Rx8 won't start
09-17-2015, 09:16 AM
#1
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Rx8 won't start
Hi I have an rx8 2004 2.6.
It started off giving me trouble by cranking over but it would not fire for about 10 seconds. But pretty much got it started every time. However the other day I was driving and switched the engine off, went to start it back up and nothing! I've read about the Mazda being known to flood and so I took the spark plugs out, cleaned them and tried turning over but nothing. I've tried all the possible flooding procedures and still nothing. I called out road side recovery and they tried but again no luck (to be fair the guy was rather old and burnt out my battery from cranking it so much, so don't trust him) any other ideas what it it could be?? Trying to avoid taking it to a garage as with the rx8 it gets very pricey
It started off giving me trouble by cranking over but it would not fire for about 10 seconds. But pretty much got it started every time. However the other day I was driving and switched the engine off, went to start it back up and nothing! I've read about the Mazda being known to flood and so I took the spark plugs out, cleaned them and tried turning over but nothing. I've tried all the possible flooding procedures and still nothing. I called out road side recovery and they tried but again no luck (to be fair the guy was rather old and burnt out my battery from cranking it so much, so don't trust him) any other ideas what it it could be?? Trying to avoid taking it to a garage as with the rx8 it gets very pricey
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cindy (01-19-2024)
09-17-2015, 09:54 AM
#2
1% evil, 99% hot gas.
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https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tro...t-here-222584/
Where did you get a 2.6 liter RX-8? Four rotor? Awesome!
Likely your engine has low compression and you have the original, slow starter. Upgrading that will likely be the short-term solution.
Also, add your location to your profile in case an RX-8 fan is nearby who can help you.
.
Where did you get a 2.6 liter RX-8? Four rotor? Awesome!
Likely your engine has low compression and you have the original, slow starter. Upgrading that will likely be the short-term solution.
Also, add your location to your profile in case an RX-8 fan is nearby who can help you.
.
Last edited by wankelbolt; 09-17-2015 at 09:58 AM.
09-17-2015, 12:48 PM
#3
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Thread Starter
Sorry was meant to put 1.6 even tho it's registered as a 2.6? And yeah I was thinking it had the old starter And not the upgraded 1. I've tried everything so far an no luck. Close to selling it!
09-17-2015, 12:52 PM
#4
If you turned it off while it was fully warmed up, it's not flooding.
Fuel pumps have been known to fail, but if you say it has steadily gotten worse (only when warm or during cold starts also?), a rotary engine compression test may be in order (a regular compression test will not be useful). Should cost about $150, sometimes less, sometimes more.
Other items that could contribute issue:
- old ignition coils (more than 25,000 miles)
- old spark plugs (and wires while we're at it)
- old starter as mentioned above
The RX-8 doesn't really cost any more to repair than any other car, the problem is most mechanics aren't familiar with them and come up with wrong diagnoses which waste time and money. You need Mazda.
Fuel pumps have been known to fail, but if you say it has steadily gotten worse (only when warm or during cold starts also?), a rotary engine compression test may be in order (a regular compression test will not be useful). Should cost about $150, sometimes less, sometimes more.
Other items that could contribute issue:
- old ignition coils (more than 25,000 miles)
- old spark plugs (and wires while we're at it)
- old starter as mentioned above
The RX-8 doesn't really cost any more to repair than any other car, the problem is most mechanics aren't familiar with them and come up with wrong diagnoses which waste time and money. You need Mazda.
09-17-2015, 12:58 PM
#5
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Thread Starter
Yeah think I'm just gonna have to take it to a garage. But the local Mazda garage is a rip off. They charged £150 just for spark plug change. And wanted £370 just to deflood it.
09-17-2015, 01:01 PM
#6
Have you read this thread? https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tro...t-here-222584/
Also read the stickies in the new members forum to give you a nice basic understanding of the rx8
Also read the stickies in the new members forum to give you a nice basic understanding of the rx8
09-17-2015, 01:01 PM
#7
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09-17-2015, 02:14 PM
#8
1% evil, 99% hot gas.
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If it won't start, wait until the coolant temperature gets below 160 and it will probably start. Continuing to crank it when it won't start just does more damage to the engine. An OBD-II reader is handy for reading the actual coolant temp. The gauge on the dash is useless.
09-26-2015, 01:53 PM
#10
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I am trying to figure out the same problem on a '04 I just bought... I was told it wouldnt start by the starter so I put in a new '06 starter. Cranks good, but wont light off.... push it and it starts within 2 feet. Runs fine... Stumped... Anyone ?????
