Now the car won’t start. Originally related to the p2070 code. 🤷‍♂️

 

I'm sorry, I have read everything you're going through, and it seems like a real pain. I've got similar issues, but no codes to guide me. I have a slow battery drain and I disconnect my battery every day. I think I'm not giving the code a chance to come up.

Anyway, everything I have researched points to a weak battery. I *kind of* confirmed this when all of my starting issues disappeared when I used a booster pack. Funds are low right now, so the new battery will need to wait, but I will say this: Do NOT buy a cheap battery. Get one with at least a 600-CCA rating (not 550, 600 or better). The CHEAPEST ACCEPTABLE battery would be the Walmart GOLD - Group size 35 - for $140.00 with a 640-CCA rating.

Until you get a new battery in there, you will be chasing your tail. Especially with that 'low reserve' condition you talked about. That, and double-check your ground connections and all of the connections to the ECU. Make sure everything is nice and clean, and making a good connection.

 

Thank you I appreciate it! I hope you figure your car issue out too. I will discuss with my mechanic. So frustrating.

 

Yep. Another thing I have learned is that these cars are not really designed for a 'budget' mechanic. I learned this because I AM a 'budget' mechanic.

I've tried just about every way to cut corners with mine. Every single time I do, I end up spending more and re-doing everything correctly. For instance - assuming the bearings in the stationary gears are 'good enough'. That led to the failure pictured below. One of many. The GOOD news is, parts for these are comparable in price to parts from every other car. So, as long as you have good mechanical ability and good habits, you SHOULD be able to get one going.

And once you get it going, maintenance is 'fairly' simple - just get to 8500 RPM once a day, and keep up with you oil levels. I went with the SOHN adapter and a separate oil supply. IMO this is best, because you can use whatever oil is best for the car without having to consider how clean the oil from the injectors will burn.

 

The only thing we were able to come up with is the ssv switch that was purchased was not oem.

 

So far so good the engine light seems to not be showing. I hope I am not jinxing myself. Still a meh start and it idles around 1500 rpms during a cold start warm up but no p2070 code. I speculate the warmer weather is helping any parts and electronics versus winter.

 

I was actually really suprised with those walmart everstarts. I tuned my buddies FC which was half put together. Over the course of a few hours we probably cranked that over 30x and the battery kept going.

 

You sure it was the bearing that caused it? Id be more prone to think a loss in oil pressure all together caused the bearing to disappear. Lots of people reuse bearings unless they are down to copper.

 

So far so good. The code hasn’t shown up in a little bit since the solenoid ssv vacuum part was replaced. Maybe it required some driving miles on it to clear the engine light.

 

Does anyone have any experience with CEL code, "P0103 Mass or Volume Air Flow A Circuit High"?

I've gotten it before but it went away, then I got the code after replacing the barometric pressure sensor which is what I believed was causing my previous rough idle and stalling issue. Aside from this CEL and the rpm hesitation at around 4k-4.5k, the car runs perfectly. I just recently installed a coil kit from Bennett Built, new plugs, new wires.

I've checked for vacuum leaks and intake leaks, plan on doing the ESS reset tomorrow, although I'm unsure if these things could be related.

Any other suggestions, or anything else I should try?

Thanks in advance.

 

A high voltage reading would mean the ECU thinks a lot more air is going in or is fooled by the baro to think the atmospheric pressure is different. You could check with an obd2 what the maf voltage is and check the baro pressure I think. I'd bet one of those is off and will definitely tell you which component has an issue. The maf should read a flow of 5.5g/sec at 1.21Volts at stock 800rpm idle.

Then it is a matter of water intrusion, wiring issues, connector corrosion, or a bad sensor.

 

Thank you for the info I appreciate it. I used the scanner, it measures in lb/min so I had to do some math.

At operating temperature idle it sits at .6 or .7lb/min which comes out to around 315g, divide that by 60 and we have just about 5.25g/sec.

I went ahead and drove the car while still viewing the data stream, at WOT in second gear it gets all the way up to 32.5lbs/min which comes out to about 245g/sec

The idle is exactly where you said it should be, although when under load it shoots way up, really fast. Are those numbers accurate for that driving? Or have we located the culprit? I did a brief look over the wiring on that circuit and nothing looks wrong, the only thing is in the MAF sensor connector there looks to be the tiniest little bit of corrosion on one prong. I feel like that connector would be a good thing to replace first given they are pretty inexpensive. What do you think?

 

Im not sure on the WoT reading, I don't have my old logs to check. Cheapest thing is to go and check the wiring or connectors with a meter.

Is this issue why you changed the baro? did the obd2 give a baro reading or voltage?

 

I'm trying to find information on torque specs for the Series 2. Does anyone know the torque specs for the 10AN fittings on the oil cooler lines? And the banjo fittings going into the oil cooler?

I also just want confirmation for the
Sparkplugs are 12-15ft/lbs.

 

Hey guys when it comes to the p2259 code, can that be caused by a bad vacuum pump?

 

This car doesn't have a vacuum pump. But yes it's probably caused by a failure of the secondary air pump or wiring to it.

 

Thanks for the reply! We are trying the air pump solenoid replacement.

 

Fixed! It was the air pump solenoid. No more engine lights so far. Is there a spray specifically I can add to the headlights to clean them? This is so annoying. I wish there was a chemial could spray on then just go to the car wash and the headlights remove the bake without detailing. The carwash wants $70 to detail them. I am like gtfo! I have a kit but it’s still a pain to do. Does such a spray exist? I used to pay $5-10 a headlight at the car wash. I might just add the toothpaste to the headlights then drive over there to have them wash it off and then I turtle wax ‘em.

 

Apparently bug repellent can do this but it's temporary. A headlight polishing kit and an hour of your time should do the job though? 70 doesn't sound bad either.

 

Hey Loki thanks for the reply. I’m the past it took the carwash 5 mins. Thanks I’ll have to clean them. Do you know if Mazda made any headlights from other modern Mazda vehicles that can be swapped into the Mazda Rx-8?

 

Why do so many rx8 owners pay $10k get a reman engine put in and then sell the car shortly after for $8k or less?

 

Is it that many? People get attached to these cars, but they're 20 years old. Even with a new engine people might outgrow them. Maybe they bought the car with a dead engine to begin with, and are disappointed when they get it running. Who knows, people are irrational. Rotary sports car people are especially irrational.

 

No. But there are a ton of partouts and headlights for sale on ebay. Surely you could just replace them or put $50 into proper treatment?

 

I'm shopping for an rx8 right now. A lot of the ads say "0 miles on new engine" or "1k miles on new engine".

Some of them are buying rolling bodies and putting a new engine in or rebuilding them themselves and selling for fun and profit, which I can understand. I'd be interested in doing that myself if I had more garage space.

But I recently looked at one in person that was way overpriced (more than double its worth) because the owner was focused on the amount of money he spent to put a new one in, rather than the actual market value. And the car was in rough shape with other issues too.

 

I don't know what to tell you, people make mistakes and try to recoup their losses. People who are happy with their car aren't putting it up for sale, so you only see the mistakes.