Whitewater

I've trekked the forums here for a while now and can say you guys have been very helpful in locating and understanding problems to my 8 and I appreciate that.

Anyway,

I took my 2005 Rx8 to get the dealer "ECU Upgrade" under the recall of 04-08 Rx8's under 100k miles. So I did that but the dealer was not able to complete the upgrade due to the fact my car had been misfiring according to the dealer.

My 2005 rx8, being marked as "Branded" or "Salvaged" from when I purchased it from the previous owner, is not under any sort of engine warranty so I would have to pay out of pocket but are doing the ECU upgrade free of charge. They had given me a list of the following to stop the misfiring so that they could complete the upgrade...

4 Ignition Coils
2 Spark Plugs
Set of High extension cords

They wanted over 800 dollars for it so I decided to bring it to a family friend who's seen my car and been among the family for over 20 years to perform the service in the interest of my wallet.

Now, being without a car for a week as my RX8 is my everyday means of transportation, the mechanic still cannot get the damn thing to start. I've looked and looked on the forums for similar problems and cannot see anything that might be related to my personal problem with the car. The car apparently turns but does not start.

You guys have any idea what the problem could be? I'm just hopeless at this point and if the car is not done and over with by Saturday, I might just have it towed to Mazda so they can just do whatever the hell it is to get my car back on the road.

Thanks a million in advanced guys.

Emery_

iTrader: (8)

Not enough info to help you out... The car was running before with severe misfires? Now they can't get it to even start after the tune up?

Sounds like the shop you left it at doesn't know what they're doing. I don't understand how the mechanic working on the car can't diagnose the problem.

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Whitewater

Yes. It was working with the misfiring when I left it there and now it cannot start. And now after the tune up with the coils, plugs and cables won't even turn over when trying to start.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

They likely Flooded it. T would try and pull start it if it is a mT

04RX8man

I agree. Probably flooded or plug wires are not routed correctly. And I'm assuming you changed all 4 plugs not just 2?

Shaneace1818

I have the same exact problem you describe. 05 rx8. stalling. only 26,000 miles on my car. The dealer says it is misfiring. I have two options. 1. new coils $500.00 which may or many not fix the problem. or 2. engine diagnostic with is 500.00 dollars also. What was the result with your car. I have the same problem, you describe. Shaneacesnyder@aol.com

danoid

I just recently started having some startup/misfire problems.
Ive got a 2004 RX8 and just a couple months ago it was real hard to start in the morning, not a cold morning but a little cooler. It kept cranking but had a hard time catching. The oil pressure took a while to come up and I thought the batter was about to die before it finally started. Once it started it smoked like mad so i assumed it was flooded although i hadnt seen it flood from sitting overnight before.
A couple weeks go by and its working fine but then it does it again! A real hard start in the morning. This time i killed the battery before getting it started. I put some jumper cables on it and hooked it up to another car and it started immediately. No problem starting it at all when hooked to a good strong batter. Again it smoked like crazy but then drove fine all day.
Now its once or twice a week it will happen. One day it will be real hard to start and then the next few days its fine. And it happens at random times, not just the mornings. Like some mornings will be fine. Ill start it up, get to work, then after work have a hard time starting it to get home. Its strange to me that it will run very well most days and then some days have a very hard time starting.
Ive been following these forums pretty closely trying to fix and replace things here and there. Ive de-carbed the thing real good. Ive changed the spark plugs, wires, and ignition coils. I put in the upgraded starter motor. I changed the MAF sensor. Im trying to replace the cheaper things before moving onto big stuff but i guess im just hoping someone can shed some light on this before i just go out replacing stuff.
Some things ive heard could be a problem are a clogged CAT. A bad O2 sensor. Maybe just bad compression. Dirty upper intake manifold.
Its a 2004 model with like 110,000 miles on it BTW.

Anyways, if anyone has seen this before and maybe knows where to look then that would be awesome!

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Did you get a new battery?
Get the OBD scanned?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Are you losing coolant at all?
Does the smoke smell sweet when it does this?

danoid

I have not yet bought a new battery. I've put a volt meter on it and it seeeeeems fine but I was kind of thinking I might get a stronger one anyways .

I have put a code reader on it and there are two codes that come up. Now, both of these codes have come up in the past and they have come and gone and come and gone. One is "P2259 secondary air injection control B circuit low." And the other code is "P0410 secondary air injection system."

On the mornings that it does start real hard and misfire then I do get a misfire code .I can't remember it exactly but it says something like "misfire in cylinder 1" or something.

danoid

As best as I can tell it smells like gas. It's definitely a white color which seems like coolant to me but as far as I can see I'm not losing any coolant and it kinda just smells like 2 stroke exhaust. I do put premix in the gas.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

I had flooding issues with weak batteries that tested good.
Misfires will cause floods pretty quick combined with a weak battery.
Double check your ignition components, check your coils.
Are they stock from a reputable source?
Check your connections, be sure they're snapped on good and tight and your cables aren't pinched and arcing.
You probably should drop your cat and check it to be safe.
Seems like you would be getting a P0420 if it was clogged, but better safe than sorry.
Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.

danoid

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thanks! Battery is next on the list! I'll just go all out and get a strong optima battery I think.