I'm really trying my best to do the maintenance on my Protegé but this problem really beats me. Three weeks ago the car began driving real sluggish so i checked the filters, plugs and wires to no avail. By the end of this week, the car got even worst. Now i can't get a decent acceleration without the car giving some kind of shocks like it's missing and the idle is going crazy from 700 to 50 (it dies at this point and all the lights go off) and shoots up to 3000. I have a 1999 Protegé LX 1.6L about 75K and all the necessary maintenance has been done so i'm out of ideas. Not really a pro so i'm really begging for help

 

Wires are brand new from NGK and the plugs are brand new Bosch Platinium +4. And isn't my engine using coils instead of a rotor?I'm still trying to learn how it works but my old engine had some kind of device for ignition delivery but this one only has two coils going directly to plugs 2 and 4 and two cables going to the other plugs are plugged in X pattern. Don't know if the wires are plugged into the right plugs thought.

 

It's probably not a crossed wire. With the coils right on the valve cover, you really have to work to plug them in wrong.
With the idle speed freaking out like that, it sounds to me like a vacuum leak. A friend's 626 was doing that years ago, I remember. Idle speed would bounce between about 500-2500, and would stall when you put it in Drive. Hers turned out to be a bad throttle body, but a leaky/disconnected vacuum line will do the same thing.
First thing I'd check would be all the vacuum lines, make sure they're all attahced & in the right places (check them against the sticker inside the hood).

 

get rid of the platinums and put in the NGKs the manual recommends

 

Tried that already. Bought a set of NGK just to test de difference and it was a little more responsive with the platinum...I switched to platinum when i bought the car and had it for 6 months now without any problem except this one ...

 

is your cat plugged?

 

If i am not wrong, your car uses DIS (distributorless ignition system). that in simple words is:
You have two coils (high voltage transformers) in your valves cover, each coil drives two cilinders (two spark plugs).
With your mileage is possible you got one of this coils damaged maybe with a path to earth so two of you cilinders maybe are not working properly. try replacing one by one with a coil you know is working good and see what happen.
A vacuum leake is a possibilty too, and a bad IAC (idle air control valve) this one you can check it with the scanner.

regards
UHZT
_________________________________________
Protege Y2K 1.6L, Astral Gray
K&N drop in air filter
Hyperground wiring
900 Watts Audio power
Bosch anti-fog lights
Custom Side sills kit

 

I had a similar problem (not quite the same). I took it to the dealer, and they cleaned the MAF... problem fixed... $0 spent.

 

How exactly did they clean the MAF??


Protege Menace: What the christ is "losing a piston"?? Misfire??

 

I KNOW I just saw it around here somewhere...

 

I have absolutely no idea. Alcohol and a Q-Tip perhaps? Maybe there was some lint on it or something... I don't know. I should have asked.

They didn't charge anything at all ($0.00) so I doubt they would lie about it. If it needed replacement they would have charged for a new one. But the problem is completely gone now, and the service order they gave me said "Cleaned MAF sensor".

 

Just gave up...It's going directly to the dealer for checkup. BTW the MAF in my car has some kind of warranty extension due to it's poor quality so i sure hope it's just this little thingy that's doing all this even if i doubt it with my current symptomes. I'll keep you guys informed so i'm not the only one who knows the solution.

 

And BTW is not a car ECU supposed to give you warnings when it feels the car is acting weird? I mean it does probe pretty much the whole engine right?

 

Many of us with the 99's had a recall about a year ago to replace/repair the ignition coil. It applied to my 1.8, but I'm not sure if it applied to the 1.6. If you never heard about the recall and didn't get it fixed, it's possible that could be your problem.

 

i had the same problem with mine they replaced he maf and it was all good after that.