Joe Elsleger

Ok, I'll admit I'm afraid of the worst case scenario but I'm hoping for the best. Here's what happened, I was on my way home from picking my gf up and a truck with LED headlights was riding my rear so I got on the gas some to get some distance going up the hill. It was accelerating just fine as it normally does when suddenly it changed sound (not sure if it just died or was running on one rotor but considering I heard sound I'm assuming it was on one rotor, no detonation or backfire) I looked down and all the dash lights came on oil lamp, coolant, etc. I was kinda freaking out I wasn't on the gas, I coasted the rest of the way while looking at the dash, battery light flashed and also soon as the sound changed after dash lights came on I did see the CEL blink (which it normally did stay lit as I'm running mid pipe with not CAT and when key goes into on pos it'd blink a cpl times before cranking). I stopped at a parking lot at the top of the hill. No overheat, when I stopped I realized the car wasn't running. I tried to start it a few mins later after checking the oil and coolant levels which both seemed fine, no crank whatsoever. It's as if the battery was dead. I returned later with a jumper box. I tried cranking it before using the box just to see what'd happen. I heard the normal sound of the hum and then the relay click. This time when I cranked it I got about a qtr crank then it stopped completely. I hooked up the jumper box, on the second crank attempt it was very slow starting but it started then eventually stalled (I could tell by the sound and vibration it was only running on one rotor). Also I forgot to mention I'm doing this in the dark. It eventually warmed up to operating temp without me having to touch the gas but I did notice some funny idling which if I had to guess I'd say it was the one rotor burning up the gas the other rotor couldn't. If I touched the gas too fast it'd idle down to a stall but when I gently touched the gas it'd rev up. I reved it to 5k RPMs hoping the other rotor would kick but it didn't and when I let off it idled down and stalled out so I called it a night and locked it up and it's still parked there. There was no funny knocking sounds from the motor or backfires at all...just obvious it was only one rotor running and a bit of jumping and shaking. I'll also note that when it started and while it was running the CEL didn't flash at all so I'm hoping that's a good rather then bad sign. I guess y'all can't tell me anything I don't know already or at least I came to conclude it was at least one of these 4 causes...Spark plugs, plug wires, ignition coil(s), or apex, side, corner seals or possibly a thrown bearing though I don't see how. I also did the 20 brake stomp before restarting it but no luck there. The one thing I'm really puzzled about is why would my battery be dead? New alternator, only about 5 months old. Also, we hooked up an OBD reader..but it didn't give us anything related other then a misfire on cylinder one which may have been an old stored code from when I had that problem 6 or 7 months ago. Thank you for any advice, knowledge or help.

sonicsdaman

iTrader: (3)

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Check the ignition first. That's the easiest. You had a misfire problem 6-7 months ago? How was it fixed?

sonicsdaman

iTrader: (3)

If I deciphered that correctly, you never looked at the fuel pump? Could be starvation of gas. How much gas is in the tank?

Joe Elsleger

Loki

iTrader: (1)

So you only replaced the one coil that failed? That's a really bad idea, if one is failing, they're all not far behind.

UnknownJinX

First, more details are welcome, but please divide it into smaller paragraphs. Much easier for us to read that way. See this reply for an example.

Secondly, start from the simple stuff. How old is the battery? Another thing worth checking if you can't idle is vacuum leak. Look for any cracks between MAF and throttle body.

Thirdly, no, if one of your rotors doesn't burn up all the fuel, the other rotor won't burn it. They are separate from each other after a certain point in the intake, and rejoin at the exhaust manifold.

Joe Elsleger

I know Loki and I agree but in all honesty it was a money issue. I was planning on getting new plugs and the other 3 coils this payday before this happened which I'm still going to do and hopefully that fixes the issue. I was thinking 2 or all 3 of the old coils went. Would this infact drain the battery? I'm so confused. I know with ok plugs and struggling coils they have to work harder to keep the firing going. I'm thinking that's what happened and blew the coils but I'm still uncertain.

Joe Elsleger

When it started and kept running it held the 800 RPM range as it should other then when it idled high or low and came back to 800 RPMs..besides that it ran really rough and strange..as if only one rotor was running and the engine was shaking and jumping some. I didn't smell any unusual odors. As I said if i hit the accelator quick it died but when I just gently eased it, it reved up to 5K RPMs..I didn't want to rev it any higher. I was hoping to hear the other rotor kick or for it to sound normal but it didn't. I didn't do this very long as I don't want to cause anymore damage.

