Hello! I'm Andrew, I am not use to the etiquette of forums so feel free to enlighten me as I make mistakes LOL! Unfortunately I came here with a problem, and I was not able to find a solution in other threads.

I have a 2004 RX8 6 port 6 speed and I recently "rebuilt" the engine. I mainly replaced all gaskets and O Rings and cleaned everything up. Unfortunately I did not have the funds at the time to replace wear items, but I plan to keep the car long enough to regret it

After tearing everything apart and putting it back together, I put the key in and primed the fuel lines like 5 times (I really wanted it to start) turned the key to start and NOTHING!!!

When you turn the key to ON, I get the following lights; Steering wheel, low tire pressure, traction control, battery seatbelt and DSC. The backlights for the dash light up, the center console lights up and the radio comes on.

Point of reference, the steering wheel light and DSC were normal from before the rebuild and the car started then. Fogged the hell out of the neighborhood, but it did start without issue.

The seatbelt and low pressure light go away when I correct the obvious issues, but I get nothing when I try to start. Specifically when I turn the key the dash lights stay on without even flickering, the center console and radio die completely and that is it. The starter relay does not click, the starter (Brand new and bench tested) does not click, I get NOTHING. I consider my self mechanically further along that your average person, but this has me completely stumped. I will put some more details below, I appreciate any help anyone can offer and thank you all for the opportunity to at least share my waning sanity

Battery is good and charged, even tried using a jumper with it, no difference.
Checked fuses and relays, I may have missed something but even a replacement for the starter relay did nothing.
Checked connections, especially when I took off the starter to bench test it, I made sure it went back on properly again.
No CEL or trouble codes.


Logs make a very safe and reliable stand.

A little patina'd but no rust.

Who needs a two post lift when you have a cherry picker!

 

The first thing I would do is put the car on the ground and get it off of those logs. While it may work for now, if the ground were to soften up, one of the logs could start to tilt and if that happens, the car is going over.

Now, on to business and enough of me being a dad. Have you checked the clutch pedal switch? Without the switch adjusted properly and being fully functional, the starter will not operate with the key. If you can confirm that's good, I would go over the harness from the battery to the starter. It's separate from the engine and there is a ground point on the bar that the air box bolts to. This is the bar I'm referring to in this picture. I blasted and repainted it before I installed my new engine in one of my Nordic Green RX-8's:





It may be that you forgot one of the grounds for that harness. They are easily overlooked if it's your first time having the engine out. That's where I would start. I would also ensure your battery cables are clean and tight and ensure the security light is not blinking rapidly on the dash. It looks like a little key and is red in color.

 

^ Should have 'safety boards' under the logs.




JK bro.
Appreciate the humor, but be safe.

Did a lot of that in the '70s out of poverty, but I always slid tires or other stuff under the car in case it should fall, I'd have a chance of surviving.

As said, grounds & terminals.
Terminals stretch, be sure you can't move them after they're 'tight'.

I'm guessing you checked the fuses?

If you eliminate those, then think about the battery.

I assume you didn't just leave the battery on the ground?

If the battery is more than a few years old, replace it.
I've had batteries that tested "Good" but couldn't start my 8.
I've had to insist on them pro-rating a not very old battery that was still under warranty when they were saying it was still good.
I can tell now by how fast they turn over the engine, just fast enough not to start and flood it with fuel.

I've had more issues with flooding from weak batteries than anything else.
About 3 years is the most I ever got from a regular lead acid battery.
Jumping an old battery doesn't always work, it's like the old battery is 'absorbing' some of the power.

If you know someone with a boost pack, those work great, way better than jumper cables.
I love mine.

I got a cop car started at the convenience store recently when their jump wasn't working.
It was like turning the key & starting it instantly.




They're around $100, worth every penny.
Jump pack works great, air compressor, light, and USB port to charge your phone.
I bought the case for mine also.
Some of the best money I ever spent for peace of mind on the road, besides AAA.

Jumped my own off beaucoup times after leaving the key on or a dome light on.

I use the air compressor all the time to keep tires aired up on my autos and lawn equipment.
That was the main reason I bought it.

Good luck!

 

At least it not starting does point to a simple electrical fix vs the engine internals

 

asdf

 

Lol, don't worry, it has been on the ground for a little while now
I checked the clutch pedal switch recently, I even jumped it with a paper clip and yielded the same result.
I have looked over the harness a bit already, but I will go over the rounding points with a wire wheel to be sure.
The battery is good, cables are clean and properly tight, the security light is on in that photo because I have a second key that is not programed, I have been making sure to use the correct key every attempt. When I use the wrong key the security light does operate.

I did check fuses and relays, I used my NOCO jumper rated for 1250amps and I still could not get a click. The battery is not brand new but it will work for trouble shooting.

I will be toying with the car this weekend so I should get back with my results afterwards.

 

I think the clutch safety switch needs to be open, not jumped for the car to start? See if the plunger is in too far or something. A paper clip is the opposite of what you want.

Do you have anything extra connected on the CANBUS? OBD reader etc? Do you get any canbus errors?

 

I tried it both ways with the clutch switch, nothing different unfortunately.

Nothing extra is connected during attempts, my code reader is pretty cheap but it isn't showing any errors. I will be borrowing one soon that is a bit better and will see if that shows anything different.

At this point I think my next step after rechecking cables is going to be attempting a push start. That should help me isolate the issue to the starter circuit and rule out cpu, ignition and engine circuit. I should be able to try this out this weekend and I will definitely update with the results.

 

There's some DIY diagnostics if you didn't know.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-...utputs-155947/

 

Holy crap! That is a LOT of useful info, Thank you!!!

 

Remember, a ground eyelet with a bolt grounds through the threads of the bolt. Ensure the threads are clean on the bolt and the nut and also ensure the terminal or eyelet on the wiring in question is clean. No need to scrub paint off. Simply use the corresponding tap and chase the threads and use a new bolt or one that's not rusty and you should be good to go there.

 

PROGRESS UPDATE: I used a jumper cable as a big alligator clip from the starter housing to the negative terminal and IT CRANKED!!! I had my brother help me try to get it running, it has spark, HAD compression and had plenty of air. We gave it all the starting fluid and gas that we could and after 1.5 HRS of cranking and resting it almost started. I have had it completely unhooked so I assume it's resistance to starting was due to relearning the AFR Map.

Unfortunately, when it was about to start up properly it seemed to back fire bad and I may have totally lost compression in 1 rotor. I will play with the car more tomorrow and see if it gets any better, but trying to start it now results in rapid backfires. I am going to look into getting a new crank position sensor as that seems like the next step. Oddly I still don't have any CEL or DTC codes.

Will Update Soon!!! Thank you all so much for your help and quick responses!

P.S. There is a SOLID 40/40 chance that I will either sell this as is or try to perform a swap. The remaining 20% is an amalgamation of; rebuild again, keep pushing it till pieces fly off, or design a rotary that runs on diesel

 

Sounds flooded. You'll want to combine whatever you're doing with the deflood procedure. It might not be that low on compression.

 

New battery or jump pack.

 

Sounds like you made some progress! Hoping you didn't lost compression and you can still get it going. If you decide you want to sell it, shoot me a pm and we can discuss the car.

 

Did you plug in the trigger wire correctly in the fuse box? I believe it is the blue wire that plugs into the top of the fuse box that also has the AC trigger wires in it. Also is your immobilizer key light flashing rapidly?