desmo996

I feel like an idiot. I should have read the flooding issues in the Tech Section. Took out the car out of the Garage, wash and Zainoed it, and drove it back into the garage. Remember to let the Engine warm up for 5 min . I had to drive the bike to work. I'll try to start it when I get home. If it doesn't start, I'll have to call the road side assistance number.

Tresch

I wonder if this problem is increased with the whole air/fuel mixture thing that canzoomer is trying to resolve. If the engine is running rich in the first place, would that increase its chance to flood?

miata2rx8

I dont think letting is sit will help- I waited a week and it didnt. Call RoadSide and they will probably tow it to the dealer. Hopefully they wont want to replace your engine, too!

RobDickinson

You done the 'usual' thing for clearing a flooded 8?

Turn the engine over with throttle on max (cuts fuel) for 5-6 seconds a few times, then try normaly?

desmo996

They actually replaced the Engine? That sucks. Did you get your car back yet? Are there any special instructions from Mazda now that they analyzed your engine? Let us know.

desmo996

I wasn't sure what to do this morning. Never flooded a car before. I'll give it a try when I get home tonight.

RobDickinson

If that doesnt work, someones had luck with removing the fuel pump fuse and cranking for a while.

HeTz

I flooded mine and had it towed to the dealer. They cleaned the spark plugs and it was fine.

desmo996

Rob;
You're the MAN! Went home during my lunch break and tried it. It took 5 or 6 times, but finally got it started . There was a huge cloud of black smoke, but the exhaust cleared within a minute. Do the spark plugs need to be changed after this incident? Any thoughts? Performance has not diminished, but I'm totally paranoid now and keep hearing things (Gremlins ).

LesPaul

I've pulled out of the garage to wash the car without running it for 5 minutes with no troubles, several times. Perhaps I will be more careful about this in the future.

Lensman

These engines are REALLY sensitive to this problem aren't they?! I'd read the 'advice' in the manual but I'd not realised quite how critical that advice is. To the average non-rotary-head owner this must be a big deal and quite a nuisance as it generally doesn't happen so easily with boingers.

RX22

Interestingly I had a 2nd gen and a 3rd gen. I was never aware of this problem until I started coming to this forum a few months ago. I never had this occur with my other 2 rotaries and I'm sure I must have done this a few times. Is the 8 more sensitive than the others have been in the past?

miata2rx8

It must be due to the last minute ECU changes the US got- we havent heard of these issues in Japan. So maybe there won't be this problem for the European market.

787B

In my experiance, if this EVER happens, the easiest way is to get a tow and "bump start" the vehicle, using a 2nd or 3rd gear start. U only need a tow at about 20mph to do this, and the Rx will raoar into life. Happens with many cars, although tends to be more likely on older vehicles. Its NEVER a good idea to move a car without allowing temps to "normalise" as most wear occurs during warmup, and there is enourmous amounts of moisture and nasties generated during warmup. That said, its not always convenient to wait for things to warm up....

Racer X-8

Interesting!

I didn't know that cranking it @ max throttle cuts fuel. Boy, these new cars nowadays, huh?

Racer X-8

Gee, sounds like a good way to grenade the chamber in the compression stroke.

rxtreme

iTrader: (1)

You know, I've found the RX-8 hard starts sometimes when it's partially warmed up. Takes 7-10 turn overs. I always thought it was the ECU not compensating the right AF ratio for the engine in that temperature range. But hey, what do I know?

khoney

I had this problem frequently in my 2nd gen TII - for years I did the old 'pull the fuse under the hood' maneuver. What a pain. Take it out. Get in and crank for a while. Put it in. Try to turn it over. No luck. Repeat.

Finally had my mechanic install a fuel cut switch under the dash. Then spent the next couple years wishing I'd done it sooner!

My car also had a leaky injector, which was the primary source of the problem. But I didn't want to fix it because pulling the injectors required enough disassembly that I figured one of my brittle wiring harnesses od connectors would break.

I'm not missin' my 7 a whole lot right now...

Racer X-8

Did you use the fuel cutoff switch before shutting it off when you think it might flood if you don't?

RX-GR8

interesting. mine has started on the first try every time no matter what the engine temp.

khoney

All the time. Well, almost. I forgot once after I pulled the cold car into the garage after washing it. Total loss of compression - had to use the ATF trick to get it going again (what a relief).

As a matter of practice, though, I used the fuel cut switch to kill the engine, thereby depressurizing the fuel system. When I started it, I would crank the engine, then flip the switch on to give it fuel. Worked great!

As an aside, when I started having the flooding problem, I took the car to a Mazda dealership, and they said I had low compression on a warm start, and needed a new engine!

I later took it to an independent rotary mechanic, and he properly diagnosed the leaky injector. That was back in '95, and I still have the same engine. Beware of dealership mechanics...

tribal azn2

how the hell do u guys manage to flood your engines.

Racer X-8

khoney has a leaky injector in his rx-7. That will flood your enigne & also dilute your oil with that dribbling gas after shutoff. (Piston engines anyway. Rotaries too?)

I haven't had any problems yet myself.

miata2rx8

interesting that your dealer wanted to replace your old 7 engine when bringing it in for flooding. Same thing with me- flooded the engine, and the engineers who came to see it said it had low compression and wanted to replace the engine.2.5 weeks later, I might get my car back tomorrow...

makes me wonder if there really was a problem all along.

turbojeff

Sounds like most guys on here don't have much rotary history.

2nd gens, primarily the 86-88 cars are prone to flooding. In 89 Mazda changed the design so that when you floored the throttle it cut off the fuel.

3rd gens aren't as prone to flooding but they still do and when they flood they seem harder to get started in my experience. What do I know, I've only had 15 of them.

So it seems the RX8 floods too. No biggie, start it by flooring it OR tow starting (which is much more of a PIA). It also seems to help on the earlier cars to SLIGHTLY crack the throttle when cranking. Don't rev it up when it starts, just crank the throttle when it cranks, when it fires lift...

Racer X-8... Dude learn a little, tow starting the car won't hurt the motor, "grenade the chamber" LOL...