ShowHBK

Well... the oil filter is stuck on the car and I tapped a hole through it with a screwdriver and can't get it to budge.


Please stand by >_<

ShowHBK

*UPDATE*

After a long fought battle with the oil filter... I finally won. I had no choice but to poke some holes through and twist with my screwdriver.



So, after the oil change and ever plug, fuse, and circuit checked the car still is doing what it was doing. For everyone's viewing pleasure I have posted a video of what happens when the car turns on. Keep watching near the end and the check engine light is now flashing 7-8 times after the second turn over. I did disconnect the battery when I was doing all my work, is the CEL flashing from that? or am I not hearing the misfires? In all honesty I feel like both cranks and starts were smooth and sounded fine.

azimvsn

If I were you would follow that oring missing from maf sensor. Check throtel body or somewhere there. It is moving arround and playing with ur air control system.

ShowHBK

I am having a hard time understanding what you are saying. could you please explain what you mean?

Swampdonkey

Whats the update ?

ShowHBK

So far nothing to be honest with you guys. I found my first service sheet from Mazda in Columbus and here are their notes.



The reason for my decline to fix the problem was that they quoted me at $700+ and wanted to re-wire my entire car claiming that it was MY fault that the wire was heat damaged and the original botched repair was going to void all my warranties on the car. I had to explain to them that I was the second owner of the car and that the original owner must have done it. The funny thing was, the car was able to start and drive magically so I paid them for the diagnosis and drove off. I know a guy who works in car electronics for a living so he helped me patch the wire and we wrapped it in electrical tape and put a shrink wrap on it for good measure.

Looking at my OBDII data I think the fuel pump might be to blame or the idle fuel pump not kicking in. I took my battery down to my local auto parts store and had it tested and the charge was good and strong, as was the voltage.

I also think having the battery out of the car for so long might have turned my ECU into a potato because the CEL still flashes 8 times after it stalls. I looked online to several different places and they all say that I would need Mazda to reset my ECU. Does anyone know if this part is true?

I will keep everyone posted with what I learn... I pray one day that she will run again... I miss that 10k RPM sound so much =(

Swampdonkey

Well I pulled my ECU out to take it to dealership later to find out they need the whole car lol. I'm 45 minutes away from my local dealership so I'm checking everything possible before I haul my car on a trailer.

ShowHBK

I feel ya man, I am a lot closer to my local dealership but I flat out do not trust them with my car at all. I will save you to details but at one time I threatened to bring legal action onto one of my local dealerships.

There is a lot of good information in this thread and the only things that I have not done is Test the main fuel pump, do a compression test, or check under all my tape to see if that wire burned out again.

I simply do not have the tools to do a compression test and I am unable to find information leading to diagnosing my fuel pump. Tomorrow I am going to check that wire because I feel like it is the easiest thing to check. Are you having the same problem as I am? what have you tried?

Swampdonkey

Pretty much exactly the same problems besides melting wires. I've cleaned the ESS, MAF, plugs. Tried the deflooding method, checked all fuses and relays. I keep my battery fully charged when I try starting it. The car will just keep spinning and spinng without cranking.

Harlan

iTrader: (3)

It's the fuel pump wiring again. Sounds like you have a very intermittent problem. I'd just bypass the resistor permanently and keep on trucking. It's mostly there for cabin noise anyway.

If you doubt then just jump the fuel pump relay (the big pins on it) and the car will fire right up again.

The missfire code is happening when it runs out of fuel. The ECU doesn't care the cause it just cares about the crank speed. So no fuel, no fire. Not really a surprise

The order of events is:
Turn key on-> fuel pump to full current using the fuel relay to pressurize the system
After a few seconds -> turns the fuel pump off. Probably a feature to prevent spilling gas on the ground after a crash.

When cranking -> Goes to full current again.
When you stop cranking -> goes to low current through the resistor.

If the resistor/wiring is fried, then instead of dropping to low current the fuel pump turns off and you are just running on residual fuel pressure until it's gone.


You will get the same symptoms on a healthy 8 if you just disconnect the fuel pump resistor. There are a few threads on it relating to air pump delete.

Again, just bypass the resistor and enjoy having a working car.

ShowHBK

Thanks for the info, ill give it a go tomorrow morning... what is the best method for jumping the relay?

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

There is a 2 pin jumper in the fuse box.... that turns on the fuel pump for testing. ... use that. You can jump it with some wire or even a Large flat head screwdriver

ShowHBK

Problem Solved! (Temporarily)

SHE RUNS!!!

After ripping off all the tape I had put on the Low fuel pressure resistor I found that the wire was all burnt and had holes in it that were surrounded by burn marks. While waiting for a buddy to bring me some spare wire I decided to try and start her up without the tape on the wire and would you believe it, she started right up and idled for a whole 25 min while I waited.

We patched up some new wiring on the resistor and drove her around for about 15 min on the roads and she felt great!

I believe this is only a temporary fix because I truly believe the wire is just going to burn out again due to an existing wiring issue with the car from the previous owner.

But yes! it was the resistor wiring again! Big thanks to everyone who helped =D

Harlan

iTrader: (3)

Something is very wrong here. Either the stock wiring was patched with wire that was two small a gauge or something is causing the stock wire to burn up. Please take some pictures of the wires that are burnt up and any places that don't look stock. It would really suck to have a fire in the engine bay.

ShowHBK

Well, something I discovered AFTER I got the car was that the previous owner had left all his insurance information in the glove box along with the dealership's contact information who sold him the car. I called both the dealership and the owner after I got the car and asked him some questions. He had told me the wiring had been chewed up by mice because he put it in a barn for two years because be blew an engine seal and did not know it was under warranty. He was really angry when the dealership told him they would not fix the wiring so he had a buddy come over and they spent and afternoon patching up all the wires in the car they could find and then had it towed to the dealership to have the engine replaced. He told me it ran fine after that but I think there are MUCH deeper problems going on here with the electrical in the car. I just got back and drove her for about 34 min around town and she ran great, the oil temp was a bit high but it is hot in Columbus so no big surprise to me there. One thing that did shock me was my XM suddenly worked after I patched that wire. I do not know if they are connected, but I think I have some serious electrical problems that I can't even see.