Blinking CEL question

[Prydain]

This has happened to me twice now. Driving down the road at crusing speed (50 mph once 75 mph once) engine loses power and I get a blinking check engine light. The engine comes back seconds later and by the time I pull over to the side of the road the CEL is now just solid. Car runs fine. The idle dips a little low sometimes and causes a bit of a shudder but other than that runs fine. I guess my question is could this be the EGR valve causing problems? The car is an '02 with 65k and I'm not sure what the previous owner did about maintainece. Ive only had it since October. I don't think its the VTSC screw thing because the engine just loses power, no clanging or 'chewing' sounds. If I recall correctly it happened both times in cold weather, lower to mid teens. I'm running some seafoam through the gas so if there is any moisture in there I can hopefully get rid of it. I'm planning on pulling the plugs and replacing those when it warms up a bit. Anyway, any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

 

[EviLMaN]

get the CEL checked see wat the codes are for

 

[NCZ13]

you probably have a misfire. if its flashing make sure you pull over immediatley. a flashing CEL means somethings very wrong, while solid light means you should check it out because somethings up.


pull your plugs and smell your wires. whichever wire boot smells like gasoline is the one that is missing.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

as stated above, blinking check engine light almost always mean random or multiple cylinder misfire

 

[Rusty]

I always go for the simple first. My first guess would be the gasoline. Maybe you fillled up while their tanks were either low or had just been refilled. I never buy gas when the tanker is at the station, because if there is water in the storage tank, and there is, the tanker stirrs it all up. I hope it's that simple.
The '03s are the ones that lose the vics screw.

 

[Prydain]

I forgot to mention, I did get the CEL read and its multiple misfires. As I said the minute it starts blinking I started to pull over and by the time I did the CEL goes steady and the engine runs fine. I've got some seafoam in the fuel right now so hopefully that will eliminate any water in the tank. Since it happened when it was pretty cold I'm thinking I might have some condensation in the fuel. I only drive four miles to work and the car sits for a week or so occasionally.

 

[Diehonda]

I forgot to mention, I did get the CEL read and its multiple misfires. As I said the minute it starts blinking I started to pull over and by the time I did the CEL goes steady and the engine runs fine. I've got some seafoam in the fuel right now so hopefully that will eliminate any water in the tank. Since it happened when it was pretty cold I'm thinking I might have some condensation in the fuel. I only drive four miles to work and the car sits for a week or so occasionally.

Cold weather causes the ignition coils to show their wear. Not sure why but I had that issue two years in a row on the first cold week of the season.

You will need at least one new ignition coil. If the misfire is a specific cylinder switch the coils and reset the ecu. If the misfire moves with the coil then that coil is bad. If it is multiple then you need new ones. You can either get two new ignition coils or change to one 1.8 ignition coil from an older protege or a miata. You will need the spark plug wire for it also. There is a how to on here to switch to the 1.8 coil. I have done it to mine.

 

[winston3x]

Prydain-
I just had these exact symptoms with a newly purchased 02 p5. I've only had the car back for a couple days now but with two new coils and wires, the problem seems to have been fixed, can't be sure just yet. FYI - i had 2 dealers misdiagnose this problem -P0300- random misfire (luckily I didn't have to pay for the work/parts). After that I insisted on having them put in new coils and wires which i paid for.Also, ignition coil from NAPA $27, from Mazda $110. Wires from NAPA $45, from MAZDA $85. Try this sooner rather than later as your catalytic converter will suffer from taking too much unburned fuel.

 

[Prydain]

Prydain-
I just had these exact symptoms with a newly purchased 02 p5. I've only had the car back for a couple days now but with two new coils and wires, the problem seems to have been fixed, can't be sure just yet. FYI - i had 2 dealers misdiagnose this problem -P0300- random misfire (luckily I didn't have to pay for the work/parts). After that I insisted on having them put in new coils and wires which i paid for.Also, ignition coil from NAPA $27, from Mazda $110. Wires from NAPA $45, from MAZDA $85. Try this sooner rather than later as your catalytic converter will suffer from taking too much unburned fuel.

I was planning on replacing the coils and plugs since it looked like such a simple job with it all on top of the motor. I priced NGK iridium plugs at 9.00 and coils at 23.97 at Advanced Auto. I'm not sure about the wires though. Is it correct the p5's have two coils and not four?

 

[winston3x]

yes, 2 coils, and 2 wires (long & short). coils and wires should come with the boots to connect to the plug. I've also read that the plain NGK v-power were the best to go with besides OEM(platinum). People seem to have had issues with the iridium.

 

[Beau M]

I had the exact same thing happen this winter, started throwing the missfire code. I bought two new coils from autozone for 17 bucks a piece, havent had a problem since.

 

[Prydain]

Thanks for the help guys!