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SO i was driving down the road the other rainy night at about 45 MPH and my car started to die like it had not gas. I have JUST put $17 (11.7 gallons) of gas in the tank. My car would slowly putt down until stopped. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and started it back up and drove it about 50 feet before it started to bog out again....i kept pressing the gas to see if that might help and then my car BACKFIRED twice. I let it sit again for a long time this time and tried to start it. It didnt work a couple times and then it did. I started to drive it at about 50 mph for a couple of miuntes and then it died again. We finally puled the car to a friends house were i started it and let it run for about 7-8 minutes and then it dies. I am going over there to get it today to see if it will make it to my house(4 miles) but im almost positive it wont make it. Anyone else had this problem or think they know what it is. I have people telling me different things but i dont really know yet. THanks alot.

<small>[ February 12, 2004, 10:54 AM: Message edited by: atx_mx3 ]</small>

sounds like your disty to me. Same thing happened to me on my GS. Seemed to start bogging down. After a few minutes it would finally start. Id have to keep it @ a certain RPM to keep it running, then would bogg down. I had it pulled home. Installed a new fuel filter, pump and tank. Still the same issue. I changed the disty. Worked great!. I just finished it, let my friend borrow it while I was going his ZE swap, then he totals it out, rearending someone.

Hi,
sounds like ignition control modul,
check error codes (could be 03 or/and 04).

Greets
TK

If it is my disty i am gonna be some mad. I just paid like 600 dollars a couple months ago to get it fixed. I guess i will find out soon......

I can t guarentee it thats what it is, but thats what resolved mine. Have any friends /w a mx-3 GS, MX-6 LS,626 V6, or a Probe GT?

You can use their disty and test it out to see if thats the issue. It will take u 5 mins to swap them over if that.

<small>[ February 12, 2004, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: Custommx3 ]</small>

Yeah it will be really easy to test, i had a similar problem, my car was dying but right after i started the car and if i reved it more than 300o rpm.
So it is most likely the distributor!

Good Luck!

if it dies like that you could also check the cat, if the cat is completely blocked or partially blocked it can cause the car to die once it heats up, have you tried letting the car sit for about an hour then driving, do you get farther?

atx_mx3,

How many km's you got on you're engine?

I have 103 thousand miles. My car doesnt die when warm. Actually i went and got it from my friends house and it was running fine. It was running a little better than it had been in a while...or maybe it just felt that way. Anyways, i got it home which is about 5 mins away and let it run for a good 20 mins...i then turned it off and let it sit for a while. About a hour later i got back in it and it started and it ran fine. I started to drive to work and about 7-8 mins into my ride it started bogging out and died. I was able to start to again after a short rest and pull into a garage RIGHT off the highway. So i am gonna find out mid-day tomarrow exactly what is wrong with it. I think it might be some fuel probelm. Ever since ive had my car it seems to waste gas REALLY fast and not just because the way i drive it. Also when my car is running all you smell outside of the car next to the exhaust is gas. Your cant smell it from in the car like an exhaust leak. Well...il keep you guys updated and lets hope no one else has this problem.

<small>[ February 12, 2004, 09:08 PM: Message edited by: atx_mx3 ]</small>

To to mention, i noticed my car ran really rough with a really low idle when it was damp out, i had no power and it felt like i was running on 4 cylinders. But once the engine warmed up it went away. Has the problem with my K8 and it carried over with the ZE. I poped open my hood and noticed small electric arcs coming from 2 of the the ends of my spark plugs connected to the distributor. Spend almost $200 on NGK sparkplug wires and the problem still persisted but didnt see any mroe arcs. my and my mechanic looked at it and the disty cap was questionable. Ironic enough, we carried over my k8's distributor to my ZE cause the one that came with it didnt work. Got my disty cap replaced about 3 weeks ago and i've yet to experience the problems since.

maybe your ignition switch?

SO those idiots put my car on the diagnostics and couldnt find anything wrong with it. They couldnt take my car for a test drive because of my dropped shifter and the "weather". I am about to go over there and take them for a test drive which is dumb cause i told them exactly what happens. My 3 has been giving me so many problems since i bought it that i have actually thought of selling it. I dont want to but with the money that i have put into it getting it to run the way it does i could have bought a new car by now.

So i started my car up about 5 mins ago and i started to smell anitfreeze. I looked next to my car and i always notice this stream of water..or so i thought it was. I went to rev my car a little and noticed there was something wet next to the belts....and that it had been splattered on my hood and on the firewall. I looked under my car only to see a nice stream of something drippping down. So i just love my Mx-3!!