Vic-Viper

Quick history.

Found this at a dealership. Has 29,000 miles.

Tried to start it in freezing temps, but it had sat there a while. It would turn, but didn't start.

Came back next day, they hooked up a battery and got it to start. When it started there was a bunch of white smoke.

Test drove it. First mile was absolutely gutless. Pulled it aside and gave it some solid reving action. Cleared it up, felt fine after that.

Came back the next day and purchased the car. Only had one owner and was in fantastic condition.

The check engine light was on the day prior so the tech at the dealership read it. Said it was the fuel mixture error code and reset it. Suggested I drive it around to clear things out.

Couple days pass and all is good with my new car.

The engine light comes back on so I call Mazda to get an appointment. Over the weekend the light clears. Didn't think much of it. Day before the appointment the light comes back on.

I go to mazda and they tell me the mixture is to lean and that I had a misfire reported. They also suggest I replace the spark plugs (Just ordered some OEMs and will follow the steps I learned from here, thanks rx8club). They scrubbed my existing plugs and re-installed them. I also had them check to see if the PCM flash was current since I don't believe this rotary has been replaced. They checked and reported that it had been done. Everything checked out great (brakes, battery, etc)

2 days later the check engine light is back. I ordered the spark plugs minutes ago but am worried about the light being back on so soon. Just looking for some good advice.

I am a complete noob with cars. Electronics is second nature, but cars...not so much. So if my terminology is lacking finess, my apologies.

Edit: 2nd check engine light may have been a false alarm. I powered up the car (didn't start the engine) to check the stereo firmware. The check engine light blinked and then became solid during this point. I forgot the instructions to check the firmware (like an idiot) so I ran in, re-read them, and noticed the check engine light was just on, no blinking this time. I just got back from driving it for about 10 minutes (made sure it was completely warmed up before turning it off, thanks again rx8club) and the check engine light (CIL from now on) never came on. Not 100% sure why it was blinking earlier without the engine running.

EDZRIDE

iTrader: (1)

I would suggest a complete tune-up, (plugs, wires and coils) and go from there.