No more Cold Engine Rattle!

[ATLskate]

Hrm, wierd, yesterday, i was reading the thread about TECHNICAL 5 having problems after 5500 RPM's with his VICS/VTCS system(http://www.protege5.com/vbb225/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11153) inside that thread they talked about how the VTCS system was the cause for the cold engine rattle. Well anyways, being the curious guy i am, i sort of checked out the system by unplugging a few things and looking at it in general. Well afterwards i put everything back together, and the next day, BAM! no more cold engine rattle! like a miracle!

Yes, if you disconnect the green clip on top of the intake manifold under the strut tower bar. But it throws a cell i tryed it already.Check it out in the pic,i circled it. It pulls hard and runs great but i dont like driving around with the Cel on. It also gets rid of the infamous cold engine rattle.I believe it leaves the flaps open when you unplug the clip.Need to figure out how to get rid of the CEL though.

http://www.protege5.com/vbb225/attachment.php?s=&postid=107785

the only thing that i think of is that when i unplugged the green clip, it might've fixed something or disabled the VTCS, making it not work at all w/o throwing a CEL! Do you think that could be the thing that fixed it or what? sorry for the long post, just thought i'd share.

 

[MikeBlueP5]

did you unplug it with the car running/ car cold/hot or what? what were the circumstances?
also I know when I first bought my car it didnt do it. has anyone took theirs to the dealer about the TSB and had it fixed?
Mike

 

[ATLskate]

The car was off, probally about 90% cooled down. basically, i had it unplugged for about 5-10 min, i blew in it to make sure no dirt or oil got in, and i plugged it back. My car used to do it every time right at 3000 RPM, but now, NOTHING. It's great.

 

[MikeBlueP5]

lucky ass, I want mine to stop it sounds like s***
hell it does it a little as soon as it fires on cold morning with no rev, just idle. Bastad.
Oh well ill figure out something, i just hate to leave my baby witht the dealers specially with aftermarket non-removable stuff-radio/headlights/suspension, ya know the stuff the parts geek would like to get his grubby paws on. I might try that in the mornin
Mike

 

[carlos]

the only thing that i think of is that when i unplugged the green clip, it might've fixed something or disabled the VTCS, making it not work at all w/o throwing a CEL! Do you think that could be the thing that fixed it or what? sorry for the long post, just thought i'd share.

There is an easy way to get rid of the cold engine rattle without getting the check engine light. You should plug back in the electrical connector you disconnected, and instead disconnect the vacuum hose that comes off of the solenoid that the green clip is connected to.

Once you disconnect the vacuum hose, cover the hole with a cap of some sort so you dont have a vacuum leak into the manifold.

If you have a P5, you'll see that there are two solenoids on top of the intake manifold. Make sure that you are disconnecting the correct vacuum hose by tracing where it leads to. The vacuum hose you want to disconnect is the one that leads right up to the head, where the intake manifold joins up with the head.

If you go into www.protegeclub.com and do a search on disabling the VTCS (include terms like "vacuum hose, check engine light" etc), you should find very detailed explanations with pictures too, to make sure you are disconnecting the right hose.

Hope this helps.

 

[yay for cars]

My car used to do it every time right at 3000 RPM, but now, NOTHING. It's great.

arent you supposed to try to keep the revvs under 3000 rpm before the engine warms up anyways?

 

[Keith@FP]

Mazda has an update for your ECU programming that will fix the rattle. Ask your dealer.

Keith

 

[blynzoo]

Mazda has an update for your ECU programming that will fix the rattle. Ask your dealer.

Keith

Yeah. Instead of these home fixes why dont you guys just let the dealer reprogram? For some cars, a one-part replacement is also necessary.

 

[ATLskate]

well, first off i wasn't trying to fix anything, i was just checking out wiring, and trying to understand how the system works. Plus if i knew that Mazda had an ECU update that would fix the cold engine rattle, then i would've gotten it already. I just happened to stumble across how to possibly fix the problem.

 

[acidbug]

Well...I just my Mazda Service man and he tells me that if there are any TSB (don't know what that means) or recalls..that they will do it by vin# and contact me directly!!

Can anyone shed some light??

Thanks

Chas

 

[RyanBlueP5]

TSB = Technical Service Bulletin I believe

 

[20ESGUY]

They'll notify you by mail for a recall only....the TSB's you have to ask for, it's coverable under factory warranty if the car exhibits the behavior listed in a particular TSB. Most service guys have a tendency not to look at them, so you're better off if you ask one of the techs to check for it.

 

[Keith@FP]

It's also the sort of "hidden warranty" issue that gets fixed when the car is in for service and you never hear about.

Keith

 

[Red Baron]

Dealer told me they will reprogram all 2.0L when they're in for service. Says it will eliminate the knocking.

 

[acidbug]

Just called My service Technician and they Said that the TSB comes w/ a Bulletin Number!! Does Anyone know what it is??

Thanks
Chas

 

[insider]

If the dlr can not find the TSB here is a littel help

TSB 01-004/03. It was sent to the dlr around 2/7/03

 

[20ESGUY]

if you ever need valid TSB numbers, check out http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ they'll give you a list of valid bullitens for any car sold in the US since the manufacturer is required to discolse them.

 

[carlos]

Yeah. Instead of these home fixes why dont you guys just let the dealer reprogram? For some cars, a one-part replacement is also necessary.

It would be good to hear if Mazda's latest fix for this works. Seems I have heard that the folks who have had it done noticed a little bit of a difference, but the noise was still there to some degree.

I just unplugged it, and forgot about it. Sweet silence