Hey guys, this time is for real now.........I have been experiencing some very strange things from my car

the symptoms are as follow: while driving at about 70-80 mph.......if I put the car in neutral, the tach will fall below 1k rpm, try to come up, swing violently between 1k and 250 rpm and then the engine would die.........

I have no clue what this could be, I have all recalls done, car has 8k miles on it
I have a midpipe......I don't think that can cause the problem
my compression is good (so the dealer says)
can this be related to my coils failing? (I have white spots on the bottom of 2 of the coils)
I haven't checked the spark plugs yet

again, this only happens if I am above 70mph THEN switch to neutral, I checked all my vacuum lines to see if they're loose

is this a serious issue?

this doesn't have anything to do with nitrous since it happens with our without nitrous spray.........

thankyou

I would go with coils first - then plugs - then fuel filter and pump.

No CEL?

I have a CEL but it is for the midpipe though.....or so I think, I will get a scanner tomorrow to see what is going on

I already ordered new coils, plugs and plug wires from mazport and it should be here soon

can there be a problem with the fuel filter and pump?!?!?

oh, and here are some more information to try and narrow this down

this only happens sometimes, it doesn't happen all the time

every time it happens it happens after about 10-15 minutes of driving HARD
then putting the car in neutral (I usually do it to get off the highway)

if I was babying her and do it, she will act fine

Could be - think linearly - if your spark is bad - it will die.

If there is low/no fuel going to the engine (esp at idle or generally when the throttle plate is closed) - It will die.

Those are the simplest ones - things get more complicated from there. Scan Reader is the way to go (should have got one at the same time as the midpipe -tsk tsk tsk). Then the guesswork is more limited.

Also the NO2 may have caused a lean condidtion - IE blown your engine if something bad happened while spraying... let's hope that is not the case.

i am going to post something about the similar thing that has happened to me, but without the nos.. waiting for the mpg results of my tank of gas to see if all is normal again...

in this order check...

plugs, make sure they are tight.
plugs, make sure they are not fouled.
wires, make sure they are tight.
coils, well if the above are not it, there is your sign.

beers :beer:

Why are you putting it in neutral after running hard, and while still at 70+ mph?

Ken

If a manual car is decelerating - with the throttle shut - the injectors go to zero, no fuel, to prevent backfires in the muffler. I'm not sure if the same would apply to an Auto, but there is a simple solution; don't do it anymore......

S

(Doctor, it hurts when I put my arm like THIS!
.........Well don't do it.)

I'm with Ken, why the hell are putting your car in neutral at 70mph?

Does it happen any other time you're in neutral at any speed?

What RPM are you putting your car in neutral at?

If a manual car is decelerating - with the throttle shut - the injectors go to zero, no fuel, to prevent backfires in the muffler. I'm not sure if the same would apply to an Auto, but there is a simple solution; don't do it anymore......

S

(Doctor, it hurts when I put my arm like THIS!
.........Well don't do it.)

Yes the Auto does it also. Watched it on my MAZDA techs laptop. No fuel car dies.
It does decell mode then it figures out that it's idling and then it sees that the car is rolling. I think it just gets confused. :uhh:

Check your oil and see if there is a pearly white buildup on the indicator . Ive been having similar problems with my car except my engine will sometimes dip to 250 rpm and die after 10-15 min of driving when i stop at an intersection. Wondering if they are related?

Why are you putting it in neutral after running hard, and while still at 70+ mph?

Ken

+2

stop doing it and your problem will go away !!!!

stop doing it and your problem will go away !!!!

But that's not the point. An engine should not stall under zero load condition, period. It doesn't matter if his car is flying off the edge of a cliff when he put it in neutral.

I put my car in neutral when I wanna let the car just roll to a stop, as I have stated before, mostly while exiting highways

I have a manual stealth, but ok, I won't do it anymore

hope its just the coils or plugs, it would suck if my engine is dying........but the compression checked out ok and all and the car runs great apart from this particular crap

btw, my car never died at stops and never even like, died in any other case even once apart from this scenario

no pearly white mist in my engine oil, although I think it is time to change the oil since its 4k already but waiting for idemitsu........

my plugs shouldn't have gone that fast no? my car has only 8k miles..........

Probably a failing neutral switch on the tranny.

I had a similar problem on my Stealth when exiting highways. It ended up being some electronic choke failing. There were entries in the computer for it though. If you ride the clutch to the light does the issue stop?

no, it doesn't I have no clue wtf is going on, my friend had the same problem with his rb26 s13, he changed the ecu map and it went away...........so I decided to reset my ecu and the problem went away for now..............

