Appledude69

Hey guys! Absolutely new here! So here’s my story, my landlord has a 2006 RX8 in the storage parking underground for about 6 years. The owner of the RX8 hasn’t paid his bills and he was given the option of signing it over to my landlord so he did, then my landlord sold it to me. The car hasn’t been started in 6 years. I wanted it for a little project car!

TLDR: i have replaced everything I can think of but car won’t crank only hearing a click from the relay in the engine bay. Starter was working until I drained the battery. But have it charged and still same problem. Help?

So after I had bought the car I was given the keys and the work began. I have since then replaced the battery, replaced the battery terminals, changed the oil and transmission fluid, checked all the fuses, and replaced the starter as the cable from the solenoid to the starter fell off when I touched it. I think (stupidly) tried to start it. I could hear my starter going and can tell it’s moving everything so the rotors aren’t seized but it wasn’t catching just cranking it for 10 seconds then off. Drained the battery dead doing that. I went out and bought a battery charger and have a boost pack. I was told to pull out each spark plug and clean them and then spray some Marvel Mystery Oil in each spark plug hole. Which I did. Using both a charged battery and the boost pack the car wouldn’t even try to crank again. But it looks like it, I can hear the air pump winding up but won’t go any further.

I get all the correct lights on and off in the dash, immobilizer light going out. But all I hear is one click when I turn the key. Any idea what this could be?

Sorry for the long post. And thanks for any help!

Speedanimal

You said it has been about 6 years since it was started? Have you done anything with the gas? I would expect this car to have some of the nastiest gas by this point with a ton of water and contaminants in it.

Do you hear the fuel pump prime from under the back left seat cushion when you turn the ignition to on but don't start the car yet?

If your electronics are working, and the airpath is clear but nothing is happening I would suspect this could be your issue after waiting so long. Assuming of course your ignition coils are still good. But at 6 years my money would be on some very bad gas unless you already took care of it.

Appledude69

Hey! I was told there was stabilizer added to the gas when it was stored and also it doesn’t smell like it has gone bad, but I am probably wrong lol i can hear the pump prime and everything when I click it to ACC. I will be jumping the fuel pump and letting it pump it all out once I have figured out why my engine isn’t cranking at all. I have pulled the pump relay and fuse so I don’t flood the engine. But when I was originally cranking it I could smell gas from the exhaust pipes.
With my ignition coils my engine should still crank shouldn’t it? Just not start.
Like I’m not even getting a slight turn.
My starter is a remanufactured one was was working perfectly until I drained the battery trying to crank. It feels like I don’t have enough power but I have it on a Noco smart charger and it’s solid green and I have a booster pack hooked up too and nothing.

toplessFC3Sman

Have you checked whether the starter solenoid wire is getting voltage when you turn the key to crank?
What is the battery voltage when trying to crank?
What is the battery voltage when the key is on but not cranking?
Can you turn the engine over by hand when the transmission is in neutral?
If you quickly short the big terminals on the end of the starter solenoid, can you hear the starter motor spin?

Whether the starter can spin the engine over is a fairly simple problem, much simpler than whether the engine can start once its spinning. Its possible that the heat from trying to crank that much the first time has damaged the starter and it seized up, but first you need to know if voltage is getting sent to the starter solenoid (which acts to push the starter gear into mesh with the ring gear on the flywheel, and to close a pair of contacts to send power to the starter itself), and then whether the starter motor can spin on its own, when its not engaged with the flywheel.

Appledude69

Thanks for the reply! I just went out and bought a multimeter! I’m not too familiar with the electrical side of things. What setting should I have it on for testing the different parts? What voltage should I be looking for when resting and cranking?

I have tried to turn the engine over by hand but I think I may be too weak lol and I can’t get a good grip on anything but the alternator and don’t have a socket big enough to go over that bolt. And the main flywheel seems difficult to reach. How should I go about that? When the starter was working it was turning all the belts I marked one and it had moved that’s how I knew the engine wasn’t seized.

