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Mazda 626 Troubles

2544 messages,  Last post on Apr 15, 2013 at 8:56 AM

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What is this discussion about? Mazda 626, Sedan




Messages Page 47 of 255

#456 of 2544 Car died by izippy

Apr 17, 2001 (12:50 pm)

Hello everyone, I hope everyone is doing well. My hold light has been flashing for a while and the dealership said it was caused by the distributor. But a new distributor costs over 500 dollars and since the transmission was still running properly I've put it off for awhile. Now today my wife is in the city and she tells me the speedometer starts jumping around and the car is surging ,then at the red light the car dies. It doesn't even crank over. She said some guys tried to help her boost it and they got it running but she said it was running "wobbly". I know I've had a belt that has been squealing on me for awhile and the mechanic can't seem to figure it out, whether or not that has anything to do with it or not I don't know. She also said that the radio lost power before the car did. The car is a 1993 Mazda 626 ES V6, any insight anybody could throw my way would be helpful. To start the car it needs to crank over for a few seconds before it starts is also related to the distributor problem. Thanks for any help you can offer.

#457 of 2544 RPMs up and down (for gg1234) by windowphobe6

Apr 17, 2001 (4:44 pm)

Since this happens only at comparatively high speeds, I'm guessing the transmission is actually shifting itself in and out of overdrive. It's not necessarily a transmission problem, but something is telling the tranny to drop out of O/D at random intervals. The first thing I'd check would be the O/D-off switch on the shift lever, to see if something has gunked it up or otherwise made it act up. There's also the possibility that the range sensor (this is the gizmo that is supposed to match up the selected gear to the actual gear on the tranny) is out of whack, but this seems less likely.
 
You're not getting the dreaded blinking O/D Off light, are you?

#458 of 2544 Random speedo (for izippy) by windowphobe6

Apr 17, 2001 (4:48 pm)

The combination of dubious distributor and failing vehicle-speed sensor can do this sort of thing. And I'd have the timing checked on this car, just as a precautionary measure; the ECU is supposed to control such things, but it's getting screwy signals from its input devices. (The VSS also contributes to the status of the Hold light.)

#459 of 2544 Possible distributor problem by ian18

Apr 17, 2001 (8:12 pm)

On my 93 Mazda 626 ES 5 spd, with the V-6 engine I had to replace the distributor after about 60,000 miles. There was no advance warning, the car just wouldn't start one day. Replacement distributor from Mazda was over $300 USD. However, rebuilds now seem to be available. Check out carparts.com and expressautoparts.com. Another bit of advice I can give you is to stay away from Mazda parts (and their service department) as their prices are really out-of-line.

#460 of 2544 The Crankshaft Pulley by izippy

Apr 18, 2001 (11:39 am)

Hello everybody, well I got my car towed to my mechanic and the crankshaft pulley was loose. It's the pulley that drives the belts and it was causing the belt to slip on the alternator therefore not providing enough charge to run the car. Does the alternator not charging enough related to the car surging before it died.Thanks for your input guys.In message 351 are the codes that the mechanic pulled from my car.Although that was awhile ago I couldn't afford then to get the alternator fixed.

#461 of 2544 Crankshaft pulley? by windowphobe6

Apr 18, 2001 (6:14 pm)

Well, that was low on my list of Expected Causes, but I guess it did the trick, huh?
 
If the power supply to the computer is erratic (and the alternator acting up because of a loose belt, or whatever reason, is the very model of erratic), the computer is apt to do all sorts of weird things, none of which the driver will like.

#462 of 2544 Distributor issues by windowphobe6

Apr 18, 2001 (6:15 pm)

The '93 through '95 are particularly susceptible to distributor failures of one sort or another; most of these were cleared up by '96, but the correct answer was issued by Mazda in '98, when a distributorless ignition system was introduced.

