Protege5 RPM, Battery, and Suspension problem

[Trey97]

Hi everyone, first off i am new here, well, new to the forum life haha. But i bought a 2002 Protege5 a couple months ago and i am slowly trying to get her up and legal. Money is tight, and im going to extreme measures of selling my WANTS so i can get my NEED up and running, you get me? and i am accepting any help i can with this car. But anyway, to one of the problems, when it was snowing alot a month ago, i always went out to my car and start her up, and i always have to reconnect and disconnect the battery when im done, as i quickly learned something unknown is draining the battery when i leave it connected. had to charge the battery twice. Its a new battery. i have no idea what that could be, all the wires look good. But when i start the car in the cold or even on a nice day, the car will kind of struggle to start, then the car idles under 1000 RPM's and it idles pretty loud, and sometimes there is a little bit of bumping sounds, and the car jerks a little from time to time while in park. The car has been sitting for a year(Probably a little longer) I know it needs a neutral switch, but i cant afford that right now, it doesn't seem like much of a problem anyway. And i don't know if this common with these kind of cars, but if i try to rev it over 4000 RPM's, it drops very very quickly. I have taken it 'around the block' a good few times, and it rides fairly well. Also when i slow down, the RPM's go down fairly fast, and it seems like its trying to shift or something. i know when i hit pot holes, there is a rattling under the car, i dont think its the muffler either, as i checked it and it doesnt move around easily. Then when i tried to change the right front brake( which was impossible) I found a bar thats attached to the Suspension bar that is disconnected from a bar that goes under the passenger side and straight back, im guessing. but theres a ball joint, and the other bar is just literally hanging around. Knowing since i drove the car for awhile now, and that wasnt connected, it seems like not much of a big problem, but i'd like to know whats that all about. Please explain to me what these problems are, i read that the problem with the revving could possibly be the timing belt? im not sure.

 

[Jackie chan]

It's running like that because every time you unplug the battery you are resetting the ecu. It takes time for the ecu to learn how it should be calibrated. Something is draining you're battery, and that is your main problem. Check for things like your hatch light when the hatch is closed. Might be as simple as leaving your headlights on, I don't know, haha.

 

[Jackie chan]

And that bar that is disconnected is your swaybar. Not a big deal if you don't mind some bodyroll. But I'd try to fix it. New links are cheap.

 

[TheSwapnessMonster]

Was your front right caliper seized?


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[Trey97]

I make sure everything is off. But i know the fog lights dont work, the rear window wiper wont work, nor does both of the rear speakers. The previous owner had put a after market radio in it. But do you think any of those could be the problem?

 

[Trey97]

No the wheel never locked up.

 

[MrGiggles]

You need to do a proper parasitic drain test.

There are many videos on Youtube that walk you through the process. All you'll need is a 20 dollar digital multimeter.

 

[pcb]

You need to do a proper parasitic drain test.

It might be those Parasitic Canadian Spiders ???



You'll need this....




And be careful of this !!!

 

[pcb]

You should fix your neutral switch... The ECU either thinks the clutch is always in or out (I forget which), so it is always trying to idle (or never... I forget which).

Get one off a junker or online.

If your car is an automatic then it's a more expensive switch but it may just be out of adjustment... Easy fix.

 

[KBrian]

A seized caliper will not lock up the wheel, but will not allow the piston to retract after the brake pedal is released. There will be some brake drag and increased wear on the pads and rotor. The calipers are cheap from parts suppliers/ebay etc (20-30 bucks each)

 

[Trey97]

Well i was told the neutral switch isnt an issue, but supposedly its the reason for the engine light to be on. It is an automatic with manual option. It doesnt really do the idle thing when i drive it in manual.

 

[Trey97]

A seized caliper will not lock up the wheel, but will not allow the piston to retract after the brake pedal is released. There will be some brake drag and increased wear on the pads and rotor. The calipers are cheap from parts suppliers/ebay etc (20-30 bucks each)

I dont think it has done that either. it drives fine with no drag. although, the rotors and brakes do need changed for the front two. And i couldnt even get the bolts loose. all the rotors and brakes were brand new, but they were just rusted out badly. i tried driving it and braking with good enough force to remove the rust, but it didnt work. And i mean it was loud when i braked, Like sanding with metal on metal. But after i changed both the rear rotors and brakes, it doesnt make that loud sound. But its still faint coming from the front.

 

[Trey97]

You should fix your neutral switch... The ECU either thinks the clutch is always in or out (I forget which), so it is always trying to idle (or never... I forget which).

Get one off a junker or online.

If your car is an automatic then it's a more expensive switch but it may just be out of adjustment... Easy fix.

I was told the neutral switch wasnt much of an issue, except as to start the car in neutral. But i will check that out anyway.

 

[TheSwapnessMonster]

You should be able to get the bolts off.. Use a longer ratchet or wrench. Anything that sounds like metal on metal is a problem. You can look up the brake caliper removal in the factory service manual for bolt locations.

http://www.floptical.net/mazda/service_web/

 

[Trey97]

You should be able to get the bolts off.. Use a longer ratchet or wrench. Anything that sounds like metal on metal is a problem. You can look up the brake caliper removal in the factory service manual for bolt locations.

http://www.floptical.net/mazda/service_web/

I know one problem is the top bolt is in a tight space. i barely could fit the ratchet onto the bolt. and im a pretty strong dude and i couldnt get it even with help of half a can of WD-40. So either the last person who changed them was hercules, or i do need a longer ratchet.

 

[TheSwapnessMonster]

Yeah and sometimes you need to turn the steering wheel to get better access behind the wheel. You'll get used to the car

 

[MrGiggles]

I know one problem is the top bolt is in a tight space. i barely could fit the ratchet onto the bolt. and im a pretty strong dude and i couldnt get it even with help of half a can of WD-40. So either the last person who changed them was hercules, or i do need a longer ratchet.

There is no top bolt on the front calipers, just the bottom, which is an 8mm allen. Remove that, and the caliper swings up to gain access to the pads. You do need to slide the caliper off to lube the top pin with a non-petroleum silicon based brake grease though.

You may have been trying to loosen the caliper bracket bolts, which do not need to come off unless you're changing the rotors too. They have thread locker from the factory and can be a bastard to break loose. I prefer a long handle flex head ratchet for those, since you can swing the handle outside the fender and get a good pull on it.

As far as penetrating oil goes, unless you can spray it onto exposed threads, it does next to nothing but make the bolt head slippery.

 

[pcb]

... Anything that sounds like metal on metal is a problem....

Not necessarily... It's just life in the salt belt...

 

[ZealoustheEnder]

Your battery issue might be bad grounds. You need to check the ground strap to the engine on the passenger side as well as the ground on the driver side behind the engine on top of the transmission.

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[TheSwapnessMonster]

I live in upstate NY. I know salt. I get that rotors can have some surface rust. That doesn't consistently make "metal on metal" noise for me. My fear is that OP has severely worn brake pads or damaged rotors. It could be something as minor as a bent brake dust shield, but we should air on the side of caution when providing advice over the internet with problems we can't see. Unless I'm just misinterpreting OP's description of normal braking noise, the brakes should be checked out for rotor and pad wear.