Newb owner with '96, engine electronics light question!

[tasfalen]

First time owner here and loving it. Just got a '96 V6 in blaze red.

Car has high-ish mileage (almost 210k) and seems to be burning a little oil, but everything is clean, fluids are good, drives tight, and it seems to be well taken care of.

However, I'm getting the engine electronics light (ie. check engine) on the dash. It comes on as soon as I start the car and stays on.

Can anyone give me a clue to what this may mean, and what I should check to start my troubleshooting?

Or should I just take it to the Mazda dealer and have them put it on a computer?

Should I be worrying?

Thanks all, great site with tons of good info. Planning on making use of it all!!

Cheers,
Jason
Victoria BC

[Tunes67]

Unfortunately.. there are many possible answers to your question. And since your car is a 96.. that will make it a bit more complicated to get the correct answers. See the 96 versions of the car were all OBDII. So that uses a different code & code reader combination than the earlier models of the car.

Here is a link to a OBDII code reader from Harbor Freight tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=94168

The good news is that OBDII codes are more standardized than the OBDI codes.. at least across all makes of cars. In other words.. that code reader will work on other cars 96+ not just MX-3's.

The code reader comes with a list or you could search on the internet (google) should reveal a list of OBDII codes as well.. once you pull the codes from your car.. compare them to the list.. and you should have a good idea of what is causing your Check Engine Light to be lit. Hope this helps..

Tunes67

[tasfalen]

Thanks, that's awesome.

To complicate things, the car was manufactured in December 1995. It's a Canadian model.

Is it still OBD 2? I did a quick check but can't find the connector in an obvious place.

Where should I look for the connector?

Is it just an open connector?

OBD 2 will be 16 pins, correct? what is OBD 1?

[Tunes67]

I wish I knew more to be able to give you definative answers.. most OBDII connectors are under the dash of the car somewhere. I suppose its possible (but I bet unlikely) That your car is still OBDI.. But if it is.. you will find a small black box in the engine bay.. near the brakebooster/master cylinder that says "DIAGNOSTIC" on the top of the box lid. Thats the OBDI connector.. if you dont have that.. Your definately a OBDII car.

Tunes67

[ariesdude]

Under the hood there is a small black box with the word diagnostics on it - open it up and jumps pins TEN & GND (the pin schematic will be on the lid) and turn on ignition - if you are lucky the check engine light will flash to indicate codes.

Once you figure out the code check here - http://www.mx-3.com/95manual/index.cfm to know what it means.

If you are unlucky - you might have a obd2 model - in which case look for the obd2 connector somewhere below the steering column.

Also look at the label pasted on the hood (underhood) -infact check all the labels (door sill, hood etc) - it might say something about obd2 compliance.

[tasfalen]

Thanks mate, its an OBD 1 - DIAGNOSIS box under the hood.

I'll try the tricks mentioned in the FAQ and post back if the codes don't make sense, hope its not a big deal

Cheers,
Jason

[TREVO123]

Your car shouldnt be OBD1 as for 94-98 Mazda Mx-3s Were All OBD2 Unless converted from stock.

[neutral]

Your car shouldnt be OBD1 as for 94-98 Mazda Mx-3s Were All OBD2 Unless converted from stock.

OBDII started with most of the '96 model Mazdas. tasfalen's ride falls kinda in that gray area where he has a '96 model with a late '95 manu date so he lucked out and appears to have OBDI. Lucky because altho Mazda did publish a shop manual for the '96 OBDII MX-3, they are very difficult to find. I found one for IanL couple years back and we both had been looking for one for at least a year. I've seen this w/1996 626 models as well (mine). Late 95 builds of the '96 models were OBDI and '96 models actually built in '96 are OBDII. pita sometimes because disty's, caps/rotors changed with the OBDII built cars so ya gotta be careful when buying tune-up parts.

[tasfalen]

So here's the latest story:

1) the car does indeed have OBD I. So I lucked out! hah.

2) diagnostic, however, doesn't show any codes - hmmm.

3) reset computer and after about 10km/20 minutes CEL comes on again - crap.

4) Mazda dealer says it "might" be a stuck EGR valve.

Any hints on where I should go from here? it's a real pain having the CEL staring me in the face everytime I start up and my SO is starting to bug me about it

Thanks all!

[coindex]

First time owner here and loving it. Just got a '96 V6 in blaze red.

Car has high-ish mileage (almost 210k) and seems to be burning a little oil, but everything is clean, fluids are good, drives tight, and it seems to be well taken care of.

However, I'm getting the engine electronics light (ie. check engine) on the dash. It comes on as soon as I start the car and stays on.

Can anyone give me a clue to what this may mean, and what I should check to start my troubleshooting?

Or should I just take it to the Mazda dealer and have them put it on a computer?

Should I be worrying? :)

Thanks all, great site with tons of good info. Planning on making use of it all!!

Cheers,
Jason
Victoria BC

I have the same problem with my 96 mx3 though I have the 4cyl dohc model. I have brought my car into mazda, but they say the computer is not recognizing any problems??? Alright, so my light is on constantly but there's no problems. HUH, he said its a soft code and won't recognize until it reads as a hard code. The only suggestion he gave me was maybe my computer was shot.

[jr4wdtrbo]

read the code and start replacing. It is most likely the O2 sensor.

[umcamara]

Sorry to bring up an old post. But I've got a '96, manufactured in '96. I've got the diagnostic box under the hood. I know because I use it to set the timing, idle, etc. I've also got the OBD-II connector. It's on the passenger side of the center console under the climate control. The connector has to be easily accessible without having to remove any panels.

I've got a CEL, and I can't pull the code by jumping TEN and Ground and turning the ignition on. So I'm assuming that I need a code reader. I borrowed the OBD-II code reader from work, and plugged it into my OBD-II connector, and followed all the directions, all I got was "ERROR".

I think that there is an OBD-II reader that is made for Mazda's and other imports, as well as one for domestics. I probably need the import one.

Any thoughts??

[umcamara]

Oh ya... this is the code reader I have at work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Universa ... enameZWDVW

[shameem]

This procedure worked for me before on a 95 protege

- Plug the reader in
- Turn on the ignition (you can even start the engine)
- Turn the reader on
- Start communicating

[Nd4SpdSe]

You know, umcamar1's post totally reminded me of it and i'm sure he's right. A few years ago, Endocyc/Sidebergless tried to pull goes on a girls Mx-3, but he couldn't get any codes even tho she had a cell, in the end, she did has an OBDII Mx-3, even tho it did have the diagnostics box under the hood...

FYI: OBDII Mx-3's started to trick out as early as 94