[ale] OT: check light diagnostic tool

Scott Castaline skotchman at gmail.com
Thu Jun 13 12:34:26 EDT 2013 

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In the early to mid 90's, Mazda had a SUV I think it was called
Navahoe that was actually a re-branded Ford Exploder. My 2nd Mazda PU
(B2300) would suddenly accelerate (sound familiar?) when I was braking
to stop. The first time it happened I was pulling up to a toll plaza
and didn't fully realize what was happening almost hit the car in
front of me. Several people were having similar problems in both Ford
and Mazda. Ford quietly fixed their own labeled trucks and denied that
what was happening on the Mazda version had anything to do with the
Ford. Mazda engineers even found the bad code in the system which was
Ford and not Mazda.

Back in 93 Ford had new small car that was a sporty design I can't
remember the name of it, but it was a fairly fast car. Mazda also had
re-branded this car and had their version of it. The Mazda version had
a different body but everything under the body was Ford. The first
year of this car (I think 91) the Mazda version had a unique tilt
steering wheel where the entire instrument panel would tilt so that
all gauges were visible at all times. They stopped after 2 years
though, not sure why. It seemed to work well at least in the one a
friend owned who let me drive it.


On 06/13/2013 05:25 AM, Michael Trausch wrote:
> Seriously? I had no idea Mazda and ford were bedded at any point in
> the past... Well, if that's the case, have fun. Everyone I know
> with 90s era Rangers and derivatives have some serious issues.
> Lighting problems, computer problems... Don't get me started on the
> dome light and speed sensor combo on a single circuit...
> 
> On Jun 12, 2013 11:17 PM, "Scott Castaline" <skotchman at gmail.com 
> <mailto:skotchman at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
> You may want to check what Ford Ranger owners are experiencing as
> the B series Mazadas are actually Ford Rangers. I had 3 of them in
> the mid 90's and there were intermittent computer related problems
> with them.
> 
> 
> On 06/12/2013 01:53 PM, Geoffrey Myers wrote:
>> Good stuff there. 109k miles. Not a lot for a 1999, but good
>> many miles.
> 
>> One thing I have noticed just over the past few days is engine 
>> noise in the radio. Not seen that before.
> 
>> -- From my iPhone Geoffrey Myers
> 
>> On Jun 12, 2013, at 1:42 PM, Greg Clifton <gccfof5 at gmail.com
> <mailto:gccfof5 at gmail.com>
>> <mailto:gccfof5 at gmail.com <mailto:gccfof5 at gmail.com>>> wrote:
> 
>>> I have not seen a "check gauge" light, but for a vehicle of
>>> that age, I would suspect a failing sensor. However, it would
>>> be a good idea to clean your battery terminals if you haven't
>>> done that in a while. All manner of spurious computer codes can
>>> be generated when the power level (generally due to marginal
>>> ground connections since US cars are pretty much all NEGATIVE
>>> ground systems).
>>> 
>>> If that is of no help, sensors that might be suspect would be 
>>> Coolant Temp, MAF or AMP and Intake Air Temp sensor depending
>>> on what type of air metering system your vehicle has. It could
>>> also be an oil pressure sensor, on some cars a failure of this
>>> sensor will kill the spark and cause driveability  issues.  One
>>> more that just occurred to me is the possibility of a faulty
>>> fuel pressure sensor (often part of the fuel pump assembly in
>>> the tank, which could also be failing with this age vehicle, 
>>> depending on the mileage). I wouldn't suspect the knock
>>> sensors, however a look at the plugs and the spark wires
>>> (assuming you don't have coil on plug) might be in order.
>>> 
>>> Has you MPG changed since the light has started coming on? In
>>> my experience the most common causes of check engine lights
>>> being illuminated are loose gas cap, other vacuum leak, clogged
>>> EGR pipe/valve and O2 sensor [heater] failure (roughly but not 
>>> absolutely in that order). But none of these are "gauged"
>>> sensors so I don't see how they could be involved in your
>>> case.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 12:55 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) 
>>> <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com
> <mailto:atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com>
>>> <mailto:atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com