How do I properly short the starter solenoid? I don’t wanna electrocute myself haha

NotAPreppie

1. Remove the AC and alternator/water pump belts.
2. Put the car in neutral, set the parking brake, chock the rear wheels, lift the front on ramps or stands.
3. Remove the key from the ignition.
4. Run a wire from the battery box to the starter (doesn't have to be huge, we're only energizing a 12v coil). Do not connect it to the battery yet.
5. Securely attach one end of the wire to the spade connector on the starter (make sure it doesn't short out to the body, transmission, or starter).
6. Briefly touch the other end of the wire to the positive battery terminal. The starter should crank for as long as the wire is touching B+.

If it cranks, your starter is good and the engine isn't seized. Start looking at electrical issues (relays and fuses).

If not, remove the airbox for better access to the crank pulley. Find a socket large enough to fit over the crank pulley nut (19mm IIRC) and use it and a breaker bar (or a socket wrench with the handle from your jack on it) to turn the motor. If it turns by hand, you probably need a new starter (may need more troubleshooting before buying a new starter).

If it doesn't turn by hand, you've got problems.

Appledude69

So I feel like a complete idiot... I got the multimeter and tested my battery it was 13.6v before putting it on my car. After hooking it up and my car had lights and everything it went to 12.79v. I tried to crank and it didn’t go below 12.03v. So I figured that the starter wasn’t getting power at all. Decided to jack it up and look at the connections again (I did this before also) I took both cables off the starter cleaned them with break cleaner and a rag, let it dry and re-attached them. Tried to crank and it worked! Just a loose or dirty connection. Engine and all the belts turn great! No seized engine! Yay! But now I’m facing the fact that it won’t turn over at all. Same spot I was in before my battery died the first time. What are my next steps? Thanks for the help everyone!

wannawankel

I always put dielectric grease on all my battery and grounds. I've never had a problem with a clean connection that was coated in dielectric grease from having future issues. I also don't clean my engine with engine degreaser.

Jimmy Z

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Pull the spark plugs and clean them off. Your starting attempts could have flooded the engine.
Now on clean plugs, I would still drain the gas and get some fresh in there. 6 year old slurry doesn't work well as fuel, unlike in zombie movies.

Appledude69

That’s the next plan. With the charge that I had in the battery I did the deflooding procedure until my battery was close to dead. It smelt sooo much like gas. I only took out the 20 fuse for the fuel pump. That’s all that’s needed right?

And I do have a question, when I go to jump the fuel pump to drain the fuel. Is it the fuse marked 20 for the Fuel Pump or the relay that has Fuel on it that I jump? Also what hose do I disconnect in the engine bay? Or can I just undo a hose coming off the fuel pump under the back seat so I don’t have to deal with the hoses in the engine bay and in that case which one is it? Thanks!

UnknownJinX

You could just siphon the gas out easier with a siphon pump.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

^^^ this. Don't undo any hoses and splash fuel on things you need to not be on fire later.

The deflood requires only that you press the gas all the way to the floor and crank. This cuts fuel injection. No fuse pulling needed.
If it smells like gas, get those plugs out and clean them by hand. You'll see what state they're in at the same time.

toplessFC3Sman

Be careful with your terminology - "turn over" typically refers to the engine spinning, so if you say it doesn't turn over, you are saying that the starter isn't spinning the engine. I take it that the engine is spinning but not starting based on the rest of your post?

When you say you "Did the deflooding procedure", are you talking about just cranking with the throttle wide open, or actually pulling the plugs? If you havent already:

Chances are that the engine is badly flooded. I would go straight to pulling both leading plugs, cleaning them thoroughly, disconnecting the eccentric shaft sensor,(so that the coils aren't trying to fire with disconnected spark plugs - don't want to damage the coils or risk a spark as you're blowing excess fuel out of the engine!) and cranking the engine with the throttle all the way open. You'll want to do at least 5 8-second bursts, or until you stop seeing as much of a cloud coming out from the plug holes and it doesn't smell as strongly of fuel. You'll want to either fully charge your battery, or another battery (preferably in a running car) to connect up to yours in parallel (just like jump-starting) so that when you put everything back together and actually try to start it, you have the best possible chance. These engines are very sensitive to starting speed, and faster is always better. Once the eccentric shaft sensor is reconnected, you can use an OBD dongle with a smartphone to see the actual cranking speed - it should be at least 240 RPM or so, preferably closer to or over 300.