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Eric, totally awesome you have a forum.
I have a 1993 escort GT with a Mazda 1.8L BP engine, the same block in the miata, protege, 323, some kia, and a handful of other cars I’m sure.
I just did a timing belt and water pump and I’m having idle problems now and my blower motor for my heater mysteriously quit on me after this as well.
The idle will start around 2k to 2.5K and slowly kick down to 1.8K when it’s warmed up. The idle will also slightly hang for a second after bliping the throttle.
I’ve checked and redone the timing 3 times. Also checked the 1st piston with a long screw driver to see if it was at TDC and checked the rotor, it was at the 1st cylinder position.
Some theories already brought up were vac leaks. Couldn’t find any and the idle isn’t hunting. Another was improper burping that could cause an air pocket to sit in the temp sensor housing, causing the ECU to think it’s not warmed up. Although my temp sensor does read on the dash.
Going to redo the timing, again.. and burp. Any more ideas anyone? Thanks a ton!
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When you rechecked your timing, did you physically see the timing belt and all the pulleys and sprockets lined up? If your distribitor is run off your crankshaft then TDC should line up with rotor as you say…. It is the camshaft timing that needs to be in sync… check the valves at TDC on compression stroke to ensure they are fully closed. If not your timing is off..
Generally speaking, there’s a test plug that must be grounded or jumped whenever ignition timing is being set on a non-vacuum advance, distributor equipped engine that has EEC.
There should be a notation about that on the underhood sticker and those stickers always take precedent over anything a manual might state.
Just wondering if there is excessive advance because of the test plug issue.
Ok burping fixed my idle! Similar to a honda I guess, makes sense they’re old jap designs. Asians seem to be brutal in warfare and in engine design, my hands are beat up!
Before this I had a 2000 Zx2 with a 2.0L Zetec built with a little snail on it. I could do anything to that engine no problem in a short amount of time. This little project took me almost 11 hours, I’m ashamed to say lol.
Still can’t get the heater worked out. Took her for a drive and it came back then shut off after I parked. Maybe a short? I was monkeying around with the A/C not sure if that could have anything to do with it.
Thanks for the ideas guys, I learned something new from both your posts! I’ll be sure to update with a resolution for the future google travelers that come through here.
Don’t mess with ignition timing on newer vehicles. It’s hardly ever needed and often requires special procedures to check. I’m glad you found the problem to be air in the system. Simple enough. Anytime you open a cooling system for service, you MUST purge the air from the system. This is not exclusive to Japanese vehicles, pretty much everything needs this treatment.
As for your blower, check for power and ground to it when you turn on the switch. If you have both, you probably have a bad blower motor. You can also, ‘smack’ the blower motor to see if it starts working. If it does, then it might be on it’s way out. More info here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-electrical-problems
Good luck and keep us posted.
I stayed away from messing with the distributor for your reasons exactly and because I don’t have a timing light nor any experience other than tweaking my Pontiac 400 in high school. I have done ignition timing before with my Zetec but that is EDIS and numbers in tuning software, much easier IMO.
Haha I should have explained my burping comment better. Most of my EEC knowledge comes from my Zetec and it seems to be a far less physical variable sensitive. Probably from better electronics than the early 90s’ and a different approach to idle control as the Zetec has an IAC and the BP does not. I’ve just never experienced idle that high from a lack of input from a CTS.
As far as the heater goes I haven’t been driving it due to the 1/2 inch of ice on the ground here in Washington, but I did go out and fire it up last night. Surprise surprise heater blower works. I have been experiencing a clicking from the starter occasionally with failure to turn the motor over. I have eliminated all but the ignition switch. I think I’ve also got it verified, when it does this if I wiggle the key up and down it will fix the problem. I’m assuming the switch is going so that’s why certain accessories intermittently fail, probably due to terminal corrosion. I have employed my electronics degree and came up with a latching switch and push button ignition setup. I’ll still use the key for added security and unlocking the steering wheel but the accessories, ignition, and momentary starting switch will all be operated through the mentioned switches and relays. I’ve ordered the components, we’ll see how it goes when they get here!
Thanks for all the help! I will stick around and contribute where I can!
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