Have 1700 miles, about 5 weeks, started car today, check engine light stayed on after rest went out. Had to drive about 20 miles so did, car ran fine. Turned off, checked gas cap and restarted, still on. Called dealer, said ok to drive if not flashing so did, got back home, filled up tank, got 30.0 mpg and still ran ok. Made appt. for tomorrow, friday as light still on after fillup, restarts etc. Not sure why. Don
mx-5 check engine lite
- Thread starter Nod
- Start date
jersey_emt
Member
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- 04 MSM #1089
Could be any number of things. If you can, take it to Autozone or a similar place to get the code read for free before you take it in.
MAZDASPEED MX5
Member
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- 2009 Mazda Mx5 Touring, Sport Suspension, Spoiler +mods
Nod said:
I think that is an auxillary emissions control warning. Could be some little check valve or something.
check engine light. . .revisited
I have had the same problems with my 2002 MX-5. Light comes on for a few days. Then nothing. Took it to the dealer and ended up having to replace the O2 sensor (downstream) and fuel filter.
But guess what? A couple days later the check engine came back on again for a few days. Sigh. . .
Car runs fine and I have had no problems. But every once in awhile the light comes back on.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
(drive)
Nod said:
I have had the same problems with my 2002 MX-5. Light comes on for a few days. Then nothing. Took it to the dealer and ended up having to replace the O2 sensor (downstream) and fuel filter.
But guess what? A couple days later the check engine came back on again for a few days. Sigh. . .
Car runs fine and I have had no problems. But every once in awhile the light comes back on.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
(drive)
how many miles you got on the 2002? after about 40-60k miles, usually the egr orifice in the intake manifold gets plugged up with carbon-goo... will throw a code for "excess egr flow recalculation"
a couple hours, some q-tips and throttlebody cleaner should do the trick if thats what you're having... but i suggest going to autozone when its throwing the code to be sure its not something else.
a couple hours, some q-tips and throttlebody cleaner should do the trick if thats what you're having... but i suggest going to autozone when its throwing the code to be sure its not something else.
yea, i hate going to the dealer... the last time i went to the dealer was because i was throwing a constant code, and it was not only the EGR code, but my cat was also dead (due to a previous malfunctioning ignition)
They charged me $85 to tell me what I knew from having the code read at autozone for free, and when I complained, they said they would refund the $85 if i paid them to fix the problem, including parts... their estimate: $1900 including labor. A $60 aftermarket cat, $3 for throttle body cleaner and q-tips, and a few hours of elbow grease later, i fixed my problems... never got my $85 back tho ehe...
They charged me $85 to tell me what I knew from having the code read at autozone for free, and when I complained, they said they would refund the $85 if i paid them to fix the problem, including parts... their estimate: $1900 including labor. A $60 aftermarket cat, $3 for throttle body cleaner and q-tips, and a few hours of elbow grease later, i fixed my problems... never got my $85 back tho ehe...
R2s99zoom said:
Me, too. I dread going to the dealer. Especially when they 'dumb down' their talk because I am female.
I plan to stop by my local autozone this weekend to have them read the engine code. Hopefully, it will be something straightforward that I can take care of without going to the dealer. I'll let you know if your diagnosis was on target.
Thanks again for all the great advice!
R2s99zoom said:
Check engine light kept coming on this week so I decided not to wait any longer and stopped by autozone tonight.
OK, good news and bad news. . .
Bad news first. . .
autozone's OBD II code reader won't work with my 2002 MX-5. The connector is located under the hood, not underneath the driver's compartment, and has a different plug. Appears that my only option for reading the code is taking it to the dealer. Sigh. . .
Good news. . .
On my way back home, I stopped off to fill up the tank. Check engine light went off and stayed off. May have been that the gas cap was not on securely. . .I've heard that this is a common problem with the MX-5.
Hopefully, I won't have any more problems. But if I do, I am seriously considering just getting my own code reader for the MX-5. Will pay for itself over the life of the car, given what the dealer charges to two minutes of work!
