Under the cover that is toward the Drivers side of the battery cover.

3 screws/bolts to remove, and a small amount of Zen.

1. Open Bonnet.
2. Move hose sitting in loose clip on rear of battery cover out of the way.
3. Remove Battery cover.
4. Move hose on loose clip on side of PCM cover out of the way.
5. Remove 3 bolts holding PCM cover on.
6. Unclip the 2 cable clips from the cover.
7. Carefull ease the clips open that are down the side between the cover and the front guard. They just need a small amount of persuasion.
8. Lift the cover off.

You should be able to see the sticker without having to remove or disconnect the PCM.

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

Hymee, while I was out tearing the boot apart 'cos pricer01 made me....I took the opportunity to add to the firmware confusion.

My PCM differs from yours...it has a sticker indicating N3J6 18 881F ...

So, mine's "F" and your's is "E".....and the Yanks have "L".

What does it all mean I wonder???!!!

Would be interesting to know what change occurred b'ween "E" and "F"......

Quizzically Yours, Gomez.

 

See Hymee, I told you the pov pack has a different ECU!

 

Dan

I think Hymee will be taking you of HIS NUMBER ONE list getting the Rick Shaw /HYMEE /SILENT PARTNER ECU .

He gets touchy when anyone talks about his poverty pack RX8.

I see you are bracking your record 3 replies in a row wow.

cheers
michael

 

HEY,I'VE GOT THE POV PACK....!!!

Gomez.

 

Please see the following reply to an inquiry from me from Mazda Australia.

"Mazda Australia is unaware of any software upgrade for the engine management system with the RX8 to date. However, as with any product improvements or enhancements, Mazda Australia will make this advice available through our dealer network.

Regards

Michael Minenna
Customer Service Manager - Technical
Mazda Australia"

This seems to be an official and authoritative answer. It will probably not satisfy all correspondents to this forum, particularly those who see rotary symbols among mysterious crop circles.

 

That corresponds to what I found when we plugged mine into the WDS and it said no updates available.

Thanks Gomez for checking. It adds to the confusion, as yours is the cloth pack like mine.

What you need to do now is get friendly with your service manager and mechanic at your dealer, and get them to plug the WDS in and check for PCM updates. It will put up on the screen the calibration number. I would like to see if it is the same "version" as the sticker.

I think L&L posted the "part number" from his leather pack PCM some time ago.

How about I start a small database of cross referencing members cars wrt build date, cloth/leather, CalID (sticker), CalID(WDS)? I'll leave VIN numbers off to help respect privacy.

L&L, I think I coined the phrase Poverty Pack. It doesn't bother me anyway. Especially since we determined they are faster

What is the breaking records sh|t about?

Cheers,
Hymee

 

HYMEE

WILCARD replied to 3 threads in a row unussual for him as he his a man of few words .

Thats the **** i was referring to .

Dont worry be happy.

cheers
michael

 

OIC. Not worried, always happy

 

Hymee, for what possible reason would a dead cow equipped 8 have a different cal...???

Gomez.

 

Well, we thought about that a few weeks ago when my car dyno'ed without exhibiting the "Safe Mode" symptoms. These have been witnessed on Wildcards leather pack.

So far I have only had these two cars to report on. I'm pretty sure Ric Shaw was sure he had the problem on his car. For sure.

I also just got more confused looking at the MNAO TSB 01-011/04 - Engine Cranks No Start (follow link - click here)

It clearly mentions the CalID in the format N3H6EK00013H6020.
Mine was reported as N3J618881E, which is a different format.

Me needs to check with the SM again this morning.

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

Drives slower so you can smell the leather :D

 

You need to get something for all that extra Moo-lah they milk from ya for the leather pack

Bad Cow Pun.

 

HYMEE

My original theory that somehow your car has missed out on being circumsised ( power out put being lowered with different ECU package febore being released .

Mazda wants to use our cars as guinea pigs and has deliberetily put differing flashes on the ECU to sit back and observe , which one works the best E or F .

i WOULD LIKE A STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM MAZDA FOR ONCE .

