mx5cartalk.com

Went on my first Mazda club run
FANTASTIC!

However....the car didn't behave

1hr 40min trip from Brisbane to Eumundi...car didn't miss a beat
(2 hours each way to Springbrook and back Saturday....perfect!)
Arrive Eumundi early...quick coffee, then off to the check point
Allocated a team....away we go
10 mins into the run the car starts to miss fire under load
Make it to morning tea....seems maybe a bad lead
Off again....3 cylinders most of the way....but wasn't left behind!
Lunch at Pomona....and who was waiting for me....the RACQ ....just attending to someone else by chance!
He wrapped a plug lead in electrical tape and the car idles well....off to lunch
Take off to head home.....better, but not Good....10 minutes into the trip....seems to be only 2 cylinders working!!!
Stopped at 2 Supercheaps....don't stock mx5 leads....so headed home with motor misfiring badly...motor seems to idle on 4 cylinders but misfires once accelerator is applied
Off overseas tomorrow for a week
Will order new leads and spark plugs....but I think one of the coil packs has given in
Will post progress as information for others.....
Other comments of what problems could be
Cam sensor
O2 sensor

All other comments welcome!

Still a great day....!!!
And I'm amazed with the car.....NA8
any other sports car I've owned would never have made it home!

You'll probably find the new leads will fix it.

Sounds more like a faulty coil pack. Glad to know it's home to fix though.

Start small Leads and plugs first. If it is still misfiring, borrow a coil pack.

Well spotted Dave. I wont ask what you were doing up.

Apparently the car is Early 1995
Compliance 5/1995
I'm looking to order a coil pack while I'm away
In March they were 4 pin.....April on they were 3 pin
Is there any where on line I can check with a vin number?
Unfortunately I can't check car till Friday night and I want to fix it Saturday
And part needs to be ordered in ;)
Thanks

New coil packs are not cheap and you don't yet know whether or not yours is faulty. As Taminga said, borrow a coil pack first.

The only way to reliably check for 3 or 4 pin is to disconnect a plug from the bases of the coil pack.

Thanks for the advise re borrowing a coil pack....makes a lot of sense

Having done a bit of research....these cars are a bit more complicated than my old sprite
Problem maybe, leads, spark plugs, coil packs....or something else which has got the ECU sending wrong info?

That said....this being a 20 year old car(almost) I figure there is no harm in collecting a few spares....if it's not the coil pack now.....it maybe next time, so it's not necessarily wasted money...???

I'm not back in town till Friday night....and hope to get it fixed Saturday, so just trying to get the ducks lined up....

I haven't personally worked on cars for 30 years....but quite enjoying the research and learning....will line up a led and diode this week and check if there is an error code

All comments appreciated....

Plug leads!

bruce wrote:Plug leads!

and you could have the ones in the link I mentioned waiting for you by Friday.

How good is your battery by the way?

Thanks….

Battery is New….replaced for roadworthy

Is there an error code for coil pack failure??

Maybe it's time you learnt about Garage on the Big Forum. http://www.miata.net/garage/faultcodes.html

I've had Minis, MGs, Anglias, Jags and random other Morrises and Austins. I know where you're coming from with Sprite electrics - Lucas: Prince of Darkness

ECUs and sensors are a bit of a learning curve but it's all easier and much more dependable in the long run.

Odd wrote:1hr 40min trip from Brisbane to Eumundi...

Were you stuck in 2nd?

Thanks manga_blue
Tending to think I should find out what the problem is first….If I buy parts for all the guesses it to add up to some serious cash
if it means the car stays in the garage for a few more days….it's not the end of the world

TTT

Haha
Speed limit all the way….+10min stop to fill up…petrol/coffee