Mazda6 power loss and stalls - Fixed
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From: South africa
Mazda6 power loss and stalls - Fixed
I own a 2004 mazda 6 2.3l with 319000km on the clock. To date was a year of turmoil and mixed feelings as to when I should burn it, with only the reality of what a new one would cost that saved my sanity. I have been battling with intermittent stalls or power loss. Darn mazda…. Supposedly it has a clever computer….aka…. ECU onboard who, to date refused to speak to me…. No error codes…. Ziltch. The stalls and power loss never occurred in the winter but got progressively worse as the summer temps went above 25C. No error codes from the ecu. On inspection I noticed that the top part of all 4 spark plugs were cracked. 1 year old ngk iridiums (ITR 6F-13)- (No insult to NGK as this was due to a to lean fuel mixture caused by the stalls) that should have lasted at least 3 years?. Replaced with new ones from mazda. I noticed that the threaded portion of the plugs were about 15mm (2/3inch) longer than the old ones but proceeded anyway and now, the problem changed. Before and after the plug change there was no misfiring, absolute stable idling and cold starts would happen within 2 cranks…..every single time. Up to this point the car would go fine for the 1st 40km on the open road.....would then stall with a 3 minute wait before it would restart and from that point on it would happen every km after that. If you pre-empt the stall with a switch off …. coast for a 100m and then clutch start you’re good to go for about 2 kilometers and it would do it again.. nonstop…. This would also happen with town drives… a couple of shopping stops later, you would idle at the robot and within 5 seconds off pullaway….it would stall, followed by a cacophony of hooters all around….eish.
After the spark plug change the pattern changed. It would now, once the engine is warm, as in the past, it start losing power when you step on the gas but keep going on a limp if you ease of the power and gradually increase speed. A quick flip of the ignition….. switch off for 1 second and back on would solve the problem entirely for the next 5 minute drive in town or 10 km on the highway before it occurs again, however on the open road you can notice a gradual deterioration in power until it starts stuttering.
I cleaned the throttle body, tested the throttle position sensor with a multi meter wired into the cabin. I bought a ODB2 TESTER on takelot.com (America’s Amazon equivalent) and mr ECU remained silent. I bought a Mazda workshop manual online and got even more confused by the complexity of all the things that could go wrong…. Where do you start?? I scrutinised every nook and cranny of this mazda forum and as I progressed noticed the myriad of ….. check this, that and the other and yet nobody seem to find the solution to an otherwise damn good car. Finally I used the ODB2 tester and unplugged every sensor I could reach, and whoila… mr ECU said…. I see you, that sensor is working… hands off!! ….. Ureka… contact at last. OK – so sensors partially ruled out as well as my assumptions about mr ECU. It also made me realize, we’re maybe relying to much, or forcing on…. Mr wise guy (ECU) to speak to us. If he’s quit, don’t speak on his behalf, you’re almost sure barking up the wrong tree. A third day of testing to the same results as before, I proceeded to fill the fuel tank based on a couple of mentions on the forum about this. The RESULT….. all the stalls and power loss issues is GONE. Subsequent googles confirmed that the pump is reliant on fuel keeping it cool and lubricated and could cause problems at low levels as it gets older. The one worthwhile improvement I found was by removing the slack on the throttle cable. It increased the Throttle position sensor voltage signal to the ECU from 3.8v max to 4.3v. AND my mazda .. As I remembered it, powerful, and a pleasure to drive. Anybody with a Ferrari out there?? Please come by …. Its game on!! Check your findings on this and see if it solves your illusive issues.
Things to consider: Don’t through money at things which “might” fix it. If your car is misfiring, replace the spark plug leads otherwise don’t. Then the coil if the problem persists, otherwise don’t. Illusive problems like these with no fault codes are seldom solved by agents, mechanics or by throwing money at perfect parts as it needs time to solve a puzzle. Both ways, your wallet and your moral will be in a much worse state that your car. So stick in there and trust mr ECU. Search for the simple things which he (Mr ECU) didn’t think is worthwhile wasting his time on monitoring…
Good luck and when you do solve a problem …. Please come back to the forum and share.. And …. If the full tank solves your problem…. Don’t through money at the pump until it’s needed….. keep your tank full and take the family for a re-union drive for all the time spent under the bonnet.. Blessings
After the spark plug change the pattern changed. It would now, once the engine is warm, as in the past, it start losing power when you step on the gas but keep going on a limp if you ease of the power and gradually increase speed. A quick flip of the ignition….. switch off for 1 second and back on would solve the problem entirely for the next 5 minute drive in town or 10 km on the highway before it occurs again, however on the open road you can notice a gradual deterioration in power until it starts stuttering.
I cleaned the throttle body, tested the throttle position sensor with a multi meter wired into the cabin. I bought a ODB2 TESTER on takelot.com (America’s Amazon equivalent) and mr ECU remained silent. I bought a Mazda workshop manual online and got even more confused by the complexity of all the things that could go wrong…. Where do you start?? I scrutinised every nook and cranny of this mazda forum and as I progressed noticed the myriad of ….. check this, that and the other and yet nobody seem to find the solution to an otherwise damn good car. Finally I used the ODB2 tester and unplugged every sensor I could reach, and whoila… mr ECU said…. I see you, that sensor is working… hands off!! ….. Ureka… contact at last. OK – so sensors partially ruled out as well as my assumptions about mr ECU. It also made me realize, we’re maybe relying to much, or forcing on…. Mr wise guy (ECU) to speak to us. If he’s quit, don’t speak on his behalf, you’re almost sure barking up the wrong tree. A third day of testing to the same results as before, I proceeded to fill the fuel tank based on a couple of mentions on the forum about this. The RESULT….. all the stalls and power loss issues is GONE. Subsequent googles confirmed that the pump is reliant on fuel keeping it cool and lubricated and could cause problems at low levels as it gets older. The one worthwhile improvement I found was by removing the slack on the throttle cable. It increased the Throttle position sensor voltage signal to the ECU from 3.8v max to 4.3v. AND my mazda .. As I remembered it, powerful, and a pleasure to drive. Anybody with a Ferrari out there?? Please come by …. Its game on!! Check your findings on this and see if it solves your illusive issues.
Things to consider: Don’t through money at things which “might” fix it. If your car is misfiring, replace the spark plug leads otherwise don’t. Then the coil if the problem persists, otherwise don’t. Illusive problems like these with no fault codes are seldom solved by agents, mechanics or by throwing money at perfect parts as it needs time to solve a puzzle. Both ways, your wallet and your moral will be in a much worse state that your car. So stick in there and trust mr ECU. Search for the simple things which he (Mr ECU) didn’t think is worthwhile wasting his time on monitoring…
Good luck and when you do solve a problem …. Please come back to the forum and share.. And …. If the full tank solves your problem…. Don’t through money at the pump until it’s needed….. keep your tank full and take the family for a re-union drive for all the time spent under the bonnet.. Blessings
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