01 mazda 323 sport losing power

darced

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listermint

Check the battery, might need replacing or terminals might be rusted or need tightening.

second check the air intake you may have a crack somewhere in the intake causing incorrect readings on the MAF

Third cam sensor might need to be cleaned if there is oil on the connectors, this can cause faulty engine readings and result in similar symptoms.

PCPhoto

I have a similar problem while driving...put the accellerator down...car revs but doesn't push on....no power to move off quickly either.

Turns out my clutch is going .... mechanic says I could get 3weeks or 12months out of it...maybe more.

its the lack of power thing which makes me think you might have a clutch problem too.

I drive a Ford Fiesta Van - Diesel engine.

darced

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langdang

Sport = what engine?
1.5 or 1.8? Or 1.6 or 2.0?

darced

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langdang

I had a similar engine (not as high powered) in a 626.
The only time it gave power problems were
1) Needed new plugs AND leads, would misfire around 2500rpm and have very low power. Began with a loss of power then developed really bad spluttering/chugging. Would start fine and never cut out on me due to this tho.
2) Intake manifold gasket developed a leak. Terrible idle, stalling, bad in low speed town driving, fine on the open road.

Mine was the 1991cc 2L, yours could be next generation 1998cc. I doubt there was any engine management light on mine I don't think it was that advanced...

Towards the end I had plenty of smoke on startup alright, but that was blue smoke because valve stem seals were degrading. What colour is your smoke??

colm_mcm

Sounds like coil pack to me, same problem with my mothers one

Nissan doctor

Inlet manifold gasket is common on these but this would cause a lack of power all the time.

A faulty air flow meter causes the symptoms you describe on Mazda's.

darced

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Nissan doctor

darced wrote: »

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Air flow meter gets my vote so. I've seen several Mazda's in with the same symptoms. A new afm from Mazda is over €200 from memory but they are available spurious for less then €100.

cantdecide

Coincidentally, I have an 02 323f 2.0 sport and coincidentally, it's breaking my ******* heart.

Serious lack of power plus EML meant the first coil pack. The second soon followed and I did the long life plugs at the same time. I sorted the spluttering in record time on both occasions but still the EML came back on.
The plugs plus both coil packs (inc new leads asthey're integrated afaik) cost about €350 all in, iirc.

It was driving fine but it's started running rough again lately. The main dealer can't determine if the cat or the O2 sensors are at fault and quoted €1,500/ €1,600 to replace the cat and sensors :rolleyes: No smoke in my case though.

johnayo

darced wrote: »

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You need to get codes read asap. Ive also seen MAF sensors giving trouble on these. But as others have said, coils could also be the problem.
If the eml is flashing while driving, then there is a good chance that you are doing damage to the cat.

darced

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darced

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darced

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langdang

I'd expect something like that in an Alfa, judging by stories here of sensors etc but not with that 323. As far as I was aware they were relatively low tech (a good thing in my book). You'd think you would have seen some strange stuff with starting, headlights or radio as well if the battery was fudged

listermint

darced wrote: »

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langdang wrote: »

I'd expect something like that in an Alfa, judging by stories here of sensors etc but not with that 323. As far as I was aware they were relatively low tech (a good thing in my book). You'd think you would have seen some strange stuff with starting, headlights or radio as well if the battery was fudged

As per my original post, the battery should have been first port of call.

Battery can be a major failure, even damaged terminals can cause issue.

This can occur on take off, turning corners, bumps, holes etc. Any shift in a bad or improperly maintained battery setup can drop power instantaneously

Always start with the simple and work back.

Nissan doctor

On a car with a flash code engine control system(as the mazda 323 has), when you disconnect the battery for a few seconds it will reset any fault codes so that would be why the light has gone out.