hi i have problem with my car and i need your suggestion. My FD won't start. I finished putting a new engine about 2 weekks ago. The car ran fine for 2 weeks and then couple days ago it just couldn't start. The sign before the night it die out is that one of the fuse (meter fuse) blew. I tried to put other fuse with the higher ohm but still didn't work. The fuse keep blowing but still ran fine and then in the morning the car couldn't start. There's nothing wrong with the engine because my mechanic already check them and it's in perfect condition. So, could it be an electrical problem... my car never had a floodind problem before. what do you think, please help me?

thanks


Witt from Boston

 

you just replaced the engine?..so look around where you hooked up sensors..you could have a spot that rubbed a wire to the point of shorting out something,somewhere..a friend of mine had the same thing happen ..check the wiring harness ..sometimes the harness is a little tight and you think that's ok ..but will rub and with the heat off the engine things happen quickly..and out of curiousity ..check plugs for signs of flooding ,since you said it will not start..if they are wet ..do a deflood procedure..

 

how can you deflood? please explain.

thanks

 

If a fuse "keeps blowing" then there is definately a short somewhere. If its bad enough, it can take out the main 130 amp fuse which you'll only find at Mazda. What does you car sound like when you turn the key? Does the starter click? Does the engine just not fire, but you can hear cranking? Do you still have power? Is your car manual or auto?

You should be able to smell some fuel if your car is flooded. If your car is flooded, you can hold the gas pedal down, crank for a few seconds, then turn the car off and try to crank like normal. If this doesn't work, you can try to get it to run by push starting. The most tedious method (but sure to work if your car is indeed flooded) is to remove the spark plugs, and crank the engine for a bit to spit out the fuel (hold a cloth or something near the holes). When no more fuel spits out, make sure your plugs are cleaned off, or just replace them with new ones. Finally, after the process is done, either crank the car over like normal or better yet push start it and it will fire. If you hear a loud pop, don't be surprised.

 

I've tried a put start before but it didn't work. the starter is fine and I can hear the cranking when i try to start. it sounds like it almost start but it couldn't. Yes, sometimes i can smell fuel. What is the reason of flooding anyway? i mean if i can just leave the car for a while, will it solve the problem?

also, how can i find out where the short is coming from?

thanks

 

Most flooding occurs when the car isn't properly warmed before shutting down. My car runs a bit rich, and its happened to me before. If you turned on the car (cold), briefly moved it, then shut it off you could've flooded it. You can easily tell by the sound of the car and the smell. Leaving the car to sit for a while won't help, because the fuel has no where to go, other than sitting in your engine while the plugs are soaked. Should flooding be your problem, you'll have to put forth some simple effort to get the fuel out.

Which fuse blew? You'll have to backtrack from that point to find out whats causing it- either a damaged wire, or wires touching other grounds/metal can be the cause. BTW, its not a good idea to use a higher amp fuse as a remedy to fix a blown one. They protect your wiring and other devices on the car- its better for a fuse to go, rather than a pricey item on your car like the ECU or worse scenario a fire.

 

thanks that's very helpful...

that's exactly what happened to my car.... i start my car when it's cold, starting to move slowly, then the car just shut ifself off. i think that's might be the reason. Still i don't know if it has someting to do the fuse or not?

my car ran a little bit rich, a bit high idle. so, how can we protect the flooding from happen again? lower the idle?

thanks

 

Well, that sounds to be a bit different. If your car actually started, then its not flooded- if it drove some then died, that is due to another problem. Since the fuse blew, there is a short somewhere that needs to be fixed, which may be a problem on top of your potential flooding issue. Now that you say the idle was high, you may also have a vacuum leak or you may need to adjust the idle screw in order to lower it.

To combat flooding, just let your car warm a bit more before shutting it off.

My car had similar problems before (would be driving, and suddenly stall, hard starts, push start not working), but I ended up changing my faulty clutch switch (only a few bucks, and 2 minutes) which was getting stuck. If you know you're running rich, that could be why you smell fuel, while a bad clutch switch could be the reason a push start, and sudden stalling caused problems. Even so though, the blown fuse is still an issue.

Which fuse was it exactly that blew? What type of ECU and mods does your car have?

 

just extra stuff to toss your way..try to let the car warm up before you drive it ..if it is able to start up and run ,let it run...DON'T start it and go..it will run like crap!..sort of like waking up from a dead sleep and running across the street ..i'd act funky too!!...if the car is flooded and won't start or runs and dies .that's a different picture too..if you can say more about what it is thenyou can you can give us all a better picture of what you are trying to deal with...thanks

 

p.s. did you check for shorts in the wiring at sensors?..around sensors?..starter,alternator naywher there is a connection or where the wing is close to the engine or near metal?

 

i can't type!

 

actually my car couldn't start after the first time it shut itself off... the fuse that blew is Meter fuse. it controls all the meters of the dash guage.

 

You'll need to replace that fuse before your car will start...or have you replaced it yet? If so, and the car won't start then there may be more problems as discussed above. If it does start, then there is still the issue of why that fuse blew, because it can just as well happen again. To narrow things down, I'd replace the fuse and see what happens when you try to start the car. Watch to see if it holds up, or suddenly blows. If it is indeed the culprit, then you'll then need to be sure to track down why it happened because the last thing you'd need is it stranding you somewhere. Tracking down electrical issues is a bit tough.

edit:
From my experiences, I've found that the different fuses on the car effect other parts. My rear windshield wiper fuse had blown, and it had my ABS light on...you'd think a rear wiper wasn't anything critical eh?

 

Bah, read your first post again, and its definately the meter fuse that has to be replaced before your car will start. What amp is the fuse? You said it keeps blowing- if thats the case (especially with a higher amp fuse), then there is definately an electrical problem that you have to track down. I'd be careful with that as well. I can't stress enough to only use the fuse thats been specified in its amperage for its given location.

How many fuses did you try? Did they blow quickly or over time?