Hi, i have just bought a mazda rx8 for the first time and have had nothing but problems. 2 days after buying it, it needed new coil packs and now a problem has occured which i need help with.

I had been driving the car over an hour when i pulled up to my house. As i did so, i stalled it. but as the car was WARM i didnt think it would matter if i started it again and drove it 10ft forward to my parking space (i have been told about not doing short journeys when the engine is cold due to flooding but since the engine is warm, didnt think it would matter)

Anyway, i went back out to the car 4 hours later, and the car wouldnt start. It sounded like the spark plugs were not firing at all and a smell of fuel was coming out of the exhaust. Thinking it may be flooded, i placed my foot on the accelerator and tried starting the car for over 30secs, left the car a min, and then tried to start it....it wouldnt start??? Even had the RAC out, and they couldnt find the problem. Does anyone know what it could mean???
It has brand new coil packs so that aint the problem.
If you can help, that will be great
Thank you

 

Definitely sounds flooded. Every case of flooding I have heard of in the past year+ has been due to weak ignition, not "cold". If you needed new coils 2 days after buying it, it might have needed plugs too.

What history of the plugs/coils do you know about the car, both of your current ownership and the prior owner? What miles/kms on it, what year, etc...

 

its had a full service history, but dont know the repairs its had done, as far as i know none. Its a 2004 231bhp rx8 with 50,000miles on the clock. its had 2 owners who have looked after the car.
I heard about weak ignition on the 2004 models aswell. i will check if the plugs have been changed tho.
Thanks

 

Check to see if the starter and battery were upgraded as well (prior TSB).

 

Weak ignition is a problem for all 8s, our plugs and coils last a max of ~35-40k before failing, a few lucky ones have gotten 50k, quite a few ignorant ones have gone 60k+. They commonly start failing around 30k though, with 15k and 20k frequently heard as well. My current coils are dying again, after 16k, though my first set lasted 35k before starting to fail.

And your plugs can out last your coils, but bad coils can really foul up the plugs, so generally they both fail at the same time. Either of them failing can be a weak spark and cause flooding, which generally can destroy the cat from all the excess fuel being dumped into it. The cat could fail without flooding as well, as a weak ignition generally isn't getting as complete a burn, so there is more fuel than normal going into it.

Hope this helps diagnose the problem for you.

 

thanks. so if i just check the starter, the battery and the sparks, i should be able to find my problem

 

While you're at it, check to see that your alternator is putting out ~14v under load (headlights on). Basically you're checking the electrical potential and conveyance all the way from battery/alternator to sparkplugs. All the ignition system components are integral to reliable starting.

 

ok guys, i got my car back today, which was a great suprise!!!!
The garage said that a fuse which was part of the ignition system had blown and that was what was causing the problem. they replaced it but it kept blowing. After almost stripping the system to find out why, they found the problem. apparently, a loose connection (something to do with the battery) and that was blowing the fuse. so now the engine is fine. phewww
thanks for the help tho guys, appreciate it :-)