Hey everyone..My name is Aaron and I have a 2000 Mazda Protege DX. I have a problem cranking it sometimes after driving forawhile. When I leave the house in the morning it cranks right up, but if I drive to McDonalds or somewhere to eat like that ill stop and turn it off and go in. I go in for like 20 min. and then come out and try to crank it and it wont. If I let it just sit there for an hour it cranks right up.Ifsit there and try to crank it,It dosent want to fire off, but if i do it long enough it cranks and begins to spit and spuder. If I try to take off it goes a little way then dies. When I crank it up right after it dies it runs like nothing ever happened, but the check engine light comes for a while. I talked to a mechanic and they said it might be the fuel pump, but I just wanted to get a second opinion on the problem. So if anyones knows what the problem is PLEASE HELP!


Thank You

 

so, from the explanation, it sounds like you don't have any problem until it has warmed up, then it is intermittent after you try to start it back up. well, i am not sure that it is the fuel pump. sounds more like it is ignition. i would check over the wires, plugs, coils, etc. though it could be the pump, my experience is that the pump just goes without a lot of warning.

 

We just put new sparkplugs and wires in it maybe over a month ago. Ill check the other stuff, and thanks for your reply it is greatly appreciated

 

I have a 2000 Protege as well and have the same exact problem, I mean, you described it to a tee! We replaced 2 "bad" ignition coils, changed spark plugs and wires, and put in a new timing belt. No one can figure it out. My temporary fix is to drive directly from point A to point B, but that's not going to work forever! Are you still having problems? Any other suggestions?

 

Yeah we still have the problem, but my dad does the same thing he drives to work and back home. We are supposed to take it back to the mechanic and see if we can figure out the problem, because no one has figured it out yet. If i here anything ill post.

 

If your CEL is coming on for a short time as you described in first post Smashed when engine is running then perhaps a fault code has been stored that would point you in the right direction. Was also a little confusedon the "crank it up" part. An engine that cranks over normally but will just not start and run is a whole different set of problems then a no engine crank over at all.

 

Yeah the last time i took it to the mechanic he checked all the codes and they where all right. He cleaned a mass intake filter or something like that and said there was no other problemthat he saw. My dad has be drivin it back and forth to work and hehasent had a problem cranking it or it spittin and spuddering while driving. So I am not sure if it is still messed. It has messed up thoughafter the mechanic cleaned the filter so i know that wasntthe problem, but i am thinking it is something to do with the distributor or somethingis overheating. Im not sure, but if anyone knows the problem please help because i hate not being to go somewhere and wonder if my freakincar is goin to crank.

 

I have a 1999 DX 1.6 and am having similar problems, drives good locally or from a to b, but if I run around on a hot day (live in florida) and stop somewhere after driving, it doesn't want to start for awhile, will turn over, but skips and sputters and runs rough and weak till it dies.. (although now that I think about it, it does seem to recover quicker if I raise the hood, will have to look into that.. ) oddly once I can get it going again, it will run fine for miles, never giving my any more problems..

took it to a local mechanic, he did the diagnostics and couldn't see anythign wrong, I deal with him a lot so he ended up not charging more me more than the oil change I got also.. anyone else have any ideas or anecdotes as to what this could be?

 

I have a 2000 protege 1.6 and the same thing happens. i think this happens becasue it gets hot because i have a flat black hood with no insulation and when it does that all I do is raise the hood for a little while and itll turn on right away. I also live in florida so it could be the florida heat

 

Will try that, see if it helps more, kinda of a pain though, and it only started this recently, gave me no grief last summer.. saw somewhere else on the web where someone thought it could be the throttle position sensor, if they get dirty (i had a cracked air intake hose for awhile) can act like this.. but am liking the cables and maybe ignition coils first..