new engine and still blinking CEL
 

Soo, I have a 2005 rx8 base that I bought knowing I needed a new engine. I ended up buying a rebuilt Mazda engine, and since the AT was also shifting erratically I also replaced it with a unit that only had 30000 on it.

I picked it up today and it runs great, however I am getting the blinking CEL. The car feels fine, does not at all feel like it is misfiring. The PO had just replaced the wires plugs and coils, but with Duralast coils not Mazda. So we left them. Also of note the mechanic that did the swap installed new NGK 6700 plugs. It looks like he installed all 4 the same not different ones for leading and trailing.

Soo, about the blinking CEL light, could the computer just need some time to learn the new engine? Should I jump at Mazda coils? Should I have different spark plugs for leading and trailing, and will running all 4 the same hurt anything?

ahhh idk if running those spark plugs would hurt the engine but if it was my car I would be varyyyy upset and get the right spark plugs along with the right coil pack. The car doesn't need to learn the new engine it shouldn't have a blinking CEL if everything was installed right. I would start with what you know is wrong and go from there. Sorry the mechanic had no idea what he was doing hopefully he didn't mess anything else up

I wouldn't run my car with those spark plugs in it

Have you performed the eccentric shaft sensor memory reset? That is recommended when changing engines.

Running all 4 of the same spark plugs is not helping the situation and demonstrates a lack of rigour on the mechanic's part so... Now it's like, what other corners did he cut?

THIS! ^^^^^^^^^^^

even the very well know shops forget to do this sometimes. dont ask me how i know. and for the love of god get the correct plugs in the car.

beers :beer:

Tomorrow morning I will confirm that the plugs listed on the bill are what are in there, if they are I will get the right ones along with a set of Mazda coils.
I will also ask about the eccentric shaft sensor memory reset. What is involved in this?
I did a search and all I saw was 20 brake taps, but nothing else. Do I turn on the key and tap the brakes 20 times? Do I tap the brakes with the car running?

More information needed.
1) name of shop that worked on your car
2) source of rebuilt motor? Did the shop rebuild it or was it purchased from another shop/online? If online or from another shop, what is that site/shops name?
lets start with that. Also quit driving it until the problem is resolved unless youre trying to put your motor in a situation where you could permanently damage it and need a whole new engine once again

turn car to on, but do not start. as soon as the key hits on. start tapping the brakes. you need to do it 20 times fast. the top right gauge will swing up and down. that tells you have done it.

turn key off.

start car.

go drive the car.

my bet is that will resolve the issue.

but still get the right plugs in the car.

beers :beer:

6700 plugs are leading plugs, which are longer than the trailing plugs. The trailing spark plug hole is also pretty small, so if you screw it in, you will bend the spark plug tip.

So yeah, definitely get the right ones.

How did the eccentric shaft sensor memory reset go?

Soo, I did the ESS reset and all is well, no more blinking CEL!!! Thank you very much. The mechanic was shocked!!
He had put the correct plugs in it , his front office girl had got lazy and just input 4 of one code instead of two different codes. He showed me the boxes from both!
So now I have 65 miles on the engine and it runs good. I do have one oddity.
The steering feels a bit off, sort of like the power steering is not quite normal strength when at like parking lot maneuvering speed, and also a bit looser than I remember at high speed. I am guessing I need to align it, as they dropped the whole front end when they swapped the engine and tranny. I also went from some crappy aftermarket wheels to stock wheels as one of the aftermarkets was bent. I am guessing that after all that it probably does need an alignment. I did do the steering reset, going from lock to lock a couple of times. Was there any other thing on the steering reset I could have missed?

That's great! I never would have guessed since I have swapped engines and not had to do that. Make sure when doing the steering reset that the car is off, and you just have to try really hard to move it from lock to lock but after you get done the traction control light should come on and then go away after some driving. I would recommend doing this https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-...g-pics-223713/ I have had to do it on my car several times but my power steering just stopped completely.

Ok, I redid the power steering reset with the car off key on, and end result the power steering is working but.... Still on a slow turn it feels like the wheel does not snap back to center as fast or strongly as normal, I can feel there is power but like less volts, if that makes sense.
It is poring rain so I am not going to deal with electrical connectors and I want to wait to do the alignment first. Other ideas?

If your caster is significantly different from how it used to be, that might play into the steering at low speed, and toe would mess up your high speed. See if an alignment fixes it.

That was my thought, there are two major factors involved, the first is that they did actually remove the whole front with the engine, and second I went from some aftermarket wheels to stock so offset might be different. I have an alignment set for Thurs with the guy who has done the work on all my autocross cars for the past 10 years.
If that does not solve it then I will probably buy the electric PS harness. For 90 dollars it would be worth a try as who knows how brittle the original one was before they removed the whole front to swap engines....
I will say the new engine definitely runs great. What do you think, should I swap the Duralast coils the PO put in for stock or just run them till they die? For now they seem to be working fine and they are basically new.
Also, what are most people doing for break in on a new Rotary engine? With normal engines I tend to be nice not revving too high for a couple of hundred miles, not maintaining a constant RPM for too long, and do some 30 mile runs and let it cool all the way down then repeat, after 200 miles I start doing a couple short burst of RPMs going up maybe 1000 every couple of bursts. At this point I am not going over 4000 driving and not over 5000 on a burst. Will this work for a rotary? I plan on changing the oil at 500 miles