Just need help or pointed in the right direction.. I did an engine swap in my rx8.. it's now an lm7 5.3 with a getrag 290 5 speed... My problem is that I can't get the starter to turn over with the key and some help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks club!

 

Is the original ECU still in there? Is the key symbol on the dash flashing continuously? You might be tripping the built-in antitheft.

 

Thanks for your quick response.. yes the key is flashing... Immobilizer module right? Any way to bypass ?

 

The immobilizer is inside the stock ECU. That's why I was asking if the ECU is still in the car. Going to need to know a whole lot more about how everything is wired up to propose a solution

 

Yes.. the stock ecu is in the car... Kept the temp, ess, and the oil level sensor.. everything else for the engine is eliminated... Engine runs when I hotwire it but will not turn over at the key switch... There's very little to no info on the immobilizer exe. Except people saying only a dealer is the only way to rectify this... I appreciate your help

 

OK that makes sense. If the key symbol is flashing rapidly when you try to start, it's the immobilizer. In that case, yeah somehow your ECU has become unpaired from the key cylinder and you need the dealer.

If it's just flashing every 2 seconds or so, it doesn't even know you are trying to start or isn't starting for other reasons (like missing some critical input).

 

If the dealer tells you that you need to buy a new computer and immobilizer, you may be able to find a matching set from a junkyard or someplace else. I had a similar issue pop up and the dealer had me pay them like 600$ for a new computer, held my car for 2 months. Then when the issue wasn't fixed they told me to pay for labor and never come back. I guess they had issues involving various vin numbers on my car and couldn't reprogram the car to work. Apparently they thought the car was stolen and was through a chop shop. To be fair when I bought the car it had a completely swapped interior, doors, engine, trans, exhaust.....probs computer and tune.

Never actually had to pay labor since they never did anything, but ended up just buying a full set of keys+ steering Immobilizer+ computer+ keyless entry module(near passenger foot) from a junkyard.

 

Thanks guys.. I spoke to the nearest Mazda dealer after a 20 minute hold session and they had no clue what an immobilizer even was.. when I got done explaining not one "tech" in that dealer had a clue... There's gotta be a way to turn off this pestilence... Thanks again 👍

 

What year? Pretty sure you can just bypass the immobilizer relay for the starter by running it straight to ground.

 

I wanna thank everyone who took the time out to help me... I got the immobilizer light to shut off... Ftr.. I turned the ignition on and off about 6 times and the light turned off... Dodged an expensive bullet there my friends.. I'm gonna post a video on youtube about my experience and my quest to get this project rolling... Carlos Diaz is the channel.. thanks club

 

If it happens again...you can simply use the wires from the stock ignition to go to the PCM on the LM7 and trip the starter relay. a lot of people dont realize that all it takes it getting access to 2-3 wires in a cars ignition switch to make it start and run

 

Thanks man... I will definitely look into this because even though I got the light to shut off, I still can't turn it over... I think the ECU thinks the Mazda a/t from the factory is in gear.. not park.. So that's my next obstacle

 

any LS releated wiring help you need can be found on LT1swap.com i used them to make a plug and play LS harness for my S10 truck. Lots of guys in our group use them. Sounds like all you may need to do is find a pinout of the RX-8 wiring and do something with the wires so that it thinks its in park. I know GM simply grounds them together when in park so that it can see a voltage signal and thats it for NSS on their autos, and uses a grounding switch on the clutch switch to see fully depressed clutch on manual cars