2004 Rx8
124k on the odometer
new coils
new spark plugs

So i purchase an rx8 almost 2 months ago now.... I test drove it and ran fine. Took it to a friends house and sat for a good 15 mins then started it but this time it had a hard time starting like the battery was dead and had a fuel smell. Umm.. great!! Just bought it and Im getting **** from it already. Anyways... drove it home fine, parked the car and tried to start it the next day. It would not start! The b@#$ doesn't even sound like it wants to start at all. It cranks but it sounds like its missing fuel or spark. There is no fuel smell when trying to start it and yes I tried the de-flood procedure.

There is one thing that concerns me.... the circuit relay keeps ticking rapidly when i turn the ignition on ( not when I try to start it). I already switched the relays around and it does the same thing so it can't be the relay. It has to be a short somewhere?? or the starter has a loose connection or its just bad??

I know there is a chance that the motor is done (Great just blew 6k on a car that needs a new motor). I do not have access to the tools needed to do a proper compression test on a rotary engine and the shop wants $180 just to do the compression test if they come to me.

Anyways if anybody has any advice i would greatly appreciate it. Im a noobie when it comes to rotary engines.


thanks

 

There could be a lot of things going on...from something simple...to a low compression motor

Depending on your diagnostic skills it could be something you can find...or something that you will need help with

Like all things automotive...you need to confirm you have fuel and spark...and go looking from there. The Rotary is different than a piston engine...but it is still the same 4 stroke gasoline engine and all the same things apply

Rotaries are prone to flooding....so you might want to try the deflood procedure and go from there

 

try jump start it. probably just an old and tired battery.

 

Ok, so i have verified that the car does NOT have spark. I also believe it is not putting out any fuel, ( did not spit out any fuel out when I took out one of the spark plugs and crank it). And also did not smell like fuel at all.

I'm thinking the security system has become UN-programmed and not sending fuel or spark??

I know its not the battery because I charged the battery and on top of that I had jump starter cables hooked up to it from another car.

 

Try checking all your fuses. Then clean the ess.

Off the top of my head unplugging the ess will kill spark an fuel. If is not that then i would try checking the gas pedal. If the throttle position sensor is at wot when you crank the engine it cuts fuel and spark.(i think both).

If it went bad at wot then it might not work. It could be as simple as one of them coming unplugged.

 

Any updates?

 

Yeah all fuses are ok. I don't know what else it could be. I checked for grounds that might be loose but nothing.... Either way I just got fed up with it and had to take a hit and take it to Mazda in Huntington Beach. I'll let u guys know how many thousands they wants. ****sigh***

 

So the dealership has had my rx8 for the 2nd day now and they still don't know what is wrong. They did tell me the diagnostic fee would be $120 but then they called back and said it would be $220. DAYUUUM!!! Anyways I'll let you guys know what comes out of this.

 

Ok, so it was towed to the dealership and they couldn't even figure it out. They had it for 5 days. I really don't know what else to do any more... I worked on it my self all day today with another one of my friends and no luck. I'm literally having bad dreams about this Rx8 cause I can't get that Bi*** to start. I don't know who else to take it to. I thought Mazda would do the trick....

I **** you not... I'm going to have the biggest F**** party once i get that car started.


Im willing to pay someone $200 if they can get my car started. I live in the Santa Ana, Westmister, Stanton, Fountain Valley area.

 

Have you tried bump starting it? if for some reason the car has flooded and the deflood procedure hasn't worked normally a good push or tow start will get it running atleast. You then need to find out why its flooded, make sure you start and stop it correctly and maybe consider buying the later 2kw starter motor if not already fitted.

 

You also say it's had new plugs and coils? You'll have to forgive if this offends but everything is definitely in the correct position and the correct 6 or 7 heat range plugs at the bottom an the 9 heat range plugs in the top, with correct coil to correct plug?

 

I had a Jeep that did they same thing you are describing and it drove me nuts.

Start simple. Replace the battery connecters, $5-$10, and ensure that they are tight and clean and have good connections.

Since you said you confirmed no spark and also that it would not spit gas when plug out and engine cranked.

Next, I would start with new spark plug WIRES, NGK makes a set for like $25.

I would also purchase a fuel pump, about $75 and it is easy to replace, it is under a seat cushion in the passenger area.

Keep us posted.

 

Check the ESS clean it don't count on mazda doing anything I could be wrong but at 120k if it's never been cleaned it could be so dirty it's not getting a reading stoping fuel and spark. Cleaning the ESS is simple and will cost nothing but a little of your time. Having the plugs not in the correct order will no stop the spark but can stop it from starting.

 

I replaced the coils and spark plugs NGK RE7CL Trailing RE9BT Leading. The wires are not new but they look in good condition... They had been replaced before with NGKs. I tried bump starting it already... didn't work. I even had another car pulling it when 2 guys couldn't get enough speed to drop it in gear (on first and second gear). Not sure how effective it is in rotary engine push starting but i I tried it. Also when I replaced the plugs I replaced one by one to make sure I didn't get them confused. I also verified its not flooded because i took out once of the spark plugs and I cranked it to see if anything came out and nothing. At that same time I verified that there is NO SPARK and I don't think any fuel either. I already got a new battery and tried starting it but no luck.

 

The battery connectors are good and they have been cleaned.

The wires on there look in good condition and they are NGKs. Someone had replaced the wires before.

I can replace the fuel pump but how do you diagnose the fuel pump before I go on replacing something that could be good?? I can hear the fuel pump working when it cranks if that matters.

 

Yep, I cleaned the ESS on Saturday with no luck, it looked pretty clean also. The ESS is the sensor that is pointing to the crank right?? If so... yea i cleaned it.

 

This may sound stupid but by chance have you tried to do the '20 brake stomps' yet? Maybe the ECU needs a reset.

Turn your key to the 'ON' position
Do 20 brake presses in a quick manner
You will see your oil pressure gauge go to zero and back (that is how you know it has been reset)

 

Name it and i most likely tried it. Yes i have tried it and I'm not getting any response ..... it doesn't work.

 

Ok so after banging my head against the car multiple times begging the car to start and praying to the RX8 Gods to help me. I think now that my ECU is DEAD!!


Now I gotta tow this B*** again to the dealership an spend more money on towing, buying another ECU, and reprogramming. Ok now my rant is over... here is the question.


Can I buy any RX8 ECU to have Mazda reprogram it? If not what do i look for? Also the Dealership asked me to bring the old ECU to extract info from it.... but its dead. How are they going to do that?


Anyways I did search came up with the following (Below) but its not very specific and I don't want to have to end up buying more than one ECU because I got the wrong one.


************you have to either have it programmed by mazda to suit your particular car....or have the immobilizer bit turned off, so your car will start. I think there were also some changes thru the years, so the codes on the ecu should match as close as possible - they reflect model yrs or manufacturing changes I believe, as well as auto/manual models. ***********

*********You need to have the ECU rebuilt with "as built" data from Mazda....so the different CAN Bus units can talk to each other*******


So how do i choose the new ECU? Just by year and MT/AT ? Does it need to be a CA ECU?

 

I'm sure it just the way you've typed it but you got the '7's' in the lower or leading position and the '9's' in the top or trailing positions? But yeah about your ecu, that does make sense, I've never had one die but I often questioned they're reliability as mine always messes up the fuel mixture, not helping with starting issues!

 

Can't help you with your last question but maybe buy a second hand ecu of exactly the same year and model and get it programmed. Or just splash out on mazda supplying u the correct one.