Put the second screen back into your intake...

Something about heat and certain RX's needing the second screen on a highway...

Easy enough test...

Also...remove the engine cover...and weather stripping from the hood...and straighten out your cooling fins if they are trashed...

I have an hks reloaded intake......

remove engine cover? weather stripping? wtf?

I have an hks reloaded intake......

remove engine cover? weather stripping? wtf?

ok...put back in your stock intake...and retest...

engine cover...RTFM if you do not know what it is...remove it...

the strip in the back of the bay that seals against the hood...there is a DIY...search it...

wtf...your face...

Put the second screen back into your intake...

Something about heat and certain RX's needing the second screen on a highway...

Easy enough test...
...

yes I remember some guy having a similar problem after taking screens out .....

weird, i put in neutral when ever i exit the highway or come to a stoplight and etc. and that never happens. oh well, knock on wood

I know what it is damn it, but what does it have to do with this?

btw I'm going to make my own intake soon anyways so ok

I reset the ecu and the problem seems to be gone at the moment........

I'm curious about something. There seem to be a lot of suggestions that the plugs or coils might be bad.

I've never messed with modern coils, just with traditional breaker point ignition systems. With those, if something was bad it would usually show up as a misfire under load or hard starting, rather than bad idle.

So what is it about coils that can cause an idle problem, yet still work under load?

Ken

I'm curious about something. There seem to be a lot of suggestions that the plugs or coils might be bad.

I've never messed with modern coils, just with traditional breaker point ignition systems. With those, if something was bad it would usually show up as a misfire under load or hard starting, rather than bad idle.

So what is it about coils that can cause an idle problem, yet still work under load?

Ken

Check the ignition thread I just revived...good stuff in thar...

ok guys, thank you for all the help, twinkie, it wasn't the intake unfortunately, I wished it was

swoope, it is the coils......I unplugged all of the sparks, they are fine no gunk buildup, the wires are plugged in securely, I lifted the coils and there is a burnt mark on all but 1 of them, and all of them have this white spot the size of my thumb on the bottom, I take it they're really dead now huh? because my car has gone into limp mode on the highway and I can't get it beyond 25mph at this point......

my new coils should be arriving on tuesday...............

thankyou for all your help!

ok guys, thank you for all the help, twinkie, it wasn't the intake unfortunately, I wished it was

swoope, it is the coils......I unplugged all of the sparks, they are fine no gunk buildup, the wires are plugged in securely, I lifted the coils and there is a burnt mark on all but 1 of them, and all of them have this white spot the size of my thumb on the bottom, I take it they're really dead now huh? because my car has gone into limp mode on the highway and I can't get it beyond 25mph at this point......

my new coils should be arriving on tuesday...............

thankyou for all your help!


k,

so you unplugged what? did you remove the plugs?

the story about my same problem is almost the same as yours, but i was not shifting into neutral at 100mph.

burnt marks on coils may or may not say they are bad...

walk, then run..

got the owners manual yet??? i got a link. :lol:


beers :beer:

yes, I removed all the spark plugs, the coil rack and the plug wires to check and as I have stated, the plugs are in good condition, the plug wires were on tight

my coils.........no doubt......is dead

yea, thanks......I went to mazda online and they sent me a pdf file of the manual XD

r u gonna tease me for the rest of my days for that?

and swoope, also, it doesn't matter at what speed but it becomes progressively worse

first it only happens at higher speed, but before it finally went dead on me I was simply at 30mph threw in neutral for a stop light, the rpm needle would go wild from 1k-250rpm and it will die

I will post results once I put in my new coils next week, the car is still driveable, but I won't be driving it fast any time soon seeing as it goes in limp mode if I gas it.............

people with this problem should also check their ignition system so we can verify our results

I also have 1 more reason to suspect that it did the limpy mode thinging when you floor it, from what I've read on this forum that means coils are dying........also it is very shitty at certain rpm (most notable is 3k-4k)

the car sounds like a fucking boat engine.........even more suspect of ignition failure

yes, I removed all the spark plugs, the coil rack and the plug wires to check and as I have stated, the plugs are in good condition, the plug wires were on tight

my coils.........no doubt......is dead

yea, thanks......I went to mazda online and they sent me a pdf file of the manual XD

r u gonna tease me for the rest of my days for that?

and swoope, also, it doesn't matter at what speed but it becomes progressively worse

first it only happens at higher speed, but before it finally went dead on me I was simply at 30mph threw in neutral for a stop light, the rpm needle would go wild from 1k-250rpm and it will die