Joe Elsleger

The battery is 8-9 months old. The alternator is 5 months old. Spark plugs have about 25K miles on them so they're due for a change as well as the other 3 ignition coils.

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

Make a video. Start it, let it idle, and let us observe.

how many miles on the car & motor?

have you gotten the fuel pump recall done?

Joe Elsleger

I bought the car about 9 months ago and unfortunately it didn't come with any service records so I don't know if it's the original engine or if it's been replaced. It now has 116,500 miles on it.

I did search the VIN on Mazda recall site. Three recalls came back which the most important one was something about fuel rings if I recall correctly. The others were something with the air bag and I don't recall the other but I'll search it again.

I'm going to try to get the car home today and if it has enough juice in the battery I'll start it to post a video for you.

I'm of course still bummed as I'm not exactly sure what happened. I'm hoping it's just coils but I'm not really sure and still puzzled as to what could've drained my battery as the alternator is fairly new and the battery. I also didn't get a battery light on the dash like I did when the old alternator was going.

I'm trying not to be overwhelmed but I'm bummed and a bit stressed.

Other details..

It had a slow crank (from near dead battery I suppose)
No knocking, funny sounds, detonation, or odd smells before it shut down or while I got it started afterwards

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

where are you located?

Joe Elsleger

I'm in Arkansas

Joe Elsleger

Ok I just checked and sure enough, the fuel pump recall has yet to be done on my car. So Mazda will replace my fuel pump and filter system for free..so that's one piece of good news.
i forgot to mention..It's an 04 RX8 AT

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

Nearly 117k on a 4 port auto?

Sorry to say man but it doesnt look good especially if its the original engine. Also I heard that lakemodding is pretty effective at clearing up issues with a car. Never tried it myself though

Joe Elsleger

After doing a little digging..I read on the title it has a R2..so does this mean it did have another engine put in?..and yeah, I'm pretty stressed but I'm still hoping it's nothing major.

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

No it doesnt. Look for a remanufactured engine tag on the motor. Youll see what that looks like pretty easily and also where to find it if you check the threads i created for the thread i made about the offerup/letgo engine i purchased and disassembled.

Joe Elsleger

Ok thank you. Another question, if my coils did go bad then blew would that have drained my battery?

UnknownJinX

No, they won't.

R2 just means it's a 2-rotor engine, which is what our cars come with.

Looks like you have some reading to do. Click on the links in my signature.

As mentioned, look for any vacuum leak, and make sure your MAF isn't coated in oil.

Joe Elsleger

Ok thank you. So if the MAF was covered in oil that'd explain the rough running? I'm still uncertain as to why my battery seemed drained or what would cause that. I don't think it'd be the alternator but I don't know. Thanks again.

strokercharged95gt

Sounds like you have multiple failed coils. Its possible you had only 1 working on each of the rotors, but now you are down to no good coils. except for maybe one. Buy a HEI Spark Tester, take your wheel off and jack up the front driver side, and one by one pull a spark plug wire off each spark and connect it to the HEI tester (grounded). Fire up the car and see if you are getting spark! Figure out which ones are bad and which ones are good and replace as necessary.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Check the battery posts and cables and clean off corrosion. It could be that simple.

But once you fix it, you still need new coils. And maybe a compression test to see what you're investing into.

Joe Elsleger

Thank you guys. Yes I was thinking coil failure as well. No corrosion on battery terminals so that's not it..positive connection is fairly tight and negative terminal is tight.
im uncertain of what runs off the battery while the car is running..possibly ECU? Or maybe from working the coils so hard the alternator maybe went bad?
All I know is before I hooked the jumper box up the car wouldn't crank then after jumper box a slow crank which it did slowly start up and ran though it was rough.
also, when it did start there was no battery light on the dash which usually indicates a bad battery or alternator...hmmm??

strokercharged95gt

Easy to check the alternator. Put voltmeter on your battery. Should read around 12.5 volts with the car off. Start the car and you should read somewhere around 14 volts. Takes 30 seconds to check.....