Hi so i did do some searching but I have a few questions specific to my situation...

So my car is 04 MT, its been sitting for a few months, drivin every now and then. Last ran a week ago. Now it wont start, it is cranking. Today I tried to start it, i cranked it for about 8-10 seconds. So I got my battery charger which has a starting mode which provides 160 amps.

So i believe its flooded at this point, when i try to start it with the jumper starter hooked up, it just cranks.. fast. I tried holding in the gas and cranking for 10 seconds... didn't start. After that I tried starting for about 10 seconds without gas held in and it didn't start.

Any advice? Is it flooded? How safe is using the 160 amp jumper? I'm worried if I try to start it with the gas held in and the engine revs up it could be dangerous for the battery? How long should I wait between attempts?

Thanks, just really hate calling a toe truck to take it to a mechanic so he can over charge me for new plugs, coils, etc. Both of which were replaced last winter in the same situation..

 

When you hold the gas down all the way while cranking, no fuel is sent to the engine, so it won't fire up that way. That's for de flooding. You're supposed to do that 2-3 times for 8-10 sec, then try to start normally.

That said, when it last ran, was it allowed to warm up? A healthy car should not flood, but if it was shut off cold, the risk is higher.

The other option is your fuel pump died. You may want to pull the spark plugs and see if they're soaked in gas.

 

It sounds flooded to me it sounds like what happened to my car recently. Even though everything was replaced at the time of rebuild @6k miles ago the plugs were fouled enough it wouldn't fire.
I would start there or perhaps you have a faulty coil(s).

Posted From RX8Club.com Android App

 

I believe it is flooded. I tried cranking with gas pedal down for 10 sec, 4 times, then tried it with fuel and still wouldn't start.

I think my starter is getting old, even on good summer days where its driven everyday the starting sounds rough.

Any tips on what to talk to the tech about so I don't get overcharged so badly? This situation happened last winter, I had it toed to the mechanic and I got an $800 bill for new coils, plugs and chamber cleaning.

Should I keep trying the deflooding cranking procedure? Or am I wasting my time with that?

 

If you decide to continue trying the deflood, make certain you have the car's battery connected to a supplemental power source, either a running vehicle or a battery charger that has a start cycle, in order to avoid killing your battery. It may even help with the weaker starter by helping it achieve better RPM's.

 

pull start it, pop the clutch in 2nd gear

 

The one time I flooded mine,(bad coil, plug) I pulled the fuel pump fuse, hooked it up to my battery charger and cranked it about 10 seconds with several minutes in between so as to not burn up the starter.
Started after about 15-20 minutes of that.
*edit* after putting the fuse back of course

 

so 15-20min of cranking with no fuel? or once with noo fuel, and then once with fuel like the manual suggests?

 

I did mine for the 15minutes without the fuse to hopefully be sure there would be no more fuel.
I think it started on the second crank after I put the fuse back.

 

FINALLY GOT IT

thanks for ur help bigcajun.

I pulled the fuel fuse, cranked it for 10 sec, 3 times with a minute cool down each time. U can kind of hear when the compression comes back. Then I put the fuse back in, and started cranking with the gas held in.. then let it up slowly.. then it starts and dies. So just repeated those steps, pull the fuse to clear it out, then let up the gas slowly and when it started it, give it gas and it sounded rough as hell, but smoothed out and victory.

this video from a mazda tech also helped
Now i'm wondering if my battery is ok. I drove it for about 10 min but didn't venture far since my dsc and traction control was off for some reason...

Should I charge my battery overnight to be safe?

 

I would toss the battery on a charger, on the lowest setting, overnight. That is what I do when the kids kill one. It is a lot easier on the car's charging system that way. Also, it is likely you will need to let the ECU re-learn stuff. Start it cold, then just let it idle until it warms up. Do not touch the gas pedal unless it starts to stall. Mine usually takes a few of these before it is happy again.

 

ok thanks for the info. My charger only has one setting, its suppose to be 40 amps but the reading looks more like 15-20. Is that okay for overnight charging or too high?