I will post results once I put in my new coils next week, the car is still driveable, but I won't be driving it fast any time soon seeing as it goes in limp mode if I gas it.............

people with this problem should also check their ignition system so we can verify our results

I also have 1 more reason to suspect that it did the limpy mode thinging when you floor it, from what I've read on this forum that means coils are dying........also it is very shitty at certain rpm (most notable is 3k-4k)

the car sounds like a fucking boat engine.........even more suspect of ignition failure

but there is more to the story..

not that simple...

beers :beer:

btw I'm going to make my own intake soon anyways so ok



this i cant WAIT to see... do post pics, especially if you rattle can it gold

not rly, I'm just thinking of dumping the hks filter since I heard it sucks ass and putting in apexi and extending it outside the cabin, like cold air, thats all

coils are coming tomorrow, then I'll post pics

Will you paint the coils gold?

HAHAHA!!! those coils are a b*tch to get out and check

let the gold go people T.T

not rly, I'm just thinking of dumping the hks filter since I heard it sucks ass and putting in apexi and extending it outside the cabin, like cold air, thats all

coils are coming tomorrow, then I'll post pics

How about you get the RB intake/ram and paint it gold...would probably be cheaper/easier/better...

I still don't understand why you're putting it in neutrual but then again Taja, there are a LOT of things I don't understand about you.

Have you read the TSB on how to PROPERLY check the coils? White marks may not be enough to diagnose those coils as dead.

yea, its the one I think you posted or someone posted on another thread on how to check the coils, I know on the TSB it says it does not indicate a dead coil, but I have burnt marks on 1 of them, like completely burnt and crispy, its the 3rd one from the left, if anything I'm sure that one is dead


and how can you not understand me putting it in neutral at that speed? wtf? I'm sure all of u do the same too

this is what I do........I'm at 80 or 70........I am about to exit the freeway......so I throw it in neutral and brake to get rdy for the redlight in front

what do u do jedi? u put it in 3rd? and let the rev fall or someshit? or do u just put it in 1st just so u can fuck up the synchro.......

yea, its the one I think you posted or someone posted on another thread on how to check the coils, I know on the TSB it says it does not indicate a dead coil, but I have burnt marks on 1 of them, like completely burnt and crispy, its the 3rd one from the left, if anything I'm sure that one is dead


and how can you not understand me putting it in neutral at that speed? wtf? I'm sure all of u do the same too

this is what I do........I'm at 80 or 70........I am about to exit the freeway......so I throw it in neutral and brake to get rdy for the redlight in front

what do u do jedi? u put it in 3rd? and let the rev fall or someshit? or do u just put it in 1st just so u can fuck up the synchro.......

I usually downshift in the event I will need to reapply gas...but then again I'm used to thinking like I'm always on the track...

If I'm not on the throttle...I'm braking...I'm never coasting...

and how can you not understand me putting it in neutral at that speed? wtf? I'm sure all of u do the same too

this is what I do........I'm at 80 or 70........I am about to exit the freeway......so I throw it in neutral and brake to get rdy for the redlight in front

what do u do jedi?

I downshift based on speed. If I'm doing 70, I'll go down into 4th, apply brake. As my speed drops, I downshift accordingly being careful not to rev the engine too high. I'm pretty sure that's what most ppl do.

oh I see, yea I normally don't do that because I know theres a redlight out front, so what the hell, I'll just throw it in neutral and apply the brakes, once I get to about 10mph(as suggested by swoope) I hit the clutch and put her in 1st again

I hope this clears matters with u people who think I'm driving the car wrong.....seriously I've driven manuals since I was 12 man besides, its become such a habit that it is hard to get rid of now, and I've never had any trouble like this with all my other cars.....and this didn't happen until recently, it used to be fine, and the only thing I did from when it was fine to now is the Nitrous install......
which according to Charles, he says that using nitrous can quickly expose a bad coil, and from what I can see, it all points to the coils being bad

it can't be a dead cat since I don't have any
my compression test is good, so the dealer says
my fuel line is secured, my battery is doing 13.1 while on, 12.5 while off so I think thats fine too

fuel injectors should be fine seeing as I didn't do anything with them

the coils and sparks and plugwires from mazsport are coming tomorrow so I will take pics of the new coils and the ones old one for comparison so you guys can judge it for yourself........right now I don't want to start her up until I get her fixed cus I'm afraid I might fuck up other stuff

if anyone thinks it is something else please let me know

as of last time I drove her, it became so bad that anything beyond 40mph whether I put in neutral or hit the clutch and the rpm drop to 1k, the car's rpm will swing and result in engine dying......... the car barely pulls at 3-5k rpm, but then I get a huge boost at 6k rpm like its finally coming alive, but its not as fast as it used to be, major loss of torque, so much so that I felt like driving a civic...........ex

the CEL came on(which I don't have a tool to diagnose it)

