Battery was flat, jump started but only running on 3 cyls, engine light on, was unable to back up short drive drive to street for a test drive, 1st thoughts are faulty spark plugs or coils, sounded a bit rattly as well on start up. Only done 112000 kms. (Auto 4 speed) Any ideas TIA
kazbanz,
Sep 27, 4:43pm
I reckon its got a dud coil. Replace coil and the plug all will be good
franc123,
Sep 27, 5:02pm
Has it been sitting for some time? If it's had the same 91 sitting on it for a few months that could be an issue. If it's only got a low fuel level in it, top it up and give it a good run. Some cars also react badly to being cold started, run briefly, left and then started again. Otherwise yes could be worn plugs and resultant damage to coils. If it doesnt want to drive you are just going to have to run it at higher revs stationary until hopefully it clears itself, or improves enough to drive it.
frank1,
Sep 27, 5:21pm
Yes it has been sitting for some time, belonged to an elderly lady who rarely drove it,but her daughter has driven it, but only a couple of times. When I started it revved it for a couple of minutes but made no difference. Its a 1348cc
curlcrown,
Sep 27, 8:00pm
Was the battery dead flat? First step would be to get a bit of charge in the battery or replace it.
frank1,
Sep 27, 8:46pm
#5 No not dead flat, restarted after running for 5 mins on original battery, same problem as stated
intrade,
Sep 27, 9:16pm
well a missfire is a obd2 code as it is emission related . you want the code read out to give a idea what the ecu has mesured and stored as fault code. and i would throw in a can of wurth injector cleaner and put 10 bux 98 ron bp in the tank right now my fiat runs 10 liter 98 from bp i am going to dilute it with 91 from mobile tomorrow, to make cheaper 95 ron. its guaranteed to have 91 in that car and is probably now like 75 ron in the tank of thet demio basic rule of thumb a to high a octane is wasting money. a to low a octane is wasting the engine
cattleshed,
Sep 27, 9:26pm
Perhaps disconnect battery for a while. Find out if the computer and engine need to 'shake hands' by following a protocol eg connect battery, turn off all accessories, run engine without using accelerator til up to op temp.
intrade,
Sep 27, 9:29pm
if it runs on 3 pots then thats not exactly a wise idea. as cats melt down i seen one on bmw trile bike go red hot glowing on low octane stale fuel. my punto was 5 year in the shop stored it ran on 3 pots i had to disassemble the injector bank actuate the stuck shut injector on the bench squirting in carb cleaner from both sides while i forced the injector to unstick. Now thats worse case i doubt that would happen in that short time .
franc123,
Sep 28, 1:07am
Get the plugs out of it and have a look for excess wear or fouling, obviously take note of what cylinder it was removed from, ditto the coils. I still think that old petrol could not be helping here.
kazbanz,
Sep 28, 9:56am
Wanna bet a choky fish on it? -My money is on coil/plug. Yours on old fuel. -Not disagreeing with you-- just my gut says coil/plug.
gazzat22,
Sep 28, 10:57am
Was it running OK before?Did you use shielded jumper leads correctly connected? a "Spike" when jump starting can do all sorts of things to electrical system Fuses/breakers etc.
franc123,
Sep 28, 11:08am
Hence why I said a plug inspection is neccessary.
frank1,
Sep 28, 8:12pm
Fully agree kaz, problem is cannot remove spark plugs to check, as it is a car I am looking at to purchase.
desmodave,
Sep 29, 7:47am
Its going to make your offer a lot lower if you cant road test it . Have you actually asked the seller if they would mind you being under the bonnet to try and isolate the problem . Coils are cheap as chips , and the price of fresh fuel is what it is . Roll the dice .
kazbanz,
Sep 29, 10:38am
I would place an offer based on the vehicles current condition and worst case scenario re why its running badly. Given its not making catastrophic noises I would work on spending $700 to fix the fault. -The owner clearly can't be bothered diagnosing or it would be running perfectly.
frank1,
Oct 1, 8:37pm
Think the seller is not being completely honest, but what surprises me is some potential buyers put bids on without even seeing the vehicle. Its an auction
franc123,
Oct 1, 11:09pm
Cant you really be bothered? Theres about 25000 Mazda Demios for sale of that year, or seems like it, shouldn't be hard to find one that runs properly. The seller might have already been told what's wrong with it and it's now for sale because of it.
kazbanz,
Oct 2, 11:01am
Yea I see that ending really REALLY badly for the seller. Buyer turns up. starts the car and it runs like crap. buyers gonna negotiate or walk away -then get into a rep war with the seller.
framtech,
Oct 3, 8:43am
well its due for a Timing belt (jumped a tooth?) start with the basics, new plugs, new fuel, check for spark, the thing will be full of carbon from years of shopping trips, after that it gets expensive, 800 for waterpump and new timing belt, ecu 1000, coils etc be better to tow to wreckers for scrap unless you can get parts cheap from another one.
andy61,
Oct 3, 9:02am
2003 Demios use a timing chain !
kazbanz,
Oct 3, 10:00am
What belt do you mean exactly. 2003 DY demio.
kazbanz,
Oct 3, 12:06pm
Last time I looked it was sitting at $600.00 or thereabouts. Not a big risk.
tygertung,
Oct 3, 2:01pm
Could well be a fouled plug. First thing to check when an engine is running on 3.
kazbanz,
Nov 11, 8:42pm
plug almost certainly will be fouled. Cooked coil means dead plug
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