Check Engine blinking, motor vibrating, low speed/power

[shane02pro5]

Coolant overflowing or burning wires... overheating smoking?

 

[MasonMetcalfe]

I get teh fishy smell from my A/C on a cold morning when I start it for the first minute or so.

 

[HighSpeed]

I get teh fishy smell from my A/C on a cold morning when I start it for the first minute or so.

Thats usually associated with moldy musky a/c system that needs to be clean

For the record, a blinking CEL means misfire just happened and its letting you know. Its pretty much a universal.

To the OP, OEM coils are way overpriced and go out as fast as cheap ones, so just stick with cheap ones.......and return them under warranty.

 

[barberus]

Wow, thanks everyone. Bery useful knowledge in this forum so far! It's 7 below outside and I'm not gonna pretend I know much about mechanics anyway so my mechanic will be replacing those coils for me soon. I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

 

[daddywagon]

first time posting so bear with me. im having similar problems with my mp5. its a 2002 and its tossing out random/multiple cylinder miss fire. not only that its also throwing cylinder number 1 miss fire and manufacturer control fuel air metering. i have all the code numbers. they are in order of how i posted p0300,p0301,p1250. i read that the egr valve is to blame so im going to do that now. Ive already checked compression. i also checked spark on the coils. the mass air flow senor looks clean so i left it alone. the story behind this is, that the car would idle low and then jump up at a stop light or just siting there. but it would never die. the check engine light came on and here is were i stand. please help

 

[choinumni4]

Well I have not posted in a while since the yellow bomber has been runnin like a top but today was a different story. My son was driving up a hill close to home and all of a sudden he got a strong fishy smell and then the engine light came on and started flashing so he limped it home and now its got a rough idle and the light is flashing. I have read the previous posts and will pull the EGR and clean it out tomorrow but just wanted to ask if anyone has ever had that smell before their car started acting up. Thanks.

Well fella's I tore into it today and pulled out the EGR to check that as the first check and it appeared ok (not clogged up and the valve moved easily), so now I ordered some new SP wires and a couple of coil packs and will put those in tommorrow but I did find something that is concerning me when I started up the car after getting it back together and looking underneath at the pre cat are and noticed water dripping down off the exhaust pipe so now I am thinking that much water means I have either a cracked head or a blown head gasket. Any thoughts on this scenario? forgot to add that I pulled the spark plugs yesterday and they were all white in color so I cleaned them and reset the gap as they were opened up pretty good. Set them to .040. From my recollection white colored plugs usually indicate a lean running engine right.

 

[choinumni4]

Well fella's I tore into it today and pulled out the EGR to check that as the first check and it appeared ok (not clogged up and the valve moved easily), so now I ordered some new SP wires and a couple of coil packs and will put those in tommorrow but I did find something that is concerning me when I started up the car after getting it back together and looking underneath at the pre cat are and noticed water dripping down off the exhaust pipe so now I am thinking that much water means I have either a cracked head or a blown head gasket. Any thoughts on this scenario? forgot to add that I pulled the spark plugs yesterday and they were all white in color so I cleaned them and reset the gap as they were opened up pretty good. Set them to .040. From my recollection white colored plugs usually indicate a lean running engine right.

Well here's the update to what I have done and still no avail. Replaced both coil packs and put in new spark plugs. Engine light is on but not blinking like it was before. It just says on. Any replies would be appreciated. This is our only car so I cannot afford to have it down for to much longer. Thanks for you time.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Did you reset the engine light by unhooking the battery and then reconnecting it? It may just be that the light needs to be turned off. Have you looked closely at your air intake? Air metering most likely means that you have a crack in the intake hose. It could also mean your MAF is bad, but check the hose over carefully...it could easily be that. My guess is that you may have taken care of the misfire codes but still have the air metering issue. A MAF on rockauto.com is $132 after core if you think you need it.

I would doubt the blown head gasket, the water you saw was most likely just condensation. However, check your coolant for oil and your oil for coolant. If they have mixed, then it probably is a head gasket. Again, I doubt it. Also, don't confuse the brown of old coolant with oil contamination...you'll definitely be able to tell if they're mixed.