I've read on another thread that it might be the MAF sensor being dirty also,and seeing as the HKS filter probably has the worse filtering capability according to rx8club, that might just be the case. so I will get a MAF sensor cleaner and clean it today afterschool and see how that goes............

again, I appreciate all of your help and suggestions (the ones that do help, not retards who don't help and try to bash on me randomly)

thankyou all :D

I downshift based on speed. If I'm doing 70, I'll go down into 4th, apply brake. As my speed drops, I downshift accordingly being careful not to rev the engine too high. I'm pretty sure that's what most ppl do.


but see, it happens even when I put in gear and hit the clutch.............so I don't think it has anything to do with the neutral switch, its more like the ignition system is dying, from what I can see...........thanks though, but I've driven like this for a long time (granted I'm still young) and I never had a problem with it, even with this car for a while.......until now

no one at any of the local meets has a Scanalyzer, Canscan, etc? They could quickly pull the code for you

You might want to consider also getting a breather filter on your oil fill tube and capping off the line to the intake. There's a DIY on here...prevents the oil vapors from collecting on your MAF.

You RTFM yet? Heh...

XD yea I did, online though, I don't have the real manual FTMFL

and no jedi, seeing as u never show up to any meets that I do, no one can pull the code for me..........

Fixed


seeing as how I always flake out at the meets Jedi goes to, I can't get this code pulled for me..........

i am having the same issue and my 8 has been at dealer for 2 weeks; what they did was basically to replace a starter and ignition coil. thats all i know and they havent given me a call about anything new but i knew its not only about a starter and ignition coil. cuz according to the time, they have done those things already but they havent called me yet.
I used to do the samething as you guys, like put the shit to neutral and apply brakes but my brakes seemed to worn out really fast and I started to down shift a lot. But thats not gonna cause the problem.

damn it all! in my defense I was hung over with some friends the night before the SB meet!!!

hey, and does any of u know whether those diagnostic tools from kragen or autobacs (the universal OBDII types) could pull codes? or does it have to be something like a scanalyzer?

I believe the concensus on that is that it CAN pull some codes but it does not know all the mazda specific codes. In other words, might not work for ya...

thanks phil, that clears up that tid bit about driving habit killing car

from the compression test, I take it my starter should be fine, I start fine and fast, even on cold days, so I don't think that is a problem.......

Thanks Jedi..........if that is the case then my best bet is to get a scanalyzer somewhere close to home, do u know anyone specific local that sells it?

you can always order it through mazdaparts.com You'll need a laptop or a REALLY long cable to get it to your computer though.

order what? and doesn't a scanalyzer or canscan hand held? I have to plug it into my laptop? what?

you're thinking of 2 different products.
-The scanalyzer works with a PC or laptop
- Canscan is handheld. (I believe)

ooooh I see............thanks, sigh, its sad I don't have those, I have a laptop though, so I will try to get the code somehow

thanks

if you have a laptop, you might as well look into the scanalyzer. It has a 'live mode' that's pretty cool.

You can display up to 6 different guages (look just like the RX-8 guages) with real-time figures of everything from water temp, afr, voltage, fuel consumption, etc etc etc. If you keep modding your car, you'll probably want to look into one of those options to make sure your 8 is always running within acceptable parameters

I see.........yes I will look into that, right now all I can really hope for is that once I change out the coils, sparks and plug wires ( I know its over kill but hell, I was planning to do it anyways) the problem will go away.........if not then I'm really fucked

what wires are you going with? I picked up the RB ones and they're quite nice.

here's your scanalyzer:
http://www.mazdaparts.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=A0000-1151625265

I bought the mazsport wires.........

thanks, I'll probably buy it after the holidays though....

make sure you register with the site, it'll save you a few bucks on the 'gold pricing'.

