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Everyday, my car starts just fine every morning, and runs fine...no odd noises, or anything out of the ordinary. But when it hits normal operating temp, it shuts off. Doesn't matter if I'm at idle or cruising down the street. 10 minutes in to my trip, the car shuts off. Looking at the tailpipe, it looks like I've got some antifreeze down there. But it's completely random. Sometimes it's bone dry, other times the inside of the pipe is completely wet. Now, i know that normally that's a sign of a blown head gasket, but why would it be random? And I've had other cars with blown head gaskets...you never forget that crazy white smoke and the funny looking oil on your dipstick. I'm not gettin any of that with this car. Of course there is SOME smoke when the tail pipe is wet, but it's not the crazy clouds of white.

I did notice that my radiator cap was leaking, so i replaced that and my pcv valve cuz it sounded kinda sticky. But now, I'm confused.

The car starts EVERY time that it's cold, no hesitation at all. And unless my gauge is goofy, i see no signs of it overheating. Strangest thing of all, is when the engine dies, if I push the gas pedal to the floor and slowly release it, and turn the key, most of the time the engine starts right back up. But then dies again a few minutes later.

Help me, oh mighty MX-3 Gods!!

seems like a coilpack aka distributor is going going gone.

i was thinkin about that, cuz i've had problems with the distributor before, but why would it be temp sensitive? And what's up with the water in the tailpipe?

how much water we talkin here? just a few drips? or a big puddle?

it's random. Sometimes it's bone dry, other times it's about a cup of water hangin out down there.

Is it water or coolant in your tail pipe? Are you loosing coolant/water from your radiator or overflow tank? If not.. likely the moisture you are seeing at the tailpipe is just condensation being blown out by the exaust pressure when you start the car. Overnight temperatures can cause significant amounts of water to condense inside the exaust pipe & muffler.. this is then blown out when you start your car up. I bet you notice that the shorter you run the engine the more moisture you find in the tailpipe. And the longer your run it.. the less you find.. since its burning off as the exaust pipe warms up.

As for why it shuts down.. I agree.. distributor. As for why it seems temp sensitive.. same reason magnetic fields are temperature sensitive.. your ignition coil is literally just the operation of 2 electromagnetic fields... the warmer a magnetic field gets.. the weaker it becomes.. eventually the coil windings can no longer produce an electromagnetic field. Or it could just be that the stock distributors for the GS model prior to 1994 just suck bad. Cheers.

Tunes67

Hmm, i feel like i was just watchin an episode of star trek...magnetic fields? Dilithium crystals? Space time continuum?? lol-

Anyways, okay, that seems to make some since. I knew about the condensation thing, but i guess i just kinda panicked cuz my radiator cap was leaking and now i see water in the tailpipe pretty much all the time. BUT since the car is only able to make short trips, i guess that's why.

I thought i had read something on here about a part of the distributor that might need to be replaced. But now when i do a "search" I don't get results for anything. Should i be looking to replace a part of the distributor, or just do the whole thing? I'm looking to do the work myself since last time i had it replaced it cost me over $600. No kiddin.

Repace it ur self....its easy and does not take long. Just get a new disty .

found what i was talkin bout!

The HEI mod (under FAQ) that replaces the ignitor. From what I'm reading, it sounds like that is my best option since these distributors are crap. I found a reman. one at NAPA for about $240 that has a one year warranty. But if i can get a permanent solution for under $50 thenI'm all for that!

Does that sound like it might take car of my problems? Anybody had any experiences with that mod? My car has the stock K8 v6.

Reman at Autozone is $150 with lifetime replacement. In my experience, NAPA has been more expensive with MX3 parts 100% of the time.

COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR.

simple as that....replace it.


your car runs in "default" (aka rich) mode when not up to operating temperature. When warm, the CTS takes over to give the fuel ratios and s--- to the ECU. IF it takes a dump, your car will run like crap or not run at all as soon as the duty is switched over

well hell fellas, i logged on with good news, but after reading the latest replies, i ain't so sure...

I tried that mod for the distributor listed in FAQ, and so far it's workin great! The car used to shut off after 10 minutes, but since doing the mod, it's been running fine all day. I haven't jumped on the freeway yet, but 20 minute trips around town are no problem. It's amazing how quickly you can miss making little stupid trips to Walmart!

Anyway, I think that was the main problem, but maybe i should purge the radiator too, while i have a few nice days of summer left. And how much does that temp sensor cost?

BTW, Harlem, that mod is the coolest thing since Apple Jacks.

Either are possible, but I agree with Gro that the temp sensor should be the more likely culprit. Funny that the disty might have been the issue when it should really have been the sensor. They are not badly priced from Mazda from what I remember.