Hi All, I am having some issue with my Protege. I started my car today as usual and all was fine. This car is a 1996 Protege LXwith 145K on it and has been averaging 42+ mpg with local driving. This car has been one of the most dependable and trouble free cars I have ever owned. Any way, I started her up as usual, drove about a mile to a stop sign and when I stated off, the engine was missing on acceleration. It felt like the plug wires were wet, that kind of mis. I kept going thinking that as soon as it got up to temp it might stop. Not this time, about a mile later the check engine light started flashing. Bummer, so I turned around and took her home. I noticed at idle that it was close to stalling and the sound of the exhaust has a missing or light popping sound.

I know there are many things this could be. The obvious are ignition issues, plus, wires, cap and rotor, weak coil, clogged injector, etc. I read from some of the posts that the EGR valve can cause these symptoms as well. I gues my question is, Is the any other issues that need investigation? Also, I would like to get a scan tool for this car, is there any recommendations on an inexpensive model? I like to do the work myself if possible. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

First thing to do is get the code read. I have this code reader and it is great.
http://www.actron.com/product_detail.php?pid=16298

Then you can post what the code is, I can look in the shop manual and tell you where to start looking.

Remember, the code could have been sent because the PCM was not able to handle the misfire.

When was the last time you did a tune up?? Plugs, cap, rotor and wires are the first things to replace when you have this problem. Do you have a full tank of gasoline? When was the last time you replaced the fuel filter?(A pain in the *** job on a 1.9 litre)These cars are very sensitive to fuel line pressure drops.

An EGR valve will not give these symptoms.

 

Thanks for the reply. I will purchase the code reader ASAP, looks like a good one for the money. I have replaced the plugs, dist cap and rotor. They were all shot. The plug gaps were at least over double the .043 they should have been. Wow!!!I noticed that plug number 3 appeared not to be firing due to the large gap, so I thought. I also checked the EGR valve and the small vacuum port was clogged with carbon. I cleaned it out with carb clean and lubed it up. Seems mint now. The plug wires are also in good shape. So I started it up and it seemed to run smooth until I reved it and the mis-fire is still there. I checked the plugs to see how the burn looks and every one expect #3 looks great. #3 looks like nothing is going on. There is also no fuel on it either. I checked it by grounding it against the block and it has spark. Ok, so now the light comes on (in my brain), fuel injector must be clogged right? So I remove the injector and carb clean what I can, put it back in and, same thing. Next Iswaped #2 and #3 injectorto see if I would transfer the situation to cylinder #2. Still #3 has nothing going on. This seems strange to me but I started thinking that the fuel pressure seems low because nothing squirts out when I removed the injectors. I then engaged in the pain in the neck job of removing the fuel filter. Holy Cow, what a pain but I got it out. I will replace ittomorrow when Napa opens and see if it may have been restriction the pressure. Anything else you can think of? I need all my hair.

 

If you want to make your life easier with the fuel filter, when you replace it, rather than trying to put the screw back in the clamp, use some metal wire and tie it in real tight.

Is your engine a 1.5l, most gen2 proteges are.

The amount of volume the shop manual specifies is 39-50ml in 15 seconds, per injector. So, you should check them all.

Fuel pressure between the high presure side of the pump and the filter should be 29-34psi. 40-45 psi with the vacuum hose off the pressure regulator.

The resistance of the injector should be around 13.8 ohms.

I tried to give you the highlights from 50 pages in the mazda shop manual on the fuel system.

Plug gap should be .040-.043.

Let me know how you make out with the fuel filter.

 

Thanks Again for the help. I just finished changing the front rotors and brake pads for the last few hours. The rotors were rusted on and didn't want to budge without a big sledge hammer and one side had to be cut off. Also the pins that hold the pads in were rusted in so badly that it was a stuggle but I got them out. This is what the winters in Maine will do to a car. Its a shame but it is a nice place to live.
I'll let you know how the filter and injectors go.

 

Massachusetts winters aren't much better. I got the lifetime warranty calipers from autozone. Everytime I do a brake job, I just grab new rotors and calipers, then bring back the old calipers back for credit. Make sure you replace the M-clips and springs along with the slides, or you will be doing the job again next year.

 

Thanks Again. I bought a new hardware kit with the pins and M clips. Sure made the job easier. I finally figured out the mis-fire issue. It was as basic as you can get but well disguised. The #3 cylinder spark plug wire was arching inside the spark plug tube against the block where it meets the spark plug. Due to the design, you cannot see anything in there and any audible sound is contained. The issue was baffling since it seemed like an arching wire but there was no obvious evidence. I pulled the wire out just a bit so you could see down in there and then turned the lights out and started the car. Voila, I could see an arch on the inside of the spark plug tube. I would have replaced the wires sooner but the NAPA store didn't have any at the time. The car sure does run great now. Very smooth. Thanks again for the help.

 

we had the same problem with this mazda we just bought we chanegd the spark plugs and had a injector flush done to it