Traction light stuck on, engine not running right.
 

Okay here is my story. This past 4th weekend, I got to Pensacola, and after 6.5 hours for 250 miles, my engine started acting funny. What it feels/sounds like it it is cutting off the fuel. I go and get around 3000 rpms and all of a sudden i stop accelerating, and when I press the gas pedal, it is just like when I am shutting off my car. And I stopped to a parking lot and rev'd it a whole bunch it went away. Yesterday, it started again. Hasn't been bad enough to pull off the road yet. Yesterday, my traction light came on. This morning, it is still on. Any ideas? I was thinking maybe cleaning my eccentric shaft sensor, it is filthy, and maybe my MAF sensor? I am unsure hope someone can help me. I am leaving for a 2 week det sunday, and then I am going home 2 days after I get back. Also, maybe spark plugs? I have about 40,000 miles on them and coils. should I replace them? I haven't changed the wires in about 4 years maybe those too?

UPDATE: REPLACED MAF AND IT CURED MY CAR. I DID REPLACE SPARK PLUGS, AND FIX A GROUND. THAT FIXED MOST MY CODES BUT P0037 and P0102.

Yes to all of the above. Do plugs, coils and wires. Also clean you Maf and E-shaft censor. Check that your cat is glowing red and failing. Get the code read and find out what it is. In your case it could be a number of things.

After that, if you're still having issues take it in for a compression test.

As for the traction control light, I'm not sure how it would play in to the rest of your issues.

Okay, I have tons of codes anyway. very small leak, small leak, and various other codes. Those have been there for years. So codes may not help me too much. I don't think my light plays any part in it. Just needs fixed too and this all happened around the same time. Compression is fine im sure. It isn't like this all the time, just sometimes, and I've dealt with that one already, and know most or almost all the symptoms of loss of compression.

Uh, sounds like you need to get under the hood and do some work, or take it somewhere. If you have codes for a leak, it's either evap (gas lid) or vacuum. A vacuum leak can easily cause your car to run like shit. Get everything fixed first. I'd still recommend a compression test when you're done though.

I would do it myself, but I am unsure how to check for the leaks. I replaced the engine myself, and it ran fine but just had those codes, so I said F*** it. Lol. Any tips on how to get those leaks fixed so Mazda doesn't rape me?

A vacuum tester and some soapy water works well to find vacuum leaks. Pressurize the vacuum lines and start spreading soapy water on all of the hoses. If there are bubbles, there's a leak

Should I mention that I replaced my radiator and ac condenser last week. I took out the fans also, which means I messed with wires. But the wires look fine right now. Not like they got wrapped up in the engine.

At this point man, you should start searching the forum for all of your symptoms and read what others have done in your situation.

Here are my CEL codes
P0442
P0456
P0102
P0037
Any help would be appreciated.

Your gascap probably needs to be replaced if the light has been on 'for years'.

Apart from that, all those symptoms can come from a bad battery or ground connection, they all say low volts. Check and re-check your cables/clamps/ground points.

Punched cat does it, and it did this after I replaced my engine. You know what there is a ground that i need to fix. Brb and let u know what happens.

what and where are the throttle position sensors? Well the name says it all. Where is it. The ground on the metal intake manfold. Would the ssv be an issue. Also, it is very rich in gas in the exhaust, but i disconnected the battery which reset everything. I did mess with those grounds due to fixing the radiator and ac condenser. Thanks charles for the breakdown. Do you really think I need a gas cap? Where can I get one of those for cheap new? Does the gas cap make that much of a difference? How would I check the harness? Should I change the spark plugs or no?

okay, messed around with it. put $8 in tank and went about 10 miles and the $8 is now gone. pretty shitty. what about the metal electronic throttle thingy. I don't know what it is called but the coolant runs through it and the cai connects to it. charles, could the eccentric shaft sensor being dirty cause this issue at all? it almost feels like it misfires. I can tell it seems like every other rotation. but i am not getting any codes for anything but what i already told you. I am unsure, but dont think I will be going home to see the fam.

I cleaned the eccentric shaft sensor and still a nogo. ordered a maf sensor we will se when it comes in. its in florida and im in louisian should be here soon. Anybody against me getting plugs and wires? there are 40,000 miles on the spark plugs and about 80-90,000 on wires. Also, not sure if i said my car has 151,000 miles and the maf sensor is original.

You should definitely be looking into plugs wires and coils with that many miles on them.

You drove for 6 1/2 hours and did 250 miles,were you out of gas ?

Umm.. No.. It took that long cause fourth of July traffic, sat in heat all day running.

I had a very similar problem. Just like StealthTL says you have to check you electrical connections.

Take the cover off of your battery. Remove both the negative and positive clamps on the battery terminals. Clean up the posts with a wire brush or steel wool. Put on new battery post paste if you have some. Reattach your clamps and once they are firmly tightened you may find that they still have some play in them.

In my case, my positive battery clamp's screw was bottomed out and wasn't squeezing the clamp tight enough. The clamp had stretched out a bit. I shimmed the post with some copper wire and replaced the clamp and everything came back to life. All those mysterious symptoms disappeared.

Seriously, make a serious effort to check your battery terminals.

I checked my battery terminals yesterday, and made the positive one more oval, cause it was too big. It didn't fix my issue at all. If anything, it made everything worse lol. It reset my ecu or whatever, and now runs like complete sh**. The smell of gas really fills the air now, and hopefully my computer can relearn whatever it needs to get back a little better.

op if you end up needing a tb hit me up i have a spare in my garage

What is a purge solenoid? When I turn my car off, I hear a series of clicks and electric stuff doing things for maybe a second or two. where is a purge solenoid, and how can i find out if it is working properly?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dltNB3heUFY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13RbkbA1lbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNV4fQhtoVA

I couldnt hear anything except you guys talking, but, I noticed your gas gauge is low , and the low light is on, maybe your fuel pump has a problem, being low on gas and in bumper to bumper traffic may have over heated the pump.

That was the first time it has been low. It seems to putter. Like every other fire is a misfire but I don't have a misfire code. Changed spark plugs today and still not better. Maf should be here in a couple of days.

I read my codes today and I'm guessing that ground fixed my other codes but I still have p0037 and p0102. Closer to victory!!