> <mailto:atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> From other comments, it sounds like the check gauge light
>>> (never heard of that) is different from check engine, so this
>>> may not be relevant to you.  For what it's worth, I had an
>>> intermittent check engine light on a 2002 toyota camry that I
>>> ultimately traded.  It went on and off for years with sometimes
>>> months between cycles. We managed to read a scan code on it
>>> while it was on once and the mechanic said the catalytic
>>> converter was on the verge of failure. It would do slightly
>>> better or worse depending on drive time, ambient conditions,
>>> and fuel characteristics (I assume).  I managed to get the
>>> light to go off a couple of times with a fuel additive.  O2
>>> sensors and mass air flow sensors can also cause problems like
>>> this.  You probably already know it, but you cannot pass an
>>> emissions test if such a light is on.  If I remember correctly,
>>> and what people may not know, is that an emission test result
>>> is valid for up to 1 year.  So, you can get the emissions
>>> tested when the li! ght is off, and then go use that months
>>> later to buy your tag.
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> 
>>> Ron
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Geoffrey Myers <lists at serioustechnology.com
> <mailto:lists at serioustechnology.com>
>>> <mailto:lists at serioustechnology.com
> <mailto:lists at serioustechnology.com>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Yes, it is for a 1999 Mazda pickup. Really would like 
>>>> immediate results, so don't want to wait for over night 
>>>> shipping. Took it by autozone a while back, but did not show 
>>>> anything. Also, it
>>> doesn't stay
>>>> on. Has been blinking on and off for a couple of months.
>>>> Just
>>> recently
>>>> it has been coming on more regularly, hence the inquiry.
>>>> I'll
>>> check my
>>>> local auto parts stores.
>>>> 
>>>> -- From my iPhone Geoffrey Myers
>>>> 
>>>> On Jun 12, 2013, at 11:49 AM, neal <neal at mnopltd.com
> <mailto:neal at mnopltd.com>
>>> <mailto:neal at mnopltd.com <mailto:neal at mnopltd.com>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> If you need immediate results, as noted Autozone will do
>>>>> for free.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Note that stock ODBC readers will NOT find all
>>>>> manufacturer
>>> data, at
>>>> least for Toyota and Mercedes there is a wealth of data ODBC 
>>>> cannot access - only dealer computers can.     In many cases 
>>>> the DTC code is only an approximation of what is really
>>>> going on.  You can experiment with crowd-sourcing your DTC
>>>> code against what others have done
>>> to fix,
>>>> but, unless it's cheap to try, you might be better off
>>>> getting the dealer to read the real codes.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from Samsung tablet
>>>>> 
>>>>> Phil Turmel <philip at turmel.org <mailto:philip at turmel.org>
> <mailto:philip at turmel.org <mailto:philip at turmel.org>>>
>>>>> wrote: On 06/12/2013 09:48 AM, Geoffrey Myers wrote:
>>>>>> Looking for recommendations. Can one be purchased
>>>>>> locally?
>>>>> 
>>>>> I've been extremely happy with a simple "ELM-327"
>>>>> bluetooth dongle
>>>> and
>>>>> "Torque Pro" on my android phone.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Phil
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________ Ale
>>>>> mailing list Ale at ale.org <mailto:Ale at ale.org>
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> <mailto:Ale at ale.org>>
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>>>> 
>>>> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>>
>
> 
>>>> _______________________________________________ Ale mailing 
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>>> 
>>> --
>>> 
>>> Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard 
>>> and K-9 Mail. Please excuse my potential brevity if I'm typing
>>> on the touch screen.
>>> 
>>> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you
>>> might want to call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per
>>> day from alternate energy mailing lists and such.  I don't
>>> always see new email messages very quickly.)
>>> 
>>> Ron Frazier 770-205-9422 <tel:770-205-9422> <tel:770-205-9422
> <tel:770-205-9422>> (O)   Leave a
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