Do i need a new ignition system?
 

so recently i have occasionally been getting longer starts sometimes and it usually happens when the engine is almost fully cold (the temp needle is right underneath the two bolded tick marks at C) and it's almost like the engine is halfway flooded or something

the problem doesn't disappear unless i redline it again

the starts are usually pretty brisk

that being said, i am the second owner of it and i do not have a compression test on it and i "think" the last time the plugs and coils and wires were changed were 50,000 miles

i was thinking about upgrading to a BHR pretty soon since im 500 shy of 75,000 but i am not even sure how to install it or the difficulty level of installing new plugs, wires, and coils by myself.

Installing is easy. Plugs, coils, and wires can be done with simple tools and an hour of labor if you don't know what you are doing. If you do, it's considerably faster. BHR ignition is just as easy for the same reasons.


Hard starting when cold that has trouble until it's "cleaned out" could be flooded with gas and/or oil and/or coolant. With gas, it's the traditional flooding issue that you are barely starting through, fix the battery, ignition, starter, and/or compression to solve. If it's oil then you probably have an oil control ring failure in the engine. If it's coolant, you have a coolant seal failure in the engine. Compression tests might not detect either of the latter 2.

Find an Old Dog, you know... that guy "back in the day".

He will show all, as he has been working on cars for years.

Best off learning from an Old Dog.

That way new coils and plugs will be installed correctly.

In fact if you buy hem beer, he might even show you how to change your oil.

Remember there are two different spark plugs on the 8.

it probably needs plugs at a minimum. maybe coils and wires.

the ignition is very easy to change. the plugs are the hardest part, you need a really long extension and you get them from the drivers wheel well

The BHR ignition kit is a great investment, definitely worth the $500. It cleared up my 'hard starting' and made the car seem a bit more responsive. Changing the coils is straightforward and should take a couple of hours at most. The hardest part for me was the car's wiring harness location which runs right next to the coil pack. To remove the plugs, make sure you have a "wobbley" extension for your ratchet as it is not a straight shot to one of the plugs.

That's a long ride! My sig pic is from the Dragon's Tail in NC. I rode up from Florida. My knee's were uncomfortable being stuck in the same position for 1000 miles but that was my only complaint. Be safe and keep the rubber side down!

any ideas as to why this only happens when the needle barely drops below C?

like i said earlier, there are absolutely no issues starting hot or fully cold

Classic problem after shutting the engine off before it's fully warm. Mostly, it's fixed with an upgraded starter and the MSP-16 reflash. Search.

well it's not shutting off the engine before it's warm.

its where i shut off the engine while its fully warm (needle right under the middle tick mark between C and H) and then waiting about an hour to an hour and a half (depending on the temperature that day) until the the oil/coolant cools until the temperature needle points right under the first tick mark of C and then starting issues without fail

^ Which works out to essentially the same effect: a start when it's barely warm. The dealer records will show if your car has had MSP-16 done. I'm betting not. It's intended to fix (or reduce) this problem and to increase the oil injection rates. It's free, or should be.

MSP16 is a recall, so it's free.

there were couple newer version flash AFTER MSP16. so if u go in now, u will get the newest one.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the possibility of this being a starter related issue.

How old is the starter in your car?

BC.

It's probably due to incadecent light bulb in your tail lights.

You should try some LED's to free up cranking power.

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...-lamps-240920/


Mu ha ha............