I had a AT 8 for a while. Before I traded it in for my MT I had the same problem with the tach swinging wildly. Turned out there was all kinds of shit wrong. The engine was replaced before I bought the car and the mechanic evidently didn't know what the hell he was doing, or just wasn't paying attention. The dealership gave me a list of issues. Not the least of which was a cracked engine block from the alternator being cross-threaded when it was installed. But the part they claimed would have effected the idle was the injector seals and ignition coils they had to replace. I know you are already replacing the coils. Maybe you should check the seals too.

injector seals? hmm ok I will see whats sup......

ok, Today I cleaned the MAF sensor, the problem seems to vastly improve, the car does not die at high speeds when coasting in neutral anymore, however I still have some swings at about 30-40 mph, but at least now its driveable, I will be putting in the coils and sparks tomorrow

ok, Today I cleaned the MAF sensor, the problem seems to vastly improve, the car does not die at high speeds when coasting in neutral anymore, however I still have some swings at about 30-40 mph, but at least now its driveable, I will be putting in the coils and sparks tomorrow

uhh...intake? Did I not tell you to put it back in and reinstall at least one screen if not both?

dude, I dont have the damn stock intake! jesus! John took it and I never saw her again!, if I did I WOULD put it back....sigh, right now I'll have to live with this shitty ass HKS..........

dude, I dont have the damn stock intake! jesus! John took it and I never saw her again!, if I did I WOULD put it back....sigh, right now I'll have to live with this shitty ass HKS..........

Well ask jesus or john to borrow it back...I'm sure you could ask someone in your area to lend you one...provided you promise not to paint it gold...

lol, as of right now I think to extend the intake outside the car, I will just need a
4inch hose clamp I guess...............

If a manual car is decelerating - with the throttle shut - the injectors go to zero, no fuel, to prevent backfires in the muffler. I'm not sure if the same would apply to an Auto, but there is a simple solution; don't do it anymore......

S

(Doctor, it hurts when I put my arm like THIS!
.........Well don't do it.)

In the early days there were a few people that had this problem.
As far as I know it's a normal condition. I know of two members who sold there 8's because of this. (They had other problems too)

Let me see... if I drive my car off road and damage the muffler... maybe I shouldn't drive off road.

injector seals? hmm ok I will see whats sup......

too much nitrous. 75 shot wet and dry eh?

a little late to add, but downshifting while coming to a stop is bad for engine and tranny

a little late to add, but downshifting while coming to a stop is bad for engine and tranny

Only if you do it wrong. ;)

But it is more clutch disengagement/engagement for each gear down, and brakes are a lot cheaper to replace than a clutch.

It does make sense to leave the car in gear until rpm is near idle, though, rather than kicking it into neutral or declutching immediately. Don't know about rotaries, but it does a piston engine some good to give it some breathing time.

Ken

now I'll have to live with this shitty ass HKS..........

How about

I ship you my Stock intake box, you ship me your HKS shitty intake ? :)

Dont get me wrong, I love my K&N, but I want to try something else.

Deal ? or No Deal ?

my car is back today. the dealership replaced a pack of coils and spark plugs, a starter and a new battery. And the problem is that the part after the intake(i dont know whats that called) stuck open. thats what they came up the cause of the stalling problem on my car.
basically, everything is covered by the warranty except the battery cuz they divide the life of the battery into three years cuz the bumper to bumper warranty is valid for three years, since i have only 2 month left till the end of the bumper to bumper warranty, i am supposed to pay 85% of the charge of the entire battery.

also i went on s2000 forum, some people had the same stalling problem. (i first thought only rx8 does cuz that was because of the engine). The way to fix it for them is also replacing the coils.
lol, now i am clear...

How about

I ship you my Stock intake box, you ship me your HKS shitty intake ? :)

Dont get me wrong, I love my K&N, but I want to try something else.

Deal ? or No Deal ?

taja, take this deal since you supposedly hate your HKS so much...

also i went on s2000 forum, some people had the same stalling problem. (i first thought only rx8 does cuz that was because of the engine). The way to fix it for them is also replacing the coils.
lol, now i am clear...

well,stuck open ?

I think they';re talking about SSV?

Replacement is cheap, its the labor that kills it.

well I made a new intake out of the damn HKS today, installed the new coils (only 3 because 1 came defective and immediately burned up after I put in the car, didn't even start her up man wtf)

replaced the coils and all that fun stuff, also threw in the pulleys cus I was bored..........

anyhow, the car runs like a champ now, pwns all through the powerband XD

Did you unplug the battery first?

no, I fried half my body..........

lol, jk kane, yea, I had to remove the damn battery anyways, I had only 1 torque gun and it was too big to get in without removing the battery :D

How do you fry a coil without a battery????

That is weird - BTW glad to hear you car is running nice again.


Did you paint the coils gold?

sorry i ran out of paint

well,stuck open ?

I think they';re talking about SSV?

Replacement is cheap, its the labor that kills it.

i guess thats the throttle body control valve....cuz i called them again and they said they have to leave my car there for another week just waiting for this part coming from japan. i think its under warranty even though i have an intake kit.