Stalling and reluctant to start

[Caroline]

Hi

I have just bought a 1991 1.5 DOHC mx3 and I have two problems that could be related.

The car takes a long time to start. It seems as if there is not enough power in the battery, but this was replaced so its not that.

The second problem is when I am slowing down the car idol seems like the car is going to cut out. Once I actually am stopped for more than a second or two the idol is fine and the car drives perfectly otherwise.

Until yesterday it never cut out but it cut out twice since then.

I tried to do the diagnostics codes but for some reason the car doesn't have a CEL? Is theis correct?

I have no idea where to even start to try to fix this problem as Mazda in Ireland will not look at the car as it is a Japenese import.

If anyone can shed ANY light on what I could do it would be great.

Caroline

I do not know to much about the jap spec mx3
however if you put the ignition in the on position without starting the car... do you see a check engine light on the dash board ..

Also
if you look under your hood where the back boaster is (see arrow in pic) do you see a box that says diagonosis?? if so follow the directions ...

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Jump GRD and TEN in the diagnosis connector under the hood with a wire With the ignition switch on and count the flashs of the check engine light.







if none of the info works then you may want to take a look at your spark plug/wires and your rotor...

[Caroline]

Tried the diagnostics yesterday but it doesn't have a CEL.

Found a website that has instructions to connect an LED to the diagnostics and the battery so I must try that.

Was just wondering if anybody else had the same problem and solved it.

[Taillon]

Sounds like your altenator could be bad, or not grounded right!! check with a meter to see how much power you have comming out of the altenator!!!

Originally posted by Taillon@Feb 2 2005, 02:22 PM
Sounds like your altenator could be bad, or not grounded right!! check with a meter to see how much power you have comming out of the altenator!!!

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if the altenator was bad then the battery would die due to no charge from the altenator ..


Caroline an easy way to tell if the altenator is bad is start the car and disconnect one of the battery cables if the car continues to run then the altenator is fine if it shuts off then the altenator is bad ..

I still believe this issue is related to the spark plug/wire or distributor/rotor or something with those lines..then again I maybe wrong..

[Taillon]

If it was the distributor then the car would not start at all.. do to no spark!! If it were the plug wires it would miss...not cause it to stall!! Just ask poeple who own Dodges they have thatproblem all the time!! I would say it is the altenator is bad or weak..or maybe the belt is slipping!!! Oh yeah mx-3's arent 1.5L its a 1.6L!! Is it a DOHC or SOHC??

Originally posted by Taillon@Feb 2 2005, 06:07 PM
If it was the distributor then the car would not start at all.. do to no spark!! If it were the plug wires it would miss...not cause it to stall!! Just ask poeple who own Dodges they have thatproblem all the time!! I would say it is the altenator is bad or weak..or maybe the belt is slipping!!! Oh yeah mx-3's arent 1.5L its a 1.6L!! Is it a DOHC or SOHC??

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I still don't see the logic in how an altenator will cause the car to have a bad idle for 2 seconds or so when she is stopped at a light...

If it was the distributor then the car would not start at all.. do to no spark!!

Have you ever heard of a bad distributor cap or faulty rotors ..
the reason why I say plugs for example when I had my 929 the car had a difficult time starting and whenever I was at a red light the idle would get rough when I checked the plugs they were burnt after replacing them it fix my problem ... I never said the distributor was bad but it may be fault or a component in that area may be faulty.....

If an altenator goes bad then the battery will not get charged which means the car would not ever turn over ... yeah maybe a failing altenator may cause this problem but i doubt it and it does not explain the funny idle.. then again I maybe wrong ..

[Caroline]

Ok,

It is a 1.5 DOHC japanese import. I know for a fact that the mx-3 comes in a 1.5 from Japan because I am in the process of importing a 96 one for my sister. Anyway thats besides the point.

When I run with the air conditioning on it doesn't do the funny about to stall idle thing!! So I put the airconditioning on when I was coming home from work lastnight. After about 2 mins driving the battery charge and exhaust heat lights come on. When I got home there was water spilling out of the radiator overflow tank??? Got someone out to look at it and it turns out the alternator belt had snapped!! It looked like a really new belt but it was all frayed from where it was rubbing off the alternator itself.

Dont know if this makes things any clearer??
Thanks for all you suggestions too.

so is the problem fixed or is it still acting funny after replacing the belt..