My service manager cant even get me an answer from MAZDA HEAD OFFICE as to whether there is a upgrade on our ECU .

CHEERS
MICHAEL

 

Well, as promised, I had my ECU reflashed at my dealer today.

My ECU CalID is now N3J618881E, which is exactly the same as Hymee's (see above). Unfortunately, I didn't watch like a hawk, so when I asked what the previous ID was, the tech said "oh I didn't take a note". But, according to the WDS, the above CalID is an upgrade on the original factory spec. Given I have a very low VIN, I guess I may have had one of the real originals.

Makes you think: what will a "mint, original" veteran RX-8 mean, in 50 years time? Why, even the ECU is as it left the factory!! :D :D

 

Good posting Timbo.

Minus 1/2 mark for not checking the existing VIN. :p

I wonder if Mazda will reply to an email from you asking what the CalID was on your car when it left the factory - before the re-flash.

I also wonder what the Canzoomer Mod would have been like on L&L's since his has been reflashed. He reported his car is "more like mine" since his reflash.

So many questions, so little answers...

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

The tech asked me to let him know if the car felt any different. It does feel a little 'perkier' but it could be my imagination

 

That is what L&L reckons. And remember his is an "early" one, and he felt my car was crisper as well. Now he thinks his feels more like what he remembers mine to be.

 

hi timbo

i'm taking my rx-8 in on monday to change the heat shield. can i ask them to check and flash the ecu at the same visit?

did you have to push them hard to do it?

i've got a really early rx-8 (arrived in late june 2003).

thanks for the info.

mike

 

No, I didn't have to push them hard. In fact I challenged them by acting a bit dumb and saying that another 8 owner had told me there was an ECU update, and would they check. The Service Manager said he telephoned MA, found out there was, and booked me in. I didn't pay, either.

Sounds like yours is even earlier than mine, which was a June 03 build, therefore I'd reckon yours would definitely be subject to the update.

Oh, and try to find out what version you had before -- they should pick this up on the WDS before they reflash. I was asleep at the time, and they don't seem to be able to get that data after the reflash.

Good luck -- and let us know how you get on. Oh, and if your dealer has the heat shield parts yet. I'd like to know whether in my case the f**k up was the dealer or MA

 

thanks for the info timbo.

i like the playing dumb part. it's always good to say that the upgrade exists and someone else has done it already.

hopefully they have the part. they seem to know about the recall when i called.

when i had my sump replaced, it took 2 days as Ford Australia would not release the part to the dealer without all the paper required.

i'll get them to record the CalID before they flash the ECU.

cheers

mike

 

Yeah - the CalID is available via the WDS:

Powertrain > ODB test modes > Mode 9 - Vehicle Information

Have a look at http://www.finishlineperformance.com.../01-011-04.htm for details showing the sequence. Note that the US cars seem to have a slightly different version numbering - 16 digits compared to out 10 digits.

What we need to do now, is see if the "safe mode" issue happens with the N3J618881E calibration. I say this because the only 2 cars I have experienced on the dyno have been Wildcard's and mine. We know my CalID is the latest (well I have checked, and Timbo's since got the same. Wildcards is earlier than mine so I might be able to assume his is the older Cal.

Good work, guys!

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

I checked the sticker on my ECU this afternoon:

N3J6 18-881D

My car was a pre-order. VIN ending 100319.

Hope this adds another piece to the puzzle....

 

Wildcard,

Good work. Lets assume, until proven otherwise, that the sticker on the PCM tells us the factory CalID. After a reflash, all bets are off

So somewhere between 319 and 499 we went from "D" calibrations to "E" calibrations.

OK - So lets try to narrow this down! My car wasn't a pre-order, but I am pretty sure it was on the second boat load here.

If you don't want to post your VIN here, thats OK. Just say something like:

• I saw a "320" with "N3J6 18-881D"
  or
• I saw a "498" with "N3J6 18-881E"

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

Just to clarify, mine is a pre-order pov pack, and I saw a "052", and now have N3J6 18-881E