I’m about to pull my hair out with car problems and I’m hoping that someone can shed some light on what’s wrong!

1993 MAZDA 929
Sputters, hesitates, chugs when driving slow, at stop signs or going up and down hills (has died sometimes when stopped).
When it’s acting up like this, the AC doesn’t blow cold air and the check engine light comes on/off frequently.
Seems to not have the power that it did.
And sometimes it drives perfectly with no problems at all. It can actually go a couple of days without problems and then a week with problems.

I’ve been to several different mechanics that haven’t figured it out. This is what I’ve had replaced so far:

Distributor
Dist. Caps
Fuel Filter
Spark plugs
Wires

HELP!!!! Any suggestions on what’s wrong with my car?

What is the code in the computer? Jump GRD and TEN in the diagnosis connector under the hood with a wire with the ignition switch on and count the flashs of the check engine light. 1 short flash=1, 1 long flash=10

I'm not sure what the code is. I'm not car-literate! A friend of mine is a mechanic and he can't figure it out either. So, whatever suggestions I can get, I'll pass it along to him for sure.

The check engine light doesn't "flash" on or off. It just comes on after it starts chugging. Occasionally it'll go off and then come right back on again.

I'll go bald if this doesn't get fixed

Retrieving the codes was posted above. Your mechanic friend can't figure it out from that post?

I have a 310000Km 929 1993 and it began to sputter and hesitate with the result of lack of power (a lot).
Source of problem: the timing belt, getting really old and slack, was jumping over the cams sprockets! When it did jump a hole turn of pulley, it came back as it used to be for a bit of time then went wrong again. I've also changed the head gaskets since they blew out because of reverse timing: make a compression test in case. But that doesnt explain your AC going wrong...

At the time I made that post, I hadn't shown my mechanic your answer. I was just sayin' that in general he can't figure out what's wrong with my car - nor could several other mechanics.

However

I gave him your advice and he said that it came up with "long short short", but he did it again and it was "short short short"

My car now has a new problem (related maybe?) it won't go into gear. I can shift it down to drive or reverse, but it won't get into gear.

He's wondering if maybe it's that electrical gizmo that tells the transmission to work.

Suggestions???

Thank everyone for all their help!!!

It has 2 codes. 12 is airflow meter and 3 is distributor. Sounds like the converter is gone on the trans.

I never had a problem with my 929 UNTIL I changed the distributor cap. If you bought a distributor cap from your local auto parts store and installed it then that is your problem. I did that trying to save a dollar but when I started her up my CHECK ENGINE light was on and it seemed like she was runing on 3 cylinders. It was ugly!! Not knowing what the problem was I drove her for a few hundred highway miles. She ran good when I got up to speed but the minute I came down to 35mph and below she just would not run. I had to hold the brake and gas to keep a decent idle. Bottom line is you have to GO TO THE DEALER and buy your rotor and distributor cap. Wires can be purchased anywhere.

Good Luck,
James