robperri

Hope someone has had a similiar problem and solved it.

Here it goes: I drove the car four days go and it ran great. The next day I go to start it and I got alot of white exhaust smoke which had a strong fuel smell. The car wouldn't idle and died.

The 3rd day: I read up on the symptoms and checked the Boost Sensor / MAP sensor. It looked connected, but pulled off the lines and reconnected to make sure. I pulled out the plugs and cleaned them up (they had build up on them and one of them looked wet). I reset the ECU and the car started just fine. I drove around for about 15 minutes (good boost pattern) and shut her off.

The 4th day: Same as the first. Car smokes and wont idle.

Please help!

(Can the Boost Sensor go bad? (dealer qouted me $385 for the part, Ouch...)
Spark plugs and wires are about 10,000 mile old

(I have 102,000 miles on what I believe to be original engine)

djantlive

Did you read the ECU for error code? Sounds like you're running rich badly.

robperri

Ya, I hooked up the ten and ground, and turned the ignition to on and nothing blinked. That means no errors, right?

robperri

Could a clogged fuel filter cause this?
Should I replace the plugs instead of just cleaning them?

Or is it time to sell....

Anyone????

paw140

When my plugs went, my car was almost impossible to start, wouldn't idle for the first 30 seconds, but once it was running it ran fine. Try changing your plugs before you do anything else. Its a good place to start. It also sounds like the symptoms of the hose coming off the MAP sensor, but you checked that. I would think if the sensor were bad, it wouldn't run good one day and that run crappy the next day.

Change the plugs and see what happens.

paw140

Oh yeah, almost forgot... when my plugs were fouled, I would get a lot of white fuel smelling smoke for the first minute or two.

robperri

Thanks, I'll try getting new plugs as that's a small expenditure compared to the other possibilities. I keeping thinking the worst.

The only thing that puzzles me is if I cleaned the plugs and then it ran one day, why wouldn't it run the next.

I never even opened the hood of my previous cars, but I'm trying to learn....

Alejandro

I have the same problem since I bought the car (white smoke with fuel smell whe I start the car then after it seems to go away but it doesn´t) I replaced the spark plugs and that didn´t solved the problem, my car is stock. I adjusted the TPS and the car doesn´t stop anymore but the smoke still there Iam thinking that one of the rotors is not burning the gas properly so that is why the car is running rich. Iam going to get a compression test to confirm this.

I hope this helps

blackscorpio

robperri - Its sounds like your MAP sensor maybe bad. If after you change the spark plugs you are still runnin rich and getting the smoke it may be time for a new MAP sensor

Alejandro - Check your MAP sensor before you get a compression test. This is a quick visual check. If you are not sure what to look for do a search.

robperri

Before I go fork out $400 for a MAP sensor, has anyone ever had theirs go bad or heard of it going bad?

Thanks

maxpesce

Also check the hose for cracks, leaks or plugged up, and check that the OTHER end (at manifold) of the hose is tight and not leaking.

95R2-89TII Ground Zero

I'm having the exact same thing happen now too. The only difference is that mine won't start at all. I'm getting a little pissed off right now too.

blackscorpio

95R2-89TII Ground Zero - did you check your MAP sensor? After the engine get s flodded with gas you have to dry it out for it to start.

95R2-89TII Ground Zero

I'll try that...thanks man.

robperri

Ok, I replaced the hoses to the MAP sensor. I bought new plugs and installed them. The two old leading plugs were wet with fuel.

I'm going to go pray and start the car.



Well, that's not it....it's doing the same thing.

I'm going to tow it to my local Mazda dealer to diagnose it.

pflea

What was the outcome of your car not starting? Mine is doing the same thing.

robperri

After my new plugs were giving me the same problems I suspected my engine was probably pretty flooded. I looked up the unflooding procedure and figured I'd give that a try so that maybe I could get the car running long enough to make it to the dealer or even better a real shop a little further away. So I decided to first try starting the car at full throttle (WOT) cause I read that that disengages the fuel injectors and burn off some of that excess fuel before I pull the plugs out again for the unflodding procedure. I tried that 2 times and then the car started like nothing was ever wrong with it. ??? I drove it a bit with no problems. I tried it the next day and still no problems. My boost is good. It pulls just like before.

So I don't know what was wrong with it. It could have been the boost sensor. I replaced the line going from the manifold to the filter and from the filter to the boost sensor. If there was a leak I couldn't find it. I tightened all my intake and IC hose clamps. The one at my Y-pipe has a tendency of coming loose.


Good luck pflea

DaPlaya96

is there a map sensor in the car?
i called a mazda dealer and asked for a map sensor
they say that the car doesnt use one??
please confirm!!/??

paw140

I think it's actually called a boost pressure sensor, or something like that. Same thing as a MAP sensor, though. Its a little black box on the fire wall near the throttle body. It has a vacuum hose going to it, and an electrical plug.

robperri

Well after a couple of days and driving it about 200 miles, I woke up this morning and the enormous amount of smoke is back and it wouldn't idle and died. I was able to start it only after reseting the ECU and starting it at WOT a couple times. I drove it to my local Mazda dealer (only cause there's no rotary shop within 60 miles of here).

Mazda has had it two days and have yet to diagnose the problem. The mechanic says he's leaning towards an oil seal, but needs another day to run more checks. I asked him if he did a compression check and he said he hadn't because it needed a special tool for rotary engines. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't my car a Mazda at a Mazda Dealer).

1. Does a compression check only tell you if the apex seals are gone?

2. If it was an oil seal wouldn't I have black smoke and have to refill the oil frequently. ( I don't think I'm burning any oil )

So far I feel like I have to get help from you guys and lead the mechanic in the right direction.

Also, note my coolant level is good.

Any ideas?????

paw140

There's no way oil will give you white smoke.... what oil seal is he talking about? It sounds like he's shooting in the dark. Burning oil will give you blue smoke, too much fuel will give you black smoke, and water will give white smoke.

A compression test will tell you if an apex seal or any side seals are leaking.

Did you smell the white smoke? If it smells kinda sweet, kinda like maple syrup, then its coolant.

I took my car to a mechanic for a similar problem (I only went to a mechanic because of my extended warranty), and they told me I had fouled spark plugs because my apex seals were leaking and letting oil in... since the apex seals don't have any oil control function, it showed how much he know about rotary engines. I think you're in the same boat, and the mechanic doesn't have a clue.

Sorry I can't be of too much help...

robperri

Thanx paw,

Either way wether it be an oil seal, an apex, or coolant seal it all boils down to a rebuild right????

paw140

Since you said you reset your ECU to get it started, and it seems to do it intermittantly, it sounds like an electrical or sensor problem.

I guess one possibility is that your coolant seals are leaking and fouling out your plugs. When you drove it to the dealer, did it start to run ok after a couple of minutes? If so, it might be bad coolant seals.

And you're right... coolant or apex seals mean a rebuilt. I'm not familiar with what kind of internal oil seals there are... hopefully someone else can comment on that.

paw140

One more thing... I posted before about my car having a similar problem. I was losing coolant, and then my car became very hard to start and put out puffs of white smoke (although they really didn't smell like coolant). Anyway, I replaced the spark plugs (they were completely fouled... looks like by gas or oil, not coolant). And I put in a bottle of Bars Leak into my coolant. I then proceeded to drive the car back home, 1100 miles. So far, I've put about 1400 miles on it, and no problems at all.

robperri

The car ran great while driving to the dealer just like it did the other day when I drove about 200 miles. I stopped and started the car several times that day. But the next day it was back again.

Does a bad coolant seal leak coolant into the rotor housing?