Hi all

I have an '08 Sport, ~75k miles. Car ran fine until I left for a 3 week trip. GF started it once about 2 weeks into my trip, said she ran the car for about a minute. It sat for another week until I got back. Weather was about 45-55F, damp (I live near San Francisco), and the car was outside the whole time.

Sure enough, when I came back this morning and tried to start it, the starter cranked but the engine didn't catch. I tried deflooding (as in DIY-deflooding-average-joe-plumber), but I didn't do it for a minute, I did it for like 30 seconds. That didn't work, so I left to go to work. When I came back, I spent about 10 minutes deflooding and the car finally started. When I deflooded I just floored the gas, didn't remove any fuses or anything.

Problem is, the idle is _really_ bad - idle RPM cycles between 1500 and 2250, in intervals of about 2 seconds. This is after I let the car warm up. Also, there's a CEL on now, pulled the code, "P2109" - TP sensor minimum stop range/performance problem

I drove the car around the block, that didn't help either so I parked it and here I am.

Is this just an artifact of flooding - should I drive it to work (35 miles one way) and see if that fixes things or try something else? Is the car even safe to drive at this point? - I don't want to make the situation worse.


Thanks for any help

 

try unplugging and then installing the throttle body plug to make sure it's seated properly, reset the PCM, and then see what happens

otherwise it's not likely a flooding issue but either a bad throttle body or or an issue with the drive by wire system such as the electronic throttle pedal, etc. It will take a Mazda dealership type system to run the various tests

 

If you push in the clutch when it is surging does it go back to normal?

 

nope, it stays the same

 

I didn't reseat the throttle body plug, but I did reset the PCM (I held the odometer reset and turned the key to the ON position until I saw "TEST". I also pressed the brake pedal like 30 times but didn't see the oil gauge move so I don't know if that part of the PCM got reset).

In any case, resetting the PCM fixed the issue. I started the car and it idles fine. The CEL stayed on for a bit, but went off after about an hour of driving.

Thanks for the help.

 

Hello guys, Im in the same situation now, did you found the problem with the oscillating issue?

 

I just reset the PCM (see my post above) and it went away

 

Mr 80 great let me reset my PCM with both Procedures and i will let you guys know what happened. Regards!!!