Thanks.
errr... i thought odb2 was a standard connector? they use the odb2 plug for smog checks where I live... i doubt they would if there were a multitude of connectors?
theres a 'diag' plug under the hood in my '99, but its not for the odb2... odb2 in the compartment above the hood release catch, and it always throws off the smog hut people every year... i let them look for it for a couple mins before pointing it out to them usually, cos i'm mean.
theres a 'diag' plug under the hood in my '99, but its not for the odb2... odb2 in the compartment above the hood release catch, and it always throws off the smog hut people every year... i let them look for it for a couple mins before pointing it out to them usually, cos i'm mean.
got bored, and took pictures of the offenders.
first pic is the cover the true odb2 plug is hidden behind.
second pic is of the odb2 plug. its the blurry black thing at the top.
third pic is of the diagnostic plug in its gray plastic box under the hood (aka, not the right plug)
sorry for the crappy pic quality... the camera on my phone isn't very snazzy... and trying to find light under my dashboard in my garage at night wasn't easy
Oh, and you wont have the red button or led on your fusebox/odb2 cover, those i added myself for something completely unrelated to this thread.
first pic is the cover the true odb2 plug is hidden behind.
second pic is of the odb2 plug. its the blurry black thing at the top.
third pic is of the diagnostic plug in its gray plastic box under the hood (aka, not the right plug)
sorry for the crappy pic quality... the camera on my phone isn't very snazzy... and trying to find light under my dashboard in my garage at night wasn't easy
Oh, and you wont have the red button or led on your fusebox/odb2 cover, those i added myself for something completely unrelated to this thread.
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R2s99zoom said:got bored, and took pictures of the offenders.
first pic is the cover the true odb2 plug is hidden behind.
second pic is of the odb2 plug. its the blurry black thing at the top.
third pic is of the diagnostic plug in its gray plastic box under the hood (aka, not the right plug)
sorry for the crappy pic quality... the camera on my phone isn't very snazzy... and trying to find light under my dashboard in my garage at night wasn't easy
Oh, and you wont have the red button or led on your fusebox/odb2 cover, those i added myself for something completely unrelated to this thread.
You're awesome! You saved me some bucks. I owe you big time. I was dreading having to go back to the dealer.
Thanks for the info and the pics really help! I will check it out, as you described.
Thanks again. . .
R2s99zoom said:
Finally had a chance to check in the driver compartment, and found the OBD2 plug just as you described! Again, thanks! You're awesome! (2thumbs)
Might have some fun with the gearheads at autozone this weekend. . .and, no, not 'cause I'm mean. . .just playful.
BTW, forgot to tell you before. . .but I am really loving your MX-5 (pic in your signature). . .sweet!
R2s99zoom said:
OK. . .ended up washing and detailing my car tonight [yeah, pretty sad that this was my only excitement on a Friday night. . .sometimes it sucks being single (sad2) ]
anyhow, realized i needed tire cleaner so decided to run down to autozone and have them also read the 'check engine' code. Yeah, i was nice and didn't make the guy look for the connector.
code showed up as 'cam position sensor'
my MX-5 is running fine and the light has not been on all week.
sigh. . .don't want or need another trip to the dealer. . .just replaced the O2 sensor and fuel filter. . .now this.
not a great start to my weekend. . .stuck at home alone on a Friday night and possibly more repair expenses for my toy. . .sigh. . .
oh well, on the bright side, at least I can look forward to the Mazda Winterpalooza tomorrow. . .so all is not lost.
Thanks.
there were some issues with the ECU detection logic on the earlier 01-02 ECUs, which causes that cam sensor code... the only fix is to replace the ECU... however since 01-02 miatas have the 3505H emissions recall out, its ECU replacement under the recall should take care of this problem
TheMAN said:
do this haydee...
cos i don't know anything about the cps...
unless you've already had that recall done... (but if you have, then your car really does need some attention my instinct tells me, so no matter what, no escaping the dealer...)
hopefully you can get the recall done!
keep us posted!