 

[choinumni4]

Did you reset the engine light by unhooking the battery and then reconnecting it? It may just be that the light needs to be turned off. Have you looked closely at your air intake? Air metering most likely means that you have a crack in the intake hose. It could also mean your MAF is bad, but check the hose over carefully...it could easily be that. My guess is that you may have taken care of the misfire codes but still have the air metering issue. A MAF on rockauto.com is $132 after core if you think you need it.

I would doubt the blown head gasket, the water you saw was most likely just condensation. However, check your coolant for oil and your oil for coolant. If they have mixed, then it probably is a head gasket. Again, I doubt it. Also, don't confuse the brown of old coolant with oil contamination...you'll definitely be able to tell if they're mixed.

Hello and thanks for the reply. What I have done since the last message is to get a code reader and came up with a P0302 code before I reset the CE light and now the light is off the code reader is pulling a zero reading but I still have a rough idle around 500 RPM's. I forgot to add that I did replace the air intake hose this last summer with a new as the old one was cracked and had holes in it. Thanks for you reply.

 

[P-Funk!]

Check your PCV. Does it ratttle? Is it oil-fouled?

 

[choinumni4]

I will check that out. thanks. It is driving well it just idles rough and the CEL just popped back on today so the PCV is next. The code I pulled again after the CEL came on tonight was another P0302 so I think it has something going on with the #2 cylinder.

 

[tweety2300]

Still sounds like coil packs... but did you do anything about the maf sensor yet? That could have a lot to do with it also how old is your air filter? It could cause the rough idle

 

[choinumni4]

Still sounds like coil packs... but did you do anything about the maf sensor yet? That could have a lot to do with it also how old is your air filter? It could cause the rough idle

Hello tweety as for the coil packs I replaced both with new ones as well as new plugs and wires. Have not checked the MAF sensor yet so I will work on that and the PCV valve next and will pass on what I find. thanks

 

[CaptainJr]

My car does the same exact thing! Wen am at a stop sign or waiting for the green light my engine runs extremely rough! I will try replacing my COILS as mentioned the most! thanks for the thread BTW

 

[tweety2300]

Try testing the cyl. 2 spark plug to see if its getting spark that will get you a starting point even though its new it could be a faulty coil wire or plug things do get made wrong every once ina while. Also try resetting the computer that could help too

 

[copperleaf]

I just ran into this two days ago. I was getting a P0171 for a few days and then on Thursday, lost power (couldn't get above 50) on my way home and a P0300 was added. Interestingly, when I slowed down for a tollbooth, and started to accelerate (slowly) out the back side, the power problem seemed to clear. I got home and checked the air intake hose and found that it had a large split. I replaced that and all seemed well for about 70 miles. On my way home from work yesterday, I again had drop on power and P0300 appeared again (no P0171 this time). And just like the day before, letting the engine idle (to almost stalling) for a few seconds, then slowly applying gas and the power returned. Since it's intermittent I'm not sure how to proceed. I've double checked the air intake and all looks fine. No obvious problems with the ignition wires. I haven't checked the plugs yet. Since it's intermittent, unless I tear into it and find something visibly wrong, it's going to be a trial and error thing. So what order should I proceed? I'm guessing:

1) check plugs (although since it's a P0300 and not a P030(1-4) that there isn't one particular plug that's the problem.
2) check/replace the ignition wires.
3) check/replace the ignition coils.
4) check/clean the egr?

Thoughts?

TIA,
Bill

 

[CaptainJr]

pretty good explanation!

 

[barberus]

Hello, im the guy that originated the thread... I finally replaced the ignition coils 4 days ago and everything was running fine until today. The car still runs smoothly but the CEL stays on. Scanner gives me a P0421. I know what the specific meaning is ("catalyst below threshold bank 1"), but I have no idea what needs to be done. No inspection are required here in Michigan but I don't want it getting worse or cause an even more expensive repair. What should I do??

 

[mechead11]

downstream O2 sensor.... its generally not a big deal. ...especially if inspections are not required. but, it means your catalytic converter isn't being as efficient as it should be. and if your cat is really not working, the sensor could be fouled. I'd just non-fouler trick it, reset it the ECU, and see if it stays gone. if not replace the sensor, but still non-fouler trick it.