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Dammit!!

3K views 37 replies 7 participants last post by  Beljam1 
#1 ·
Need ideas of what might be wrong with my 3. Its a 2006, 2.3 liter 55,000 miles, short shifter, Mazdaspeed CAI, Borla exhaust, Pulstar plugs. Shortly after installing the Borla my car hesitated as if it was about to cut out and then the engine raced back up to about 2000 rpm for a few seconds. This has happened a couple of times but only when I first start the car. Once the car is warmed I no longer have that problem. I live in Florida and my car is kept in a garage. I have cleaned my air filter, checked the plugs, changed the oil, filled up with premium fuel and a fuel additive to clean the fuel system, installed Buddy Club Condensor but still the car acts up, any ideas what might be the cause? HELP!!!
 
#3 ·
why premium?
A higher octane rating correlates to higher activation energy, meaning that the fuel needs more energy to start a chemical reaction and is less likely to pre-ignite under compression. That’s right. It’s simply more resistant to knock.

higher activation energy means it's more likely to create hard starts than fix them (in a car not designed to use it).
 
#4 ·
I cleaned the MAF sensor just by wiping it down and used a Q-tip to get in the tight spots. No CELs have come on.
 
#5 ·
i put the higher octane with the fuel additive just to help clean out the fuel system. Normally I use 87 octane
 
#6 ·
that was the one time I used higher octane gas, hopefully I havent aggravated the problem even more. The problem has not gotten any worse but I havent solved the problem yet either.
 
#8 ·
ah okay. just fyi you can skip the premium. if you buy gas from top tier retailers like shell or chevron, there is just as much fuel cleaner or additives (detergents) in regular as premium. they might skew the advertising to make it seem like there's more to the premium gas...it's hogwash.

i assume you are hinting that the problem existed before you put in the premium (and this was done to try to fix it).
in this case i would run through this tank, fill up with regular...run at least half a tank, and then disco your battery again to reset the ecu (in case that's it).

of course we'll assume you don't have a broken maf wire if you already checked for that.
 
#9 ·
I will check the MAF wires tonight and see if anything changes tomorrow morning when I go to work. I have run about 3 tanks of regular gas since using premium and disconnected the battery when I installed the Buddy Club. The most puzzling part to me is why the condition only occurrs when I first turn on my car? Keep the ideas coming just in case its not the MAF wires, I appreciate the help.
 
#11 ·
#12 ·
I just checked the MAF wires and they are intact although they were stretched a little tight so I have loosened them a little. The purge valve was changed last November by Mazda when it thru a CEL, I would hope it hasnt gone bad again. The Buddy Club was installed after this problem started. If I bring it to Mazda now Im going to make their budget for the year with all the aftermarket stuff I added, they will be all smiles when they hand me the bill.
 
#13 ·
they wont void your warrentee over a intake and exhaust...... if you have no CEL dont take it to them.
run your car a little while longer an see if the slack in the wires helps. those effin lil wires can make this car do
weird things.
 
#14 ·
yeah, and the engine prolly jerks em on start-up so bingo!
 
#15 ·
Is it possible that there is not enough fuel getting to the engine when I first start the car or too much fuel when the engine is cold? With the airflow increased due to the CAI and the exhaust do I need to have my fuel injectors cleaned or even upgraded? I will know tomorrow if the MAF wires make the difference. I hope thats all it is.
 
#17 ·
no and no (unless it's a delivery problem ie fuel pump/filter),
the ETB meters airflow and delivers fuel accordingly. Your MAF is this sensor and this is located after your intake).
if your MAF signals are broken, of course this is going to create any number of conditions (rich or lean) depending on what faulty signal is being sent. i suspect the default would be lean, since the main reason for most of this junk is to prevent rich conditions (which causes the most pollution).

in laymans terms, if the maf signal is interrupted, the ecu isn't going to deliver fuel. (my best guess) rather than too much....
 
#18 ·
Ok, so if the problem isnt better tomorrow after checking the MAF wires, then possibly the fuel filter may need replacing? But then the fuel filter would continue to affect the car even after warming up. Thats the part I am focused on, why the problem stops after the first few minutes of driving? Its not that cold, my car is in the garage every night and once the car is warmed I can stomp on the gas pedal with no hesitation at all.
 
#19 ·
i doubt it's the filter, i just included that as a possibility (the filter is part of the pump assy inside the gas tank, and not easily replaced methinks).

if it's not the MAF, i'd be likely to guess purge valve again. (having one fail already doesn't make it less likely to happen again, imho, unless there was a known batch of bad ones.)
 
#20 ·
[quote author=John_in_the_LBC link=topic=136590.msg2944160#msg2944160 date=1234929470]
yeah, and the engine prolly jerks em on start-up so bingo!
[/quote]
im thinkin this is your coulpriet......what your describing does not sound like a mechanical problem.
 
#21 ·
[quote author=beljam1 link=topic=136590.msg2944128#msg2944128 date=1234929031]
I just checked the MAF wires and they are intact although they were stretched a little tight so I have loosened them a little. The purge valve was changed last November by Mazda when it thru a CEL, I would hope it hasnt gone bad again. The Buddy Club was installed after this problem started. If I bring it to Mazda now Im going to make their budget for the year with all the aftermarket stuff I added, they will be all smiles when they hand me the bill.
[/quote]

Doesn't sound like the purge valve, but anyway...... I had my purge valve replaced four times before they got one that didn't go bad. Yay warranty!
 
#22 ·
Mazda said they were having a big problem with the purge valves so maybe thats the problem. MAF wires then purge valve. Maybe I can borrow the purge valve off my wifes Mazda 5 for a quick test, I would think they are compatible. Im sure she will love that idea.
 
#24 ·
Its not the MAF wires. This morning after I started the car it seemed to choke for 2 seconds then sped up to about 2000 rpms for another couple of seconds and that was it. This was all before I started moving and about 30 seconds after starting the car. I need new ideas. This also happens when I start moving the car right after turning it on which causes the car to jerk. ??????
 
#26 ·
It will do the "jerk" when Im accelerating or not. As long as the car hasnt warmed up it will hesitate in motion or idling.
 
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