My customer has accepted the fact that if his '04 RX8 stalls, it won't restart for up to 20 minutes. This can't be right! It seems to crank fast enough. Surely there's a fix for this problem. Help!

 

Your customer's 04 RX8 Engine need an updated starter.

or the engine is simply bad.

more details about the car ? ask your customer.

 

more info about the car. mileage/mods/at or mt/original owner or or not/maintenance done/ location

does it stall often?how long has this been going on? has the started been tested?was the starter ever replaced? was the battery tested? was the battery ever replaced?

have you replicated the situation yourself- made the car stall and then not been able to get it to start for upwards of twenty minutes?

by customer i take it to mean you are his mechanic?

 

does it change whether the car is hot or cold when it stalls?

 

Get your compression checked. If your not familiar with rotary engines, this requires a special device that is not the same as a gauge for piston engines. You have to measure, the pressure at, each face of each rotor.
Mazda dealers have this of course. Some local enthusiast may have one also. Can anyone in S.E. Michigan help him?

 

Time for a new engine.

 

And\or a fuel pump maybe, depending on mileage?

 

If the fuel pump is overheating, a fresh fill of gas will temporarily correct that.

 

It's got 100k miles, stalls by driver error, will restart before engine warms up but after that... it won't restart til engine cools off (or allows for compression again.) I've been told it's just the way rotary's are. At 100k miles (driven by a little old lady) can this engine be worn out? I've rebuilt an rx4 engine years ago to fix excessive smoke and then it ran great til the car rusted away.

 

If it's been run by a "little old lady" it may need the sea foam treatment to remove carbon. There is a DIY on here on the procedure.

 

starter change and do the seafoam

 

Thanks for the education guys!!!

 

Advanced Search "Warm Start"

Known issue, usually caused by excess carbon and/or degraded apex seals (somewhat similar to piston rings in function). See related de-carbonizing TSB.

The starter was upgraded in mid-2005 build to help overcome this issue. (TSB no longer valid)

An ECU flash was also instituted to increase metered oil flow for better apex sealing. See MSP-16.

A good end-to-end ignition system (battery, coils, cables, 'plugs) helps alleviate as well.

 

You serious? This has been happening to me for months now. Only happens once car is warm, stalls only at idle, takes 10-20mins before it will turn over again.

Replacing coils today or tomorrow, I thought that was the accepted fix for this problem?

 

^ Yes, he's [potentially] serious. If too much compression is lost due to worn seals, etc, then you can get a new (reman'd) engine under the 8 yr/100k miles No. American engine core warranty.

Of course those who properly operate & maintain and use pre-mix have less chance of issues.

 

Even with no hot start issues? Headed down to my garage now to install my coils. Wish me luck.

 

^ Yes, even without a hot start issue, if you get a dealer compression test and your engine falls below spec's (there's a range of course) you get a new (reman'd) engine core if you're still within the North American 8 yr/100k warranty period. What's not to like!

 

U need new coils and plugs. And do a zoom zoom cleaning or seafoam cleaning see my diy thread

 

Thanks. I installed the new coils today and the car drives much better. The plugs are also new. I also put in a midpipe this week, just trying to cover all the bases.

BTW I took it to the dealer about 2 months ago and it passed the compression test with flying colors.



Oh and the last time I tried to do a proper seafoaming I could not disconnect the eccentric shaft position sensor (or whatnot). I just simply could not get the plug apart, tried for over an hour. Any tips?

 

Try harder, it comes apart.