Disconnect O2 and the light stays out longer ?

[Movin]

My son-in-law disconnected the O2 a year ago..The car didn't run so good and cranked a long time to start but I did not step in..till now, but that was because I had to tow it home. Automatic, no problem, less than 20 miles to my house.

The car will crank fine but not even try to start. Good spark and fuel on the plugs. Sounds like it has compression while cranking.

[Meepersly]

possibly the plug from the o2 hanging around could have shorted on something?

[Movin]

I pinched off the fuel with some needle nose vice grips and it started. It ran pretty good. It died when I released them. It started back up and I revved on it. As long as i played with the throttle it would run with the vice grips off. Dies at idle and no vice grips, idles clean and fast with vice grips.

[Movin]

I have a spare engine out of an Aspire with low miles. I know the Aspire stuff is supposed to be junk compared to the Mazda quality in a Festiva, but AutoZ wants $222 for a 89 injector!!!

Found some for cheap on the net but they are a week out at best and I was not sure of anything.

So I pulled the motor out of storage and pulled both sets of injectors. Not the same. The lbs per our was both 19 though and they looked to be using the same upper oring and lower seal the same distance apart.

NOTE.. the connectors are different, one injector is a Nippondenso, the other is a Nikki. The later Nikki has a disk type tip with four little holes, it should have a finer spray. The rail is not interchangeable unless the Festiva idle speed is deleted. It would probably work going the other way. The upper and lower plenums are not interchangeable. Mods would be needed. The wiring loom will not interchange either.

I tore apart both looms. The Aspire is sequential fired but the 89 is batch fired. I ended up keeping the input to the fuel loom and soldering the the connectors from the Aspire to the Festiva loom, then putting the Festiva sensor loom back in place and taped the whole thing back together with the stiffener parts taped in place like factory. It looks factory, I hope this does not cause parts problems in the future haha.

The Aspire vapor canister solenoid on the intake interchanges with the Festiva one on the firewall and that fixed a broken nipple.

The car ran great except it idled really high. I found the idle screw almost backed out the hole, and it would not idle good. I adjusted that , it came in like stock and idled better than I have ever heard it idle. It drove great!! I hooked the O2 back up and it is like a new car!! More power !!

I spent the rest of the day repainting the hood and pounding out a fender, painting it as well. Put a steering wheel and seat cover kit on it, then detailed with lots of different cleaners , soaps and finishing with a car wash. Love that car!!

I guess not all Aspire stuff is junk the injectors seem to be a worth while upgrade with a better atomized spray.

[Movin]

The Festiva injectors all ohm test good. I cannot blow through them. I could have them tested but one of them had to be sticking on and flooding the engine even after it died. Intermittent short kind of thing.
Really a brain warp diagnostically if you want proof before repair, sometimes experience has to rule!!

[WmWatt]

I'd try cleaning everything. Running in loop back for a year may have left deposits. Hope he changed the oil and filter.

[Movin]

He did do that but I have test drove my way into a couple more issues. The switch will sometimes not crank unless you back off slightly. The fuel sender seems to have a mind of its own at the fuel gauge. The key comes out in any position. And there is more....