So I jump in my rx8 today to go for a spin and she doesn't fire up and sounds awful. I think what the hell and try to start her again....then realise the car is much more closer to the garage than where I left it. Found out my wife had moved the car without telling me and switched it off totally cold!!!

I was fuming !!!!!

Anyway after 2hours of trying I finally got her started after connecting jump leads to another car and pulling out the fuel and circuit relay....and the fuel pump fuse. After about 40 or so try's I got her going......what a day!!! Nightmare even oh and loads and loads of smoke lol

 

Flooding doesn't happen if your engine is in good health .
You need 3 things
good compression
good starting speed (battery,terminals, starter)
Good ignition (plugs, leads, coils)

To a large extent poor compression can be offset by a faster starter motor.

Lastly - next time you flood it that badly . Either push or tow start it - will save you a boat load of pissing about.

 

... and your starter will thank you for sparing it from the torture.

 

Thanks for the heads up guys....yes was a lot of messing about.... I am buying a upgraded starter next week. The thing that annoyed me was the fact I have had the car a year and alway take great care. And one moment of madness from the wife..

 

I think the point may have been lost. Your wife's actions simply made you aware that your ignition system is not healthy. Coils, wires and plugs in good condition will eliminate this issue.

 

Agree with Kevinande in that your wife did you a favor by making this happen IN YOUR DRIVEWAY .

 

++ on what Kevin said.

After a tune up, I can start mine, stop it, start mine, stop it and repeat until I get bored and the garage reeks of unburned fuel. Thank her for helping you find the problem, and tell her you need plugs, coils, wires and an access port to get the car fixed.

 

No matter if she caused trouble or not... As long as she think she did - i'd use the chance to put KY aside for a few days.

 

I told my wife that when i found out that the rotary engine rx8 floods when turned off early when cold or not in its normal operating temperature, and she told me "what kind of car is this???" I was trying to explain to her, but she said "whatever", then my wife told me that she is not going to drive this car until you fix the problem...lol

 

Clever!! That tip should be in the new owner's sticky.

Ken

 

monchie has a wife???!?!?!?!?

 

It should...lol



Yes, married since 1994 (19 yrs), with 2 kids...son is 18 and daughter is 17...

 

My first flood was from a friend, I informed him to leave it running when after pulling it into the driveway, but he stalled it while pulling up. Sure enough it jus wouldn't fire. So I pulled the fuel pump fuse, hooked up the jumper box and cranked away. With me, I cranked for about 30 seconds until I got a massive backfire, hinting that I got that fuel out and burned up in the exhaust (im running a mid pipe right meow)
I then put the fuse back in and she fired on the first crank.
As my plugs, wires, and battery were all relatively new from a spring time tuneup, I decided to invest in the upgraded starter even tho my original starter was cranking decent. In fact it turned over faster than most rx8s I've seen on YouTube.

I have to say tho, contradicting to other opinions, I feel that the ignition system isn't entirely to blame... The mere design of the rotary simply makes it more prone to flooding, as its more difficult to expel unburned from the engine to make the proper mixture on the intake. Yes, your more likely to get it out with a faster starter and more reliable spark... But take into account that other engine designs can start run even with half of its plugs firing.
My point is, a flood doesn't mean for certain that either the ignition system, fuel delivery, or compression are in need of attention. At the same time, each one can if out of spec, can result in flooding.

My opinion.
Beat me up guys...

 

I've only flooded my 8 once during the 8.5 years I've owned it. That was about 3 or 4 years ago. In my case, the primary cause was a weak battery. I had noticed that the engine was cranking over a little slower than normal. On the morning of the flooding the engine cranked real slow and never started. It just gave off a few wimpy hits and that was it. I tried jumping the battery with the fuel pump fuse removed, but no go. Not wanting to destroy the starter motor, I limited cranking to about 30 to 60 every half hour or so. When I was finally sure that the combustion chambers were clear I reinstalled the fuse and voila, it lit off. From there, I went straight to my dealer and bought a brand new battery. And that reminds me; the new battery is larger than the original, which I think is a good thing when it comes to the much-needed cranking power to help avoid flooding.

 

I thankfully haven't had this problem come up for me in the 3 years of owning mine. Fingers crossed!!!

 

short cranks can also cause a flooding condition, presented by shutting the car off cold.

does not mean the ignition is unhealthy or compression is going to put you on the side of the road next week.

 

I agree with everyone that says go change your plugs/wires/coils.

Where I work I used to get **** all the time about these cars flooding. I challenged them to flood my car. They couldn't do it. Maintenance wins every time.

 

+1
Same here, I had one flood shortly after buying mine.
Bat cat, plug, & coil.
Midpipe, all 4 new plugs, coils, & wires= no more flooding.
Don't even think about moving it cold, or short tríps anymore.