I searched through the archives but didn't come up with anything that seemed relevent to my problem....

I just bought an '88 Convertible about two months ago with under $40,000 miles on it and while in general it runs great, the idle is not steady. It just seems to 'miss' every two or three seconds and sometimes will even shut off (without the A/C running) if you leave it go long enough. The exhaust smells a bit strong (sulfury), but I don't know if that's unusual or just typical rotary.

Everything's stock (give me some time, dammit! I just bought the thing!) and the plugs and wires are about 4 years & 8000 miles old.

So can any one offer any troubleshooting suggestions to start me off? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!
A/.

 

Id start with the plugs and wires.

 

possible intermittant compression leak? (an almost stuck apex seal?)
That could cause the rich smell

 

Look Into the TPS. I would set mine than, say 2 days later, I would check It again. Sure enough, It had to be adjusted - AGAIN! Over and over again.

Bought the TPS from Mazda, problem solved. Idled just beautifully, no more hesitations and Improved fuel economy somewhat.

Even when I checked my error codes the TPS wasn't sending any faulty codes. It was when I disconnected the TPS It would send out error codes. It was quite tricky to determain that I finally needed to replace this.

 

Definately start with new plugs and wires. Spark plugs should be changed every year (hell they're only what like $5 a piece) and wires every two years (or along with the spark plugs if you're not a cheap skate). My car idles roughly too and I ordered all new silicone vacuum hoses from Mazdatrix. Hopefully that'll fix it. I cleaned out the BAC valve and that seemed to help some but not cure the problem.

 

bump-n-thanks....