Check Engine Light/ EGR malfunction

[lynktus]

on my '98 protege, 1.5 L engine, I have been waging battle against my check engine light for a few years now.

At first, it was the "gas cap issue," where I just needed to tweak my gas cap. Then it was a bad O2 sensor. This year it reads "EGR malfunction," which is so general and vague it drives me nuts.

Can anyone tell me where the EGR is located? In my Haynes book, it looks like it is on the end of the vacuum hose at the throttle. Is this right? And, what can I do to test it?

BTW, I am more of a remove/replace kid of guy, not a real mechanic, so please talk down to me.

thanks!

[pigeon]

if the car is running properly, most likely its stuck shut

its located below the throttle body, and back towards the passenger wheel... its held in by 2 bolts, and has 1 harness going to it

there is no vacuum line going to it

if you want to remove and replace it, you're looking into a 200 dollar part if you go to the dealer

what i would do if i was you is,
1. ensure a signal is getting to the egr. the haynes manual will give you instructions
2. if its not, you'll have to back track and find out where the signal is being stopped
if it is, then you could either take off the egr and try to fix it (which is possible) or replace it if you're not comfortable fixing it...

[lynktus]

Thank you Pigeon,
I will try that tonite and get back to you. I looked at an after market parts store and it was $270 for the part, so I will try to fix it. (I guess if it is broken, I can't break it anymore, huh? )



thanks

[pigeon]

you're welcome

to seperate it, theres only 4 phillips screws holding it... just make sure you spray penetrating oil on it before you attempt to loosen it, cause if you strip a scrwe then theres more unnecessary problems

if the valve is moving freely with your fingers, then nothing is gummed up with carbon...
and if you follow the instructions in the manual and its getting proper power or its signal, then the wiring is fine

then you'll most likely have to get a new one.. or you could try fiddling more with the electrical part of it
i've never had to go that indepth yet tho... but you might as well try before you dish out 200+ buckaroo's

[turbonium959]

BTW, what was the code after the CEL came on?

[lynktus]

sorry, not sure what the code was this last time, I was so pissed about it coming up again I forgot to ask. Previously it was "P0170" and I just assume that is what is is again

I just checked the EGR terminals to see if it is bad, and according to Haynes the resistance is supposed to be 2.7 K ohms. I tested with my multimeter in the "RX1K" position, and it was off the scale. I switched to the "RX10" position and it was at 2.2. Haynes says "If not as specified, replace EGR valve"

PLEASE say I can still try to clean it or something. I don't want to spend $200+!!!

thanks

[turbonium959]

P0170 is BANK1 FUEL TRIM MALFUNCTION

Detection Condition:
Fuel injection closed loop correction and learning correction are above the specified value because of system malfunction.

As far as possible cause, the manual lists 25 of them! However most of them have to with fuel injector/pump/filter/delivery or return hoses, pressure regulator, coil, distributor, intake/exhaust leak, loss compression, MAF/TPS/o2 sensors, and last but not least short or open circuits in the wire harness. So, yeah, goodluck.