Rough Idle - Temporary Flashing CEL
 

So this is the 2nd time this has happened. I started up the car this morning it was about 30 degrees. I revved the engine for a second and noticed fumes out the back were pretty heavy. The check engine light flashed for a minute and then stopped. Sometimes the car seems to idle pretty rough even after its warmed up. What could these problems be from? Do I need to spark plugs? Coils?:scratchhe

Need more data..............year, mileage, etc.

But..................don't rev or drive much over 3k until you're up to operating temp.

I would change coils, plugs, and wires all at one time. One or two of these is the likely cause.

For grins, you could make sure all your plug wires are on good(on both ends), but it's still likely you will be changing them.

did the light 'blink' or stay illuminated for one minute. Blinking means a misfire which is typically plugs, coils, or wires.

2004, 28,000 miles , previous owner said he babied it. ( I met the guy after buying from dealership). My problem is I have no idea how to check the wires coils, or plugs...and mazda keeps telling me that it is normal for a rough idle.

That might be your problem.......

Do you redline often, may be carbon build up.

Oh I redline. I know all about the daily requirement. I meet/exceed that. It was blinking...not even for a minute.

Im reading about how this could be the CAT? How do I get mazda to look at all this? It's still under warrenty until the end of March.

when it is cold. dont free rev it let it settle into what ever rpm it wants.

at that temp i would let it idle for a bit then drive slowly..

beers :beer:

it is very unlikely the cat.

flashing cel as mention before is a misfire. plugs, wires, coils. most of the time.

but free reving when cold should not be done.

beers :beer:

My 2005 A/T with 32,000 miles did something similar. My CEL flashed for a few seconds and then went off and nothing really changed as far as how it ran. I read in the manual that ment it misfired. About 1,000 miles later my CEL came on and stayed on and I could still tell no difference in the way it ran. . . I took it in to the dealership and they said it was misfiring and they replaced all 4 coils and one plug wire that had shorted out. . . I still could tell no difference in the way it ran after but no more CEL. AND IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY!!! :lol2:

I did have a question about if I should change the plugs as well after this happened??? Not to hijack the thread though :)

with that mileage, yes. I would recommend doing plugs, coils, wires all at once. Might as well, since you are working in that area anyways.

Post DIY, power steering fix flashing CEL and problem idling
 

Sorry to resurrect this thread. I did the DIY to bypass the coolant line from the throttle body, and cleaned my power steering connectors since I was getting the intermittent power steering failure so common among these parts. Well, everything worked and I was a happy camper until the CEL lit up and the car won't stay on while idling. The CEL flashes once or twice. I can restart the car but I need to keep the gas going a bit to prevent idling. While doing the DIY stuff I disconnected the accordion hose and the 3 small hoses including the MAP sensor. I think there is a leak somewhere, right? I don't want to go to the dealer because since the car went out of warranty I've spent over $3K in motor mounts, a radiator and coolant tank, water pump, belts and other stuff that obviously is not worth the dealer markup. Do any of you know of a good rotary guy or Mazda mechanic in the South FL, Fort Lauderdale area? Thanks in advance, this site rocks. Also, do you know if Autozone will loan me the scanner to get the CEL codes?

Autozone to get the codes read is teh first bet. But a flashing CEL indicates a misfire. When was the last time the plugs, coils, and wires were replaced?

Thanks for your reply.

About 3 years ago under warranty. Since then my water pump and radiator went and splashed coolant all over. I know some wires and connectors were replaced but this weekend I noticed a lot of brittle connector, and the clip for one of the intake sensors snapped but no big deal. I need to get the codes but I'm afraid to drive the 2.5 miles to get to the Autozone store, could they loan one to me with a deposit? Also, if I indeed have to replace everything, is it a big deal to DIY? I'm sick of the dealer raping me, thus my question to the forum if someone knows a good mechanic in South FL.

Update: Got code P0506 and drove around and problem went away. I wanted to be sure and found this thread so all is good.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ighlight=p0506