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34 Posts
Hello,
I just bought a 1993 Mazda MX-6 4-cyl. (5-spd base, 87,000 miles) in August and I have since discovered a weird idle problem. I noticed that several other people had the problem, but I wanted to describe my problem in detail. Every so often, at startup and at idle after about 20 min. of driving, the RPM's drop to about 250 and the car seems like it will die, but the RPMs go back up again. The problem has gotten worse as time goes on. When I bought the car I had it checked out by a mechanic at Shell, who gave it a clean bill of health, except that it had been in a fender bender (the left front fender and bumper were damaged and replaced). About a month ago I took it to Brown's Mazda, who replaced the timing belt, water pump, and all the other belts. Last weekend I took it to Malloy Mazda about the idle problem, thinking that it needed a tune-up. They didn't think it needed any work, couldn't duplicate the problem, and just raised the RPMs to about 1000 at idle.
The same day I took it to the dealer (after I went there) I replaced the old NGK spark plugs with Bosch Platinum plugs. I didn't notice much of a difference, but now the idle is back to about 750 RPMs (why is this?) Anyway, since then the problem has gotten worse and the car sometimes seems like it will die when I start it, until I give it some gas. I also noticed that the RPMs go up a little when I take my foot off the brake (in traffic) and put on the emergency brake (I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the problem).
Basically, I have no idea what the problem is or how to fix it. I haven't tried to work with the MAF, but I think that is a little beyond me (where could I find someone to do this--the dealer?). Also, can I adjust the throttle myself (where can I do this)? I don't know if this is relevant, but the owner I bought it from (I'm the fourth owner) bought it from Carmax at 80,000 miles. Either the owner or Carmax replaced the original spark plug wires with NGK wires, and some other electrical parts seem new. Another problem I have had is with the wires themselves. Since the ends are so long to reach the spark plugs, I have a hard time making sure they are snug, and one of the wires partially popped off of the plug (this didn't cause the intermittent idling problem--believe me, I could tell when the wire popped off!) Is there anything I can do to make wure that the wires are snug, beside pushing them on there as hard as I can?
Anyway, I know this is a long explanation and it took a lot of patience to read this, but I'd appreciate it if anyone can help me with this problem. If there's anything I left out, just let me know.
Thanks,
Chris
I just bought a 1993 Mazda MX-6 4-cyl. (5-spd base, 87,000 miles) in August and I have since discovered a weird idle problem. I noticed that several other people had the problem, but I wanted to describe my problem in detail. Every so often, at startup and at idle after about 20 min. of driving, the RPM's drop to about 250 and the car seems like it will die, but the RPMs go back up again. The problem has gotten worse as time goes on. When I bought the car I had it checked out by a mechanic at Shell, who gave it a clean bill of health, except that it had been in a fender bender (the left front fender and bumper were damaged and replaced). About a month ago I took it to Brown's Mazda, who replaced the timing belt, water pump, and all the other belts. Last weekend I took it to Malloy Mazda about the idle problem, thinking that it needed a tune-up. They didn't think it needed any work, couldn't duplicate the problem, and just raised the RPMs to about 1000 at idle.
The same day I took it to the dealer (after I went there) I replaced the old NGK spark plugs with Bosch Platinum plugs. I didn't notice much of a difference, but now the idle is back to about 750 RPMs (why is this?) Anyway, since then the problem has gotten worse and the car sometimes seems like it will die when I start it, until I give it some gas. I also noticed that the RPMs go up a little when I take my foot off the brake (in traffic) and put on the emergency brake (I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the problem).
Basically, I have no idea what the problem is or how to fix it. I haven't tried to work with the MAF, but I think that is a little beyond me (where could I find someone to do this--the dealer?). Also, can I adjust the throttle myself (where can I do this)? I don't know if this is relevant, but the owner I bought it from (I'm the fourth owner) bought it from Carmax at 80,000 miles. Either the owner or Carmax replaced the original spark plug wires with NGK wires, and some other electrical parts seem new. Another problem I have had is with the wires themselves. Since the ends are so long to reach the spark plugs, I have a hard time making sure they are snug, and one of the wires partially popped off of the plug (this didn't cause the intermittent idling problem--believe me, I could tell when the wire popped off!) Is there anything I can do to make wure that the wires are snug, beside pushing them on there as hard as I can?
Anyway, I know this is a long explanation and it took a lot of patience to read this, but I'd appreciate it if anyone can help me with this problem. If there's anything I left out, just let me know.
Thanks,
Chris
