Broken wires!

Bad connections can be impossible to troubleshoot.

Amanda's car (2000 Protege 1.8L) has been having drivability issues, and a P0300 error code (random misfire). Gas mileage was awful, it was seriously down on power half the time, idle was low and shaky, the exhaust smelled like gas.

After a lot of driving around with the computer hooked up and trying a number of things, my dad and I deduced that the coil packs were overheating. They're mounted almost directly above the exhaust manifold. So we ordered the part (~$100 from RockAuto). When the new coil arrived, I went outside and replaced it only to find the problem was still there. When I was putting the original coils back on, I noticed the problem above. One of the three wires for one coil pack had broken off at the connector.

Soldering when you have no room to strip insulation is tough. It's additionally difficult when you do this in a parking lot on a chilly March night with only a flashlight to illuminate your work. But I managed a good enough connection, and the problem is gone. The solder will hold until I can hack a new connector and wires from a junkyard car.

Problem is, Proteges aren't particularly common. And unlike the very common 1.8L BP engine, this 1.8L FP was only in the Protege ES in 1999 and 2000. The later 2.0L FS engine is related, but didn't use these coils. Finding a plug and pigtail might take a while.

Timing Belt Blues

This was the tensioner spring for the timing belt on Amanda's new car. Look closely at the clip on the right. Scary, huh? That's crazy worn out. It's also stretched beyond spec: the spring coils should be touching each other.

With 90k miles, the timing belt had not yet been replaced on her new 2000 Protege ES*. This is a 100k mile service in California (with inspections every 30k); a 60k mile service everywhere else**. So it was due. In ordering the parts, I neglected to order a new tensioner spring. It's only $3. To get it locally, however, it costs $90, and you can only get it with the two pulleys. Circumstances being what they were, Amanda had to buy the $90 set.

Next time, I will know. And so will you, dear reader who happens to own a Mazda product with this type of spring tensioner, and happens to replace his/her own timing belts, and is expecting to do so soon.

You can get this spring at RockAuto.com. If you work at RockAuto, please send me free stuff. I need to fix a lot of stuff. Come on, what's a Miata steering rack between friends? We are friends, right? Right? ....

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*Pedantic aside: that's the F-series 1.8L engine, the same family used in forthcoming Proteges; the 1.6L engine was a B-series, related to the Miata and Protege engines of previous years, and also the Ford Escort GT.

**I'm sure this has to do with California laws more than engineering.