I just wanted to report my experience yesterday. On my way to work, about a 12 mile drive, I stopped in a line of cars at a stop light. Suddenly I noticed smoke/steam coming out of my hood. I wondered if this was coming from my engine or was just exhaust steam from the car in line ahead of me being blown under my car.

The steam seemed to stop, so I figured it was the latter. When the light changed, I hit the gas and nothing happened. I noticed that ALL of the ememrgency lights were on. Thinking I had accidently stalled the car, I turned off the ignition and tried to restart. Nothing ... except all the emergency lights, still.

Pushed the car over to the side of the road. (a harrowing affair, as I was on a state highway). Tried several more times and called Mazda Roadside service.

Several hours later, at a dealer, they examined the car and stated that they had no idea what caused the failure. Eventually, the tech brought out an "L"-shaped charred plastic component with obvious electronic connectors and said the problem was a shorted out ignition coil, causing a blown fuse to the PCM. They said they've never seen the problem before, but could replace the part and have me on my way. Thankful that it was nothing more serious, I was on my way shortly.

I thought I should report it here and see if anyone else has experienced such a thing. Comments?

 

Thanks for the post!

A few people have experienced coil falures. Do you have any aftermarket parts? Some people have seen these failures with piggyback computers. Some stock. It would be nice to know what you have.

 

No, absolutely nothing. Completely stock. The only time I have done anything under the hood was the fix for a flooded engine, where you remove the spark plugs, crank the engine to clear the chamber, and replace plugs. That was several months ago.

I was wondering if the coil housing was cracked, or melted from the outside before it shorted. I wish I had spent longer looking at it or remembered to keep it.

 

Glad they fixed it under warranty and you were on your way quickly. Very nice to know if mine go out too.

It's been happening but not common enough to be a TSB or Recall.. it's probably a known issue, like the problem I had with my shift forks.

 

I had a coil fail a few weeks ago. Under hard acceleration in second gear I had a misfire and lost power while throwing out a good bit of smoke. I let off the gas for a couple seconds and then put my foot back down and I was able to accelerate again. Over the next few minutes, I experienced a few hesitations/hiccups in power delivery and the CEL started to blink. I shut the car down and restarted. The CEL was solid but the car was perfectly driveable without any noticable problems with pweor delivery. Took it to the dealer a few days later and they said there was a problem with one of the coils but they didn't have any in stock. A couple days later I went back in and they replaced it under warranty. The CEL code said that the coil had shorted, but it didn't lead to a blow fuse like in your car.

 

I'm concerned about this problem now since I've had an experience smelling a burning smell coming to my air vents (towards the fans in the interior). I didn't notice anything wrong with driving my 8 after that and I even stopped to check the engine bay. I just dismissed it as the truck in front of me probably made that smell.

What can I do to check to see if I have burnt coils? Can I see it easily without removing anything?

 

It is possible to see if your coil packs are melting by visual inspection. Someone, MazdaManiac I think, posted a bunch of pics a week or two ago clearly showing the melting. Naturally, I can't find the thread right now, but I'll hunt around a bit and see it I can't provide a link. Or...

MazdaManiac/Jeff, are you listening?

 

it's in the thread started by epiwhosamajiggy

 

Here tis': My car isnt well