09-26-2015, 03:38 PM
#11
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Yeah I thought it might be my starter cuz the old one cranks over too slow leading to flooding the engine but not put a new one in yet. Still sat outside broken 
06-28-2016, 03:12 AM
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Help please
Sorry for hijacking, but can't make my own thread!
The other day my mate had to move my car and didn't let it warm up by the time he turned it off so the next day when I went to drive it, it wouldn't start. Not only that, but the engine wouldn't even crank, only made this really fast clicking sound. I thought it had been flooded so I hooked up another car to Jumpstart and tried to deflood the engine by doing the "hold the gas down and crank for 5-10 seconds and wait for the same amount of time and then do it again for another 10 times" I did this and the car would crank fine (although after five seconds of this it would start clicking/not cranking again) and then when I then attempted to start the car after this method it sounded like it was going to start but didn't. I gave up and came back the next day and tried turning it on, it wouldn't crank again only clicking (which made me think that it would only crank when the battery was connected to another cars via jumper cables) so I went and brought a new battery. I put the new battery in and went to try start the car again, good news is it's actually cranking, but will still not start.
The engine light is on (but not flashing) and the battery light is also on. It's a 2004 Mazda Rx8 automatic. Can anyone help?
The other day my mate had to move my car and didn't let it warm up by the time he turned it off so the next day when I went to drive it, it wouldn't start. Not only that, but the engine wouldn't even crank, only made this really fast clicking sound. I thought it had been flooded so I hooked up another car to Jumpstart and tried to deflood the engine by doing the "hold the gas down and crank for 5-10 seconds and wait for the same amount of time and then do it again for another 10 times" I did this and the car would crank fine (although after five seconds of this it would start clicking/not cranking again) and then when I then attempted to start the car after this method it sounded like it was going to start but didn't. I gave up and came back the next day and tried turning it on, it wouldn't crank again only clicking (which made me think that it would only crank when the battery was connected to another cars via jumper cables) so I went and brought a new battery. I put the new battery in and went to try start the car again, good news is it's actually cranking, but will still not start.
The engine light is on (but not flashing) and the battery light is also on. It's a 2004 Mazda Rx8 automatic. Can anyone help?
06-28-2016, 12:01 PM
#13
Clicking is your battery being low. Charge it and if it doesn't hold a charge, have it tested for replacement.
It's possible you have something draining your battery while parked, like a light left on or a parasitic current in some circuit. To find out (if you get that far), disconnect the negative battery cable, then put a multimeter in DC Amperage mode between the battery negative and the car's negative cable. If the current is more than 0.01 amp, start pulling fuses and retesting until you find which fuse makes it drop under 0.01. Depending on what circuit that fuse is responsible for, you'll have to make decisions on how to fix.
But start by charging the battery fully
It's possible you have something draining your battery while parked, like a light left on or a parasitic current in some circuit. To find out (if you get that far), disconnect the negative battery cable, then put a multimeter in DC Amperage mode between the battery negative and the car's negative cable. If the current is more than 0.01 amp, start pulling fuses and retesting until you find which fuse makes it drop under 0.01. Depending on what circuit that fuse is responsible for, you'll have to make decisions on how to fix.
But start by charging the battery fully
Last edited by Loki; 06-28-2016 at 12:23 PM.
06-28-2016, 04:46 PM
#14
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Clicking is your battery being low. Charge it and if it doesn't hold a charge, have it tested for replacement.
It's possible you have something draining your battery while parked, like a light left on or a parasitic current in some circuit. To find out (if you get that far), disconnect the negative battery cable, then put a multimeter in DC Amperage mode between the battery negative and the car's negative cable. If the current is more than 0.01 amp, start pulling fuses and retesting until you find which fuse makes it drop under 0.01. Depending on what circuit that fuse is responsible for, you'll have to make decisions on how to fix.
But start by charging the battery fully
It's possible you have something draining your battery while parked, like a light left on or a parasitic current in some circuit. To find out (if you get that far), disconnect the negative battery cable, then put a multimeter in DC Amperage mode between the battery negative and the car's negative cable. If the current is more than 0.01 amp, start pulling fuses and retesting until you find which fuse makes it drop under 0.01. Depending on what circuit that fuse is responsible for, you'll have to make decisions on how to fix.
But start by charging the battery fully
06-28-2016, 05:03 PM
#15
It could be flooded from the starting attempts before. Hold the gas pedal all the way down and crank for about 5 seconds. Wait 10 seconds and repeat. Wait 10 seconds and try to start normally.
