2004 Rx-8 Starting Problems
 

First, back history on my 8: 2004 stock, got it 1.5 years ago with approx 44k mi on it. To the best of my knowledge, she was taken care of by previous owner; however, don't know if spark plugs or battery were ever replaced.

After not driving my 8 for a period of 3-5 days (very cold weather recently, stored outside), I went to go start it the other day. It started right up, but then immediately idled very rough, and died. After trying a few more times, it wouldn't start/sounded weak.

Thinking that it was a weak battery coupled with the cold, I went and got a new battery, thinking this would do the trick. Nope. Better cranks, but no fire.

Thinking the spark plugs were the weak link, replaced all 4 with brand new ones. Still not firing. However, the old plugs I pulled out were reeking of fuel and very wet.

Thinking it was flooded pretty bad by now, looked up the de-flooding DIY procedure on here (very good btw) and pulled the fuel pump fuse/etc. This got me some progress. Tinkering enough with this procedure got the car to start again, but it immediately idle rough and cut off after about 1 second again (back to square one).

Anyone every heard of this? Any thoughts? Something electrical maybe?

EDIT: note: in the past, I have not had any issues with starting in cold weather

You might want to check your igniters. If you have money to burn just replace them. But if I were you, I would check them with a ohm meter.

She is still flooded. you can bump start it.

i assume "bump start" means roll it down a hill/tow it till ~20mph & pop the clutch?

If you mean rolling start and pop the clutch then yes. But that is not going to solve anything.

bump

got fed up and had AAA tow it to the dealer, told them to diagnose the problem and run compression tests on it, under the TSB "Engine Cranks No Start" umbrella. sure enough, one of the rotors has very poor compression. thus, getting a brand new engