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Hello all, I own an 04 rx8 that hasn't run now for almost a year. I have to move in a couple weeks and don't have a place to park a vehicle that isn't running.
The day it quit it had been running earlier in the day, but I went to get in it later that evening and when I started I noticed that I had a coolant light on so I instinctively turned off the engine really quick. (Which I know you aren't supposed to do and was kicking myself as soon as I realized what I did) so I filled up my coolant reservoir and tried to start it. It turns over but won't start. I've replaced the spark plugs and fuel pump (which I had thought was going out) and still nothing. My only other thought is maybe my fuel Injectors are clogged? Any ideas?
Have you tried deflooding it? Year-old gas might not be helping. Deflooding takes longer than you would think, but it does eventually work if it's flooded.
What condition were the old plugs you took out? Any signs of coolant or damage?
definitely just flooded you are gonna probably have to tow it around for a bit or find a hill that you can jump start if its manual. it can be done without moving but requires clean spark plugs and lots of patience with a battery maintainer or jump vehicle and doing the process the right way (holding gas pedal down and cranking process) with the ESS disconnected
well in any case if its been flooded and had that much gas and carbon on the plugs they need replaced or a heavy cleaning .. those dont look amazing if they were wet at all thats fuel. Clean em up with a little wire brush real good since you got em out i guess.
there are definitely lots of procedures and DIY its best to search on googly "deflood rx8" then click rx8club results or add "site:www.rx8club.com"
i usually disconnect the front sensor beside the main pulley the ESS , remove the two bottom plugs, hold gas pedal to the floor, and crank for 15 seconds then wait 30 seconds do that 5x after that reconnect ESS and plugs and try starting without touching gas pedal
if you got black junk floating in the tank thats not good lol. maybe something ate the siphon hose? sure it was not something supposed to be in there like the hose or someone dropped a ring seal in? im gonna have to replace my siphon setup soon its making a noise ill take a pic of inside mine
I didn't notice any hoses that had deteriorated, and it's blessedly free of critters. When I syphoned the old gas out I carefully wiped out the inside of the tank. I didn't see anymore in there.
I've looked at multiple videos I was just wondering if there was one preferred over the others.
Could a new battery handle the deflood process? Or would I still need another helper?
It may take 6-10 repetitions, so while a new battery should be able to handle it, you definitely want to have a way to recharge it if it starts getting low.
The procedure (by memory) is gas pedal to the floor, crank 3 times for 5 seconds, with 10 -15 seconds between cranks to cool down the starter motor. If flood is severe (because you've attempted to start it many times), do 3 sets of 3 with a minute between them. On last attempt, start cranking with gas pedal to the floor but release slowly as you crank and if it starts to catch modulate the throttle to help it.
It may take a number of attempts, you may notice it starting to catch but not quite getting there, this is a sign you're going in the right direction.
i am pretty confident you will have to pull start it . is it manual?
doesnt matter how long the plugs were out unless a small bird got in there LOL
really the stock starters are weak on the early models so combine that with no jumper and even a new battery isnt gonna have enough life with one charge.. if you had a new r3 starter and fresh battery and fresh plugs maybe
the trick is the gas pedal like we are half mentioning... it cuts fuel delivery on demand fully pressed and when you let up it re-engages the fuel pump.
IF you are gonna pull start or go down a hill with a manual make sure the ignition is turned on and you are in SECOND gear not first
awesome! it is a great idea now to either clean plugs again or get new ones. maybe some octane booster if its old gas , and dont rev past 4k max until it clears out and breaks itself back in with oil not gas.
if it were me i would probably drive it a few days then seafoam it THEN get new plugs
if the fuel pump is whistling consistently while its running and the seat and metal cover are off thats normal but shouldnt hear anything once its all covered
The plugs that are in it now are brand spanking new, I'm not trying to second guess you here. But is another set of plugs going to be necessary? $😬
I may have gone a little over 4k .. when it was warm and done smoking and whatnot
Your plugs are fine. Now that it's running time to figure out why it flooded in the first place. It shouldn't happen to a healthy car. Are the ignition coils fresh? (<25k)
Is the starter fast enough? The older ones degrade and lose speed over time. Easy enough to fix with a more recent 2kW starter.
Coils make or break the life of this car, dont wait for them to noticeably fail, replace preemptively.
She runs, but seems to be overheating? my gauges are reading normal.. but it gets so hot even just idling to operating temperature that I could practically roast marshmallows over the engine compartment.
The "leak" I thought I saw yesterday is apparently gone. And the damned pump (I think) is still making too much noise.
Wouldn't the flooding be from turning off right after turning it on?
The fuel pump is making too much noise. It's like a high pitch whine/ whistling. I can hear it through the cover and the seat
I just replaced mine a couple months ago (I have a 2005 with 100,000 Km's)
Exactly what mine sounded like, and the longer the car was operating the louder it would get.
I'm fortunate enough to have a fuel pressure gauge and it was quite obvious to see the pressure drop as the Engine Load and RPM's went up.
She runs, but seems to be overheating? my gauges are reading normal.. but it gets so hot even just idling to operating temperature that I could practically roast marshmallows over the engine compartment.
The "leak" I thought I saw yesterday is apparently gone. And the damned pump (I think) is still making too much noise.
Get an OBD reader to read the temperature. Is the water leak possible air conditioner condensation?
I'm thinking it's very likely a c condensation. I haven't noticed my coolant reservoir draining at all and I don't know where any other water would be coming from.
The baro sensor can really mess with things, but it could just be loose/damaged wire. The misfire could be result of the deflooding, see they come back if you clear them?