If a few cycles of that doesn't help, put your battery on a charger and pull out the spark plugs. Depending on when they were last changed, it may be a good idea to change them now, but see if they're covered in gas and clean/dry them thoroughly before putting back in and trying to start normally. For more info, search here for "deflooding procedure".
You may still want to test for a parasitic current like described in my earlier post. Your battery died for a reason.
If a few cycles of that doesn't help, put your battery on a charger and pull out the spark plugs. Depending on when they were last changed, it may be a good idea to change them now, but see if they're covered in gas and clean/dry them thoroughly before putting back in and trying to start normally. For more info, search here for "deflooding procedure".
You may still want to test for a parasitic current like described in my earlier post. Your battery died for a reason.
06-28-2016, 06:50 PM
#16
Remove the fuel pump fuse, crank the car over for around 30 seconds minimum to burn off any excess fuel... just keep cranking with the clutch depressed for at least 30 seconds.... and when I say crank I mean keep the ignition turned on constantly....
You'll need another person to do this bit now... Whilst still cranking the engine, plug the fuel pump fuse back in, apply 1/3 throttle and continue to crank the engine with the clutch depressed for 30 seconds. just repeat this until the car starts to fire up. When the car begins to catch, don’t let go of the key until you’re sure it will stay running. It can take many attempts to get it started. If this doesn't work clean sparks off as stated earlier, but you shouldn't have to really.
If this doesn't work, it's nowt to do with flooded engine as this is the standard process for doing this.
You'll need another person to do this bit now... Whilst still cranking the engine, plug the fuel pump fuse back in, apply 1/3 throttle and continue to crank the engine with the clutch depressed for 30 seconds. just repeat this until the car starts to fire up. When the car begins to catch, don’t let go of the key until you’re sure it will stay running. It can take many attempts to get it started. If this doesn't work clean sparks off as stated earlier, but you shouldn't have to really.
If this doesn't work, it's nowt to do with flooded engine as this is the standard process for doing this.
Last edited by Pugheaven; 06-29-2016 at 05:26 AM.
06-29-2016, 02:52 AM
#17
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It could be flooded from the starting attempts before. Hold the gas pedal all the way down and crank for about 5 seconds. Wait 10 seconds and repeat. Wait 10 seconds and try to start normally.
If a few cycles of that doesn't help, put your battery on a charger and pull out the spark plugs. Depending on when they were last changed, it may be a good idea to change them now, but see if they're covered in gas and clean/dry them thoroughly before putting back in and trying to start normally. For more info, search here for "deflooding procedure".
You may still want to test for a parasitic current like described in my earlier post. Your battery died for a reason.
If a few cycles of that doesn't help, put your battery on a charger and pull out the spark plugs. Depending on when they were last changed, it may be a good idea to change them now, but see if they're covered in gas and clean/dry them thoroughly before putting back in and trying to start normally. For more info, search here for "deflooding procedure".
You may still want to test for a parasitic current like described in my earlier post. Your battery died for a reason.
06-29-2016, 03:09 PM
#19
You gonna eat that?
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My '04 had 18k on it when I bought it in '12, and I had to replace the battery shortly after I got it.
I just replaced the replacement a couple of months ago.
It wasn't quite dead, but it was weak enough to cause only my second flood.
I've read posts that say arming the security system drains considerable juice.
Idk for sure.
06-30-2016, 07:05 AM
#20
40th anniversary Edition
Yes, if not driven often enough to keep charge on the battery, the alarm system over time can drain the battery as well as leaving the trunk lid ajar or door ajar (light left on).
06-30-2016, 10:04 PM
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So I checked after I got a new battery and it seems that there is nothing wrong with the fuses and it must've been the original batteries old age that killed it. I've since installed a brand new battery and tried starting it again and it's now cranking fine, but still won't start. I also tried deflooding it but nothing. I have a 2004 Rx8 and it used to take a couple of cranks originally before it would start anyway, could this mean that maybe my starter motor just isnt strong enough? (it's most likely the original from 2004) or do you think it could perhaps be the spark plugs?
10-31-2017, 05:01 PM
#25
OK, so, I got her started. The problem was a combinations of things. The engine was SUPER flooded I took the spark plugs out and attempted to start for 15mins then the engine start right up but wouldnt start on without stepping on the accelerator. So, I automatically knew that it had to be something to do with airflow. So, I disconnected the muffler and now she purrs like a big *** kitten. lmfao, thanks for everyones help btw. Will continue to be active on the forum to help others.
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