Yet another rough Idle thread *Video* HELP!

peter330

Member
:
2001 Protege ES
Hi guys

I'm hoping someone can chim it with their expertise on my issues with rough idling.

I cleaned the EGR a few months ago and the rough idle went away for maybe a month.

I also cleaned the IAC valve and it didnt fix the problem.

Changed plugs to NGK, replaced PCV valve, and vacuum hose from brake booster to passenger side wall.

The CEL light was never on but now the idle is bouncing down to zero back to 700 back and forth and the cel stays on solid. After driving it for a bit like this, the CEL light is now flashing.

I have ordered an OBD scanner to get a better idea of what is happening but in the meantime I'm hoping someone can give me an idea of what's wrong.

I ordered new coils and they are on their way in the mail.

Here is a video of whats happening

Also, where does this vacuum hose go from the purge solenoid? Not sure where to attach this to, I bought the car like this.
IMG_0060.jpg


Thanks guys!
 
the only time i have ever had an issue with teh cel flashing was when i had water in the spark pulg port.

also if you cleaned your egr with brake parts cleaner or carb cleaner, it has a high tendency to get ggummed up faster. it is also possible that youre egr valve has just gona bad. try using an obdII scanner and see what codes you are throwing.
 
i've never had success cleaning the egr valve, replaced mine twice now. much easier just to replace it.

that being said, without knowing the cel code, nothing we tell you will help.
 
Yeah try cleaning the MAF with electronic part cleaner.

Have you clean the IAC from the TB or were you able to open thing? do both if you can. Next thing I would check for is a vaccum leak, or maybe one of the the O2 sensors is bad which would explain the CEL.
I've been stuck with bad idle for a year trying all those different stuff I found here, cleaning the EGR several times.

I see you're in Toronto, if you're willing to go all the way to cure that mess, I'd recommend trying the ''new'' canadian EGR valve which is liquid cooled. It's the only thing that helped my idle. I tried everything else before I gave it a shot and it was a good move, finally! It's been on the car for a year now, MUCH smoother idle, even if it's still a little low I think (650-750), but I know I got a bad O2 sensor (Had a CEL for awhile now).
Good luck and welcome to the bad idle club

*** and what about the grounds Le Flo?
 
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wait a minute: did'nt notice the line you're pointing which is clearly disconnected... Is this line connected on the solenoid valve that's in the bottom right corner of the picture? if so, it is supposed to be plugged somewhere on top of the throttle body and could possibly be your problem right there... disconnected vaccum line= bad idle most of the time.
 
Hey thanks guys I figured out where that hose went. It was on top of the throttle manifold in a not so obvious place - it took care of the bouncing idle. I'm still having rough acceleration issues particularly taking off in first gear. Cleaned the MAF, EGR, IAC, and just cant figure it out. This car just seems like its gonna collapse. I hate to say this but I regret getting this car
 
it might not fix the problem to just clean the iac. You might have to buy a new one.
 
I was having idle problems with my car. My mechanic smoked my engine several times with no sign of a leak. He took it to mazda and the culprit was a cracked UNION NUT on top of my fuel pump. They are plastic and notorious for cracking. He replaced it. Improved idle and eliminated the cel. However I still have a slightly rough idle. My car has 117k on it.
 

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