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You mention spark plugs being replaced; did you also check the condition of your wires?
Finally, a common problem in the Mazda Protege is a dirty / clogged EGR valve; it may be worth a look see.
I believe the contacts in the mechanical switch are probably corroded or worn out? and the switch is open and not allowing the flow of current. It hasn't occurred often enough to warrant me pulling off the plastic cover and examing the switch.
Thankfully, I found several good scrapped Proteges at our local pull-a-part junkyard. I got the part for $2.50. It was an easy removal/fix. I just pulled the whole seat out through the back door, turned it upside down, replaced the part, and reinstalled.
I'm in this car for the long run. I need to attend to some rust in the rear fender wells. Will sanding down to metal, prime, and spray paint take care of it?
I really don't have much clear coat left on the paint, so matching shouldn't be too big of a deal. The car actually looks very good when washed and waxed. The white color helps. I like the satin or matte look of the finish when cleaned, as opposed to the plastic shiny look of new cars with the clear coat. I may repaint the car down the road. I have a home-made paint booth in the garage and I have become handy with the purple $10 harbor freight paint gun, which is quite good for the price.
Long time... but did you ever figure this out? My 2000 protege is doing the same thing and I can't get it to pass inspection since it's unreadable!
Is my Over Drive really on, and just have the O/D Off light blinking for no reason? As for the Check Engine light, I have an idea that it may be the Spark Plugs since they do looks rather old, burned out and dirty. But, I wanna know some other known issues if anyone could help. Thanks.
The check engine light is a general alert to a problem with a critical area of your car (i.e. the engine). Driving with it "on" can appear to be okay but then again it could lead to a significant problem. A diagnostic that reveals OBD codes gives the mechanic more information to isolate the problem and solution. I believe Autozone provides customers a free scanning service to identify problem codes. However, be warned: the problem with the problem codes is that they, in themselves, may not point to the ultimate source of the problem but rather another symptom (e.g. fuel mixture may be too rich but is that caused by the spark plugs or some other source). Not addressing a problem may lead to a more expensive one (e.g. fouled spark plugs leads to failed O2 sensor). You might also look for related symptoms like burning more gasoline (i.e. less fuel efficient) than in the previous year to help determine the problem.
If my car had a check engine light "on" I'd take it in to my favorite mechanic to see what he says. At the same time, he might help explain what is happening with the O/D light.
Good luck!
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This seems to describe a known problem in Mazda Proteges: the failure of the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve. Once the valve is clogged up, the flow of fuel is interrupted which causes stalling and then bucking once the fuel "kicks in". Most Mazda dealerships would be aware of this problem and the solution: a) clean the valve, or b) replace the valve.
I have a 93 Mazda Protege DX 1.8 SOHC . I recently re-did the entire exhaust system (after letting it run for a while with a few holes here and there), put on new spark plugs & wires, gave it a new oil change & filter, and a new tie rod end. After finishing up, I took it for a drive, it sputtered and lost power (completely). I checked under the hood once I got home, and saw a spark plug wire had come off of the distributor cap. I fixed the problem, and it seemed to work fine. I noticed later that when I start my car, there's a bit of white smoke coming from the tail-pipe, but it seems to clear up pretty quickly. When I drive it, it seems to do just fine, until I get to a decent hill. My car loses power almost immediately, to the point where I wasn't sure if my car WOULD make it to the top of the hill before it just stopped or started rolling back down. I've checked the transmission fluid, it's still a nice, bright red, doesn't look murky or anything. I made sure the terminal connections on the battery were good, which they are. I switched out the fuel filter, even though it really shouldn't have needed a switch. I made sure there was nothing wrong with the muffler and the rest of the exhaust system, and I'm still having issues losing power up hills. Any ideas???
You could bring it into a garage to have it diagnosed for OBD codes.
thanks
The theory is that a defective coolant temp sensor would tell the computer that the engine is already warm, thereby not enriching the mixture for starting; as the engine warms up, it is more compatible with the defective sensor's default reading.
Other possibilities include a crack in rubber air intake hose/snorkle from the air filter to throttle, defective engine coolant temperature sensor, defective fuel pressure regulator, and water or other contaminants in the fuel tank.
Also, I have been using long-life orange Dex-Cool (Prestone Version) on this car since 1998 with no adverse affects. Radiator is always clean with no gunk and I flush the coolant every 5 years. I just switched to yellow Peak global coolant because of a sale. This stuff says lifetime, i.e. no need to flush, and thus just top it off. We'll see.
We also own a '01 Olds minivan and many people with GM minivans refer to Dex-Cool as "death cool" due to poorly designed intake manifold gaskets combined with Dex-Cool and the coolant getting into the engine and causing failure. Well, we did have the bad gaskets replaced twice under warranty (3rd set is a redesigned version), but since then no problems and we are still using orange Dex-Cool changed every 4 or 5 years. The van is 11 years old and has 130K miles on the odometer.
That's reassuring to hear.
Ryan
I replaced all the struts at around 150K miles on my car. I reused the suspension supports and rubber spring seats. So far so good at 233K miles. This job was only moderately difficult.
The Haynes repair manual has very good diagrams and instructions for DIY repair. Also, replacement struts can be purchased pre-assembled with a new spring, so spring compressors are not even needed if one is worried about that. I used the free loaner spring compressors from a local parts store when I did mine and followed all instructions and had no problems.
1- Where can I find a pre-assembeled strut?
2- While I'm under there, what are some low cost but important/effective things I can replace while I have it torn apart? I have the chiltons but it's not too informative on replacements for this job.
Thank you in advance. I just today started hearing that wonderful click click noise that we all love to hear from the right cv so I'll be asking for some help when I get ready to change that next week.
Thank you
I did not think the Mazda Protege existed in 1977. Do you mean 1997? If so, you may want to check your local library to see if they have a copy of Chilton's repair manual for Mazdas.
Thanks
Good idea. The EGR (Exhaust Gas Recycling) mechanism is a known issue with Proteges. Hope this solves it for you.
2000 Protege 1.8 DOHC 5 speed manual.
ps does that TB require a new gasket when removed?
ps it does seem to idle a little high after warm up..
http://www.aa1car.com/library/evap_system.htm
Are the spark plug wires O.K.? I had engine hesitation at 45-50 M.P.H. and it was a bad plug wire.
Have you changed the fuel filter? I've not had any fuel related issues (pump, fuel pressure regulator, etc.) on my '95 Protege, so I'm not able to give much advice in this area.
The second muffler was a Bosal high end model and it only lasted 7 years. It failed internally and a big hole developed in the bottom of the muffler body. I thought this part was lifetime warranty, but I didn't keep the warranty documentation (have receipt) from the online purchase. The seller, although still in business, no longer sells mufflers and had changed computers, etc. They said to check with Bosal. Bosal didn't respond to my email request for warranty replacement, so no more Bosal parts for this DIY mechanic.
I had a 20% off coupon and bought a new Walker high end muffler at a local Pep Boys store with lifetime warranty. This muffler is actually made in the USA (unlike Bosal- made in Mexico) and it appears to be good quality. I hope to get 10 years out of it!
Changing the muffler on this car is pretty easy with jack stands. Just back the car up onto the stands. Use some rust remover on the nuts and bolts' threads. Use some grease on the metal support arms/hangers to easily remove the muffler from the rubber grommets. Piece of cake. One hour or less to complete.