Man am I having the worst luck... first it was a leaking water pump, and now this...

So I had the water pump replaced and thought that was that. The car drove fine, no more leaks, was a happy bunny. A couple of weeks later, I had a SOLID CEL come on when when I started the engine. Drove the car home and did not use it for the week, I have a ScanGauge on the way so I thought I'd leave the CEL and diagnose it when the ScanGauge arrives. Today, when I tried to start it, it wouldn't do anything but make a kind of rapid 'clicking' sound.

Only major replacements I made to the engine was the plugs, and that was about 1000km ago. My car will celebrate it's fourth in a few months, and is currently at 51000km. Anybody experienced anything similar? Appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks,
Ray

 

Rapid clicking is usually a sign of a run-down battery. Not enough juice to engage the starter, so the solenoid kind of flogs itself trying to engage.

If your battery is a few years old, it's past its prime and can run down from sitting for a week. If you've got a charger, put it on overnight and try again. Or see if you can jump it.

Ken

 

^ im with ken on that, had it happen to me, rapid clicking when i havent driven it in awhile, got my battery replaced since it was time, and it started up no problem

 

Replaced the battery and just like magic, CEL gone, car started without any effort at all. Thanks Ken, lazi. Much appreciated.

 

Spoke too soon. Solid CEL continues to disappear and reappear. Got my ScanGauge today and its the P0037 DTC Rear H02S Heater Control Circuit Low. I don't entirely understand what that means, but I presume it's something to do with the O2 sensor? Help?

 

more than likely your rear O2 sensor has failed, also possible that the connector is not fully connected, there's a wiring short in that section of the harness, or your PCM is f'd, but the rear O2 sensor needing replacement is most likely it

since you're not even familiar with the symptoms of a dead battery you better take it to the dealer

 

Fair enough comment, but am willing to learn. How do I go about testing that list of possible problems you suggested?

 

Been reading up on O2 sensors, and I've decided to just replace the rear piece. I looked around online and have seen four types of O2 sensors being offered for the 8: 1 wire, 2 wire, 3 wire and 4 wire types. Anybody know which one I should get as a direct replacement? Thanks.

 

The rear is a four wire, but I'll bet a universal from Autozone isn't going to fit the connector.

A cheap generic replacement could be worth the effort, they are pretty cheap.

S

 

Okay, haven't had time to replace the rear o2 sensor, P0037 CEL still there. Have been driving it normally for the last few weeks with no problems at all, knock wood.

Have been looking to get a replacement for it, and have found that OEM ones are quite expensive. http://www.racepages.com/oxygen/part...=rx8&year=2004

Is it really necessary to get these OEM ones? They really don't look any different from the generic ones apart from the connectors. Can I just re-use the old connector with a new generic replacement sensor? Thanks.

 

I have the same code. i cant get this too the shop anytime soon (within a week) how crucial is this item?

 

bump
mine failed too. dealer 300$+

 

Best price I've found for the OEM rear O2 sensor: onlinemazdaparts.com.