO valve effect, so everything goes both ways] No wonder so many fairly new coils fail! The tech/salsemen advised plugging the vent w/hi-temp silicone rubber, which should work . I did that w/my original coils [after cleaning both the coils & the spark wells - filthy!] & they worked fine til my after-market coils came in the mail. The salesman thought the factory design was never changed due they'd have to have a massive recall? maybe.. but MPV owners need to understand any coil w/a vent in it is a problem waiting to happen. If folks can't get a vent-less design like I got from e-bay, then I would suggest they consider asking their mechanics to plug the vents w/silicone before installing them. their call, but that's what I did & it worked for me.

    Cheers, BK
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    edited July 2011
    The vented newer coils are not a problem. They were redesigned about 5 years ago. Only the old coil design sucks.. different part #.

    3 of my original 6 OEM coils failed within 5 years. 3 years and no problems with new coils.
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • buzzkbuzzk Member Posts: 15
    Glad to hear of the improvement, there might still be hope for Mazda, even if they did make the newest Miata less attractive [almost ugly?], but.... if the OEM coils are still vented - as AutoZone's new after-market coil is, I'll stay away.. Any kind of vent in this application is still asking for touble [mainly in the form of water vapor] in my book. I put in the new IAC valve & we'll see how that goes & I'll be looking for a good local price for Denso O2 sensors... or get 'em from the internet..

    Cheers, BK
  • dglsdxndglsdxn Member Posts: 2
    Your P0455 Code is could be from a service bulletin that I located from working on a MPV like yours. The URL is:
    http://www.mpvclub.com/tsb.php?id=115

    This should fix your problem. If not check fuel cap/seal area, or pressurize the evap system and sniff for leaks.

    Good luck. I can be reached at dglsdxn@yahoo.com
  • dglsdxndglsdxn Member Posts: 2
    Hawkeyes2: Your P0455 code could be part of a Mazda recall. The harness is to short going to the purge solenoid connector. Click on this URL to see your problem: http://www.mpvclub.com/tsb.php?id=115
    This should take care of your problem.

    dglsdxn@yahoo.com
  • gsamomgsamom Member Posts: 1
    Just purchased my 2005 MPV about 5 months ago.
    Recently the low beam headlights have started turning off, somtimes they wont come on at all and others they will turn off while driving. The high beams work with no problems.
    Do any one have any advice on where to start looking for the problem or has anyone had this problem?
    Thanks
  • dbdbdbdb Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever figure out why the headlights were coming on? My 95 is having the same problem.
  • arnoldknoxarnoldknox Member Posts: 1

    A fix for MPV misfires and coil problems... After several episodes of fouling plugs and/or bad coil packs, usually after rains, I began to look for causes and tried an experiment by leaving the black plastic shroud off when I replaced the plugs and coils. I suspected it was trapping moisture and humidity and forcing it down into the plug wells. Amazingly, my MPV has been misfire free for close to three years now. The longest I had gone previously was 12-15 months...when the van was new! It may just be coincidence but it worked for me!

  • SadiesSadies Member Posts: 2
    Can someone please help me. I went to get a smog. My 2002 mpv did not pass because my check ingine light did not come on while they tested lights. So I went home and changed the bulb myself. It does not come on When I check my lights. Is that normal or do you think its another problem???
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