herbert

I continue to have hard start issues. I have 57,000kms on the car and it is an '04 MT. It can take up to 10secs for the car to start - an eternity!! It seems to crank well, but just doesn't seem to catch. Sometimes it seems to crank and doesn't even want to try to catch. I've been the only owner of the car and thus am quite certain that the battery and starter are original as I'd never had this problem before a couple of months ago. I just replaced the plugs and while the car seems to run a little better and sound a little better (if that's possible with new plugs?), it still takes a long time to start.

I'm taking it to the dealer tomorrow. My question to you, b/c I think they're going to have difficulty diagnosing the problem, is what do you think the correct order of trying things would be? To me, the most likely culprits are starter, coils, battery. Thoughts?

Thanks for any help.

chetrickerman

i would say coils, starter, battery. when i changed my coils it was like night and day. it started on the first crank

herbert

Thanks. Did you buy the coils from the dealership or from somewhere else?

chetrickerman

i got them from a dealership. but finishlineperformance.com seems to be the cheapest

nate340

I’d recommend getting coils from any where but a Canadian dealership I was quoted $115 a piece. And here is my thread on Hard start https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/consistently-hard-start-127739/

chetrickerman

115 A PIECE??!!!! damn thats expensive

herbert

I had read through that thread before. So you had a hard start issue and needed a new engine. That's really not what I want to hear. Was that the only issue you were noticing ??

nate340

i had a very slight loss of power. getting a new engine for free isnt that bad, breaking it in is frustrating.

climacus

Do not pay rip-off price for the coil packs. Get them online from http://www.onlinemazdaparts.com or http://www.finishlineperformance.com.

Do you have any other drivability issues (random stalls, power loss, etc) other than the hard start?

herbert

I do not have and never have had any other issues (other than rattles and my mother-in-law accidently backing into my car ).

I love the car. I just want it to start up better , preferably by not replacing the engine which I don't think I should require.

chetrickerman

then you should only need a new starter, battery or coil packs

herbert

Exactly what I'm thinking.

I'm taking it to the dealership right now. I'm going to have them first try to diagnose the problem and propose a solution. If it's not one of those, I'll be making those suggestions.

chetrickerman

i would make the suggestions first. dealers tend to not be that smart with rx8's

herbert

I hear ya.

I have a CEL that's coming when I get a 7-10 sec start. It has to do with the crank shaft sensor I think. They're going to replace it first and then we'll go from there. I do have a feeling that this is just a sympton and not the cause but if the sensor's bad, then it should get replaced anyway. I'll get that done Monday when the part comes in and we'll go from there.

Thanks for your help. I'll update back here what comes of it.

chetrickerman

not a prob. good luck

wcs

iTrader: (2)

Coils, Spark Plugs (yes again), Starter, Battery.

I actually have 4 extra coils at home. They have 30k on them but I believe they are ok. The only reason I replaced them was b/c I was installing an undisclosed FI kit and I wanted to make sure my spark was clean.

You wanna drive up to Orangeville with a 24 of MGD on Saturday you can have them.

chetrickerman

if they dont have white spots on the bottom they should be good to go

wcs

iTrader: (2)

Nope they don't but I'll check again, just in case
I haven't looked at them in awhile.

herbert

Thanks for the offer. I'd rather go with new ones even if they cost me a bit more than a 24. Someone else will likely take you up on the offer I would imagine.

chetrickerman

i think a 24 pack is a good price for them. BUT it depends on what beer.

btw, heineken is DELICIOUS!!

wcs

iTrader: (2)

Well the offer is only available to us poor creatures of Ontario (unless you wanna drive from further away).
I would like a two four of MGD (Miller Gen Draft).

I'm not really looking to get rid of them but I'm always willing to help out another 8 member in a jam. So I would rather that someone take them that needs them not just someone who wants them. If you get my drift.

climacus

My coilpacks had no whitespots on the bottom. They looked perfectly fine on the outside, but they were very dead. These coils are basically wear and tear item. I kind of wish they located them at a more accessible spot so you can literally swap them in a parking lot when they crap out on you.

Since the original poster have no drivability or power loss issue, I doubt it's spark-related or blown engine. Would be interesting to see if the crank sensor fixes the problem.

chetrickerman

white spots are just one of the signs that the coils are failing.

herbert

I've put new plugs in and it didn't help with the hard start issue. I had the crank sensor replaced and that didn't help either. I put a new battery in yesterday and, while it seems to crank faster, it hasn't helped. Today I'm thinking about coils (since they seem to be a wear and tear item anyway and I'm at 58,000kms), and then perhaps a starter if that doesn't work. I'm not convinced it could be the starter. From what I understand, Canadian cars got a stronger starter from the very beginning, and I would think that a starter either works or doesn't (with nothing in between) but I'm not sure. I'm not sure what I could try beyond coils and starter. The dealership's trying to help (they really are) but they're not sure either.

DarkBrew

Do you still get the CEL on the hard starts?
You can try coils. I bought mine at http://www.finishlineperformance.com
Do you still have th old plugs? Post a picture if you can