Hello RX8Club

I'm had an issue and hopefully you guys can help me solve it. I have an automatic 2004 RX8. I've had it for a 1.5 years now and haven't had any previous problems.

The other day I was driving to College (about a 20 minute non-stop drive) in sub freezing weather (20 degrees F) with snow on the ground.

I park the car and go to class for about 2 hours and when I go back and start up the car, it doesn't start. I put the key into the ignition and go to turn it, I don't hear anything. There was some slight clicking in the fuze box but that is it. I though it may be a battery issue, but we couldn't jump start it.

After getting it towed to a mechanic it turns out it had a flooded engine. The spark plugs had to be replaced and the engine deflooded.

Why would the engine flood if it wasn't a cold stop? Is there a deeper issue than this? Thanks for any advice guys.

 

Get a battery.

 

The engine could have flooded when you tried to start it.

 

Looks like battery is below threshold to turn over the starter.
It likely isn't bad connection, because you drove it 2 hours before.
It probably isn't flooding because the starter doesn't even turn over.

 

I already had it towed and fixed. The guy said it was the spark plugs and it was flooded.

Here is my concern. I've been having a few electrical problems within the recent months. When it rains the blinkers will not work correctly and I'll have to remove the fuse until everything drys. Water is probably making it's way into that fuse box.

Could that be correlated with the start up problems I just had?

 

Didn't you say you didn't hear anything except for clicking in the fusebox when you tried to start the car? I'm sure you can hear fuel pump priming and injectors firing if there really was flooding.

The problem seems most likely electrical given light of the new information about the wet fuses you posted.

So did the starter finally turn over?

I think if there really was flooding, it is a result of the problem, not the cause.

 

Yeah that is what I'm worried about. Their wasn't any sound except for a very light click in the fuse box. The mechanic replaced some old spark plugs and deflooded the engine and it started up. I'm worried that it may rain and I'll be back at square one.

 

fuse box doesn't click, most likely the starter.....it'll be more accurate if you post a video.
Even with same problem, the description will be different from each individual....
If all the mechanic did was replace the plugs, then most likely just the plugs.
When's the last time you replace it?
Plugs can go out as early as 10k, average is about 30k, fyi.

 

There is no way a flood would manifest itself as no sound or cranking

You have an electrical problem...could be as easy as corroded battery terminals or loose connections

It is possible that a flood resulted from very low battery voltage...but no sound would not be a flood

 

That's what I was thinking. If it was just the plugs, OP would still have been able to hear the starter cranking while the plugs don't fire.

Also, OP, you tried to start the car in the cold. It's possible the mechanic started the car in warmer ambient temps. Battery provides less cranking current in colder temperatures. You might encounter the problem again when temps drop.

 

I've been driving around all day today without a problem so far. The car has like 50k miles on it and I bought it with approx ~48k miles on it. I don't know when the sparks plugs were last replaced so I hope that was the only problem.

When I turned the key there was no sound at all. The click was not the starter clicking, it's just the relay in the fusebox.

 

having a grounding/ electrical problem of some sort. no dinging or cargo lights when i open the doors, almost like i have no electronics anymore. but when turning the key all the way on, in the run position my gauges light up. but the car wont crank over. will still run if jump starts. can anybody know the cause or any info?

 

One of these two, or both:
A) Your battery is dead, nearly dead, or can't hold a charge
B) Your battery connections are corroded. They need to be removed, cleaned thoroughly, and reconnected securely. (always disconnect negative first, reconnect positive first)

The items you list don't take much power, so whatever power the battery has it can send, or the current is low enough for your weak connections. The current draw for the starter is more than either the battery can produce or the connections can handle.

 

okay, so what is the reason behind my doors not dinging when being opened but my gauges do?

 

The gauges are LED lights. They draw significantly less than door chimes and the mechanism that triggers that.

These symptoms are fairly common, nothing unusual.




Fine, I split them back out:
https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...arting-250392/