2002 Miata will not start

about a week ago the car started bucking or surging during acceleration. RPMS would dip slightly and it would happen at any speed, any RPM. A couple days ago i added fuel and afterwards the car would not start. Changed the fuel filter and had to jump the car to get it to start up. The car is not running but will crank and turnover then die immediately afterwards..really stumped about what part to replace. if there is anybody in the metroplex willing to take a look or help me troubleshoot i will compensate you with $cash money$

What part of DFW are you in? We have a few guys onboard who are excellent Miata mechanics.

located in Arlington/Grand prairie(360 & Brown)..i would greatly appreciate any help i can find. working 2 doubles today and tomorrow and sunday will be my day off. don't want to speculate what is wrong but possibly the fuel pump or fuel pump relay need to be changed

Has the check engine light come on? If so, knowing what the codes are would help.

yeah i will try and pull the codes with OBDII...leave a message here or PM if you're interested in taking a look sometime this weekend.

Yeah let us know what the codes are. I have a suspicion, but dont want to just guess, because it could be several things.

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Originally Posted by Majik

Yeah let us know what the codes are. I have a suspicion, but dont want to just guess, because it could be several things.

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+1! The code it pukes up will be key!

My guess P0300, 01, 02, 03, 04 - coil pack.

ok today i changed the fuel pump. 200 bucks from autozone. plus $20 for new sock. after tearing that down and building it back together the car battery also needed to be replaced. additional 100 dollars from autozone. just random FYI old battery was panasonic. new battery is duralast. car will start and run. however now it has trouble idling and will stall while doing so. cannot figure out exactly what is going on. car was involved in minor accident a couple weeks ago so maybe the fuel pump is being shut off or something to that effect. if anyone knows this situation from personal experience please share your knowledge with people less fortunate than yourself. @ idle drops from 1k RPM to 500 and sometimes bounces back to 1k otherwise you have to feed it throttle to keep it from stalling. while accelerating the car will surge or lurch forward as if the clutch has been disengaged too soon or something similar to that motion...

Did you have Autozone pull the codes?

only code from CEL is rear 02 sensor which i have not changed. could that be the culprit?

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Originally Posted by Titus

Did you have Autozone pull the codes?

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Here are some more details - http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=323837

i let the car sit for a couple of hours. tried to drive it and the first few start-ups were not successful car would not turn over. on the 5th try it worked and for 30 minutes the car ran around no problems what-so-ever. parked it. killed the ignition and waited a minute or two before trying to start it again. car will catch start-up and run but rpms dip down and the car dies out. sounds like a crackling or sizzling sound from the engine bay. gonna look at plug wires and coil packs ASAP

I would check the vacuum system for a leak. That may be the sound you heard or the notorious plug wires.

This may be left field but have you tried running the car with the fuel filler cap removed? The evaporative vent system for the tank may have taken a dump.

hmm you're probably correct bc i've noticed that when i fill up and loosen the gas cap it doesn't hiss anymore like it used to..

will CEL will come on if i don't put on the cap for the gas tank?

Maybe the ignition switch needs a cleaning or exchange..

These newer cars all have some type of vapor recovery system now. If it is blocked the tank will not vent. If the car runs normally with the cap removed, you are on the right track. The car may throw a code with the cap removed but should throw a code for the vapor recovery system and not allow the car to run. Before you buy any more parts you can have the cap tested anyplace that does emission testing, probably free if you can smile big enough. Or bring brownies.

well you have been far too kind with your insight and it is greatly appreciated! i will look into this and keep an update. need to get the car inspected bc it expired recently. thanks!

I believe autozone will test gas caps too. Did you ever get a specific code?

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Originally Posted by zoomvroom

sounds like a crackling or sizzling sound from the engine bay.

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That sounds like water in the spark plug holes. Did you wash the engine not too long before the troubles started?

If you do change out the ECU make sure it is the correct one if it is wrong car may start but have other problems ,for testing a different year may work

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Originally Posted by zoomvroom

ok today i changed the fuel pump. 200 bucks from autozone. plus $20 for new sock. after tearing that down and building it back together the car battery also needed to be replaced. additional 100 dollars from autozone. just random FYI old battery was panasonic. new battery is duralast. car will start and run. however now it has trouble idling and will stall while doing so. cannot figure out exactly what is going on. car was involved in minor accident a couple weeks ago so maybe the fuel pump is being shut off or something to that effect. if anyone knows this situation from personal experience please share your knowledge with people less fortunate than yourself. @ idle drops from 1k RPM to 500 and sometimes bounces back to 1k otherwise you have to feed it throttle to keep it from stalling. while accelerating the car will surge or lurch forward as if the clutch has been disengaged too soon or something similar to that motion...

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My car has a similar issue. It will run fine when driven and its warmed up. But during idle and warm the RPMs drop considerably Its gone as low as 300 and can stall if I dont give it gas. I've adjusted my idle several times but that hasn't really done much at all.

I believe my issues are tied the fact that I have a misfire in cyl 3 thanks to a bad piston ring but I could be wrong.

i would like to thank everybody who helped me troubleshoot the problem. car has been rock solid after replacing the fuel pump ($200 @ autozone) and battery ($100 @ autozone) the car is back to ship-shape! thanks again!

car is down again..looking at fuel pressure regulator, cam position sensor, crank position sensor..any other ideas?

What code is it kicking??

That will narrow down your list drastically.

http://blogs.mycentraljersey.com/car...gine-light.jpg

P0340 Camshaft position sensor A bank 1 circuit malfunction

Camshaft position sensor :

http://forum.miata.net/vb/attachment...chmentid=60737

http://forums.dfwmiata.com/showthrea...ighlight=P0340

replaced CMP today and started the car with the help of a jump. let the altenator charge up the battery. took the cables off and successfully started it and let it idle for a good while.
now back to not catching every time or firing one time then stalling..time to try again tomorrow. but hey at least it started a couple of times =)

I am having a similar problem with my 2001 NB. I paid for an oil change, changed the air filter, and drove to Tulsa, but only made it 2.5 hours. The RPMs started surging and stalling rhythmically, no power, engine running rough. No CEL.

After 2 hours of rest and a disconnected battery, started up and drove it to Tulsa. Rested a week. Drove back to Dallas and it broke down on me again in the same way as I hit Dallas. Does anyone know how to diagnose this? I have changed my fuel filter and that did not seem to help.. Think it might be CAS but no idea how to check that.

BTW, Disconnecting the battery will clear any stored codes. You need to see if it has any stored codes.