#463 of 2544 gg1234 (rpm surging) by annafofana

Apr 19, 2001 (8:27 am)

Well, a few years ago my roomates 1995 626 LX started having a similar problem, although her car is a standard transmission. this happened right before the warranty was going to expire (approx. 45 miles). The car surged alot and since it usually didn't happen until the car was warmed up, the mechanics never drove it long enough to duplicate the problem. After replacing about $1,000 worth of parts under warranty (I forget which ones), it turns out that there was a hole in the wiring harness. I believe they replaced the harness and the car has ran great ever since. Has 118K miles now.
good luck with your problem.

#464 of 2544 Mazda 626 rpm surge by gg1234

Apr 19, 2001 (11:13 am)

Windowphobe and Annafofana: Thanks for your suggestions on problems with rmp surge for my 1995 626 LX (posting# 453). I went to our local Mazda dealer shop to have the car checked up yesterday. At first, a technician drove the car for about 30 miles but he couldn't detect the surge. He told me that based on my description he is 90% sure that the problem is with the O/D shifting (as suggested in Windowphobe's posting). He said the transmission would need to be rebuilt(the O/D light never flashed during a surge). Later on, he called me again (I was at work while he performed the check up). He said that he did a computer diagnostics and found a code indicating that the range sensor was not functioning correctly (Windowphobe - you are right on target, the two possible causes had both been suggested in your post # 455). He said that it's very likely that the surge is caused by the malfunctioned range sensor but he could not guarantee it. He said he had never replaced one for other 626s before. Anyway, I spent about $150 to get a new range sensor installed. I haven't had time to drive the car long enough to see whether the surge is gone. If the surge returns, the technician said that my only option would be to have the transmission rebuilt. The cost would be about $1500 to $2000.

#465 of 2544 Evil spirits have possessed my solenoid by dasohm

Apr 19, 2001 (1:15 pm)

I get my '95 Mazda 626 back from the trans shop for the third time, hopefully
preparing my CD4E for a few more miles, drive it around for a while, install
a new instrument panel (the previous one having been stolen by the police),
go to start my car, and then nothing, the stereo comes on, the little dinger dings,
the lights come on, but when I push the key forward to the start position, nothing
happens. Well, earlier in the month I had wrestled with a Viper 600ESP I didn't
know was installed because it had abruptly decided that I had stolen the car
and it didn't want to start (I just removed the alarm computer and kept the ignition
interrupt in and it worked), so I took the dash off again and started playing with
the wires, looking for disconnected wires, grounds that didn't ground, that sort
of thing. I find nothing. I start playing with the shifter, putting it in neutral, shifting
to park, all the while attempting to start my car. Nothing. After about 45 minutes
of messing with it, I got annoyed and started messing with the battery, checking
to see that all those big thick cables coming from it were in good condition, that
theywere bolted well to those place to which they are bolted, checking for
corrosion, nothing, the car still wouldn't start. Then I sat in the car, did my
homework, listened to the radio, for about a half hour. Then, on a whim, I turn
the key. Vroom, it starts.
 
That was the first time. I've been struggling with it for about three weeks, not
having the time or the money to seriously attempt to fix the problem. I've
checked my manual, and it tells me to make sure the wires to the solenoid
are in good condition. Well, the solenoid is below my exhaust manifold,
above an exhaust line, and generally in a completely inaccessible position.
As the weeks have gone by I've more clearly defined the parameters of the
malfunction, but not to my satisfaction.
 
After the car gets good and warmed up, about thirty minutes or more of
driving, it won't start back up. The solenoid doesn't even click. After what
seems to be a random amount of waiting time, generally 30 to 120
minutes, it will start again, and continue to start again (I turn off, turn
back on).
 
The main problem I have is that the problem is difficult to reproduce, I
can't seem to do it on demand. It doesn't appear to have anything to
 do with the car warming up, I've idled it to operating temperature and
the problem doesn't appear. This has made it too inconvenient, so far,
to use a voltmeter to check if voltage goes to the solenoid. I've still got
some more voltmeter work to do betweent he key and the solenoid.
 
So, does anybody (recognize/have experience with) my problem?
 
Should I get a priest?

Messages Page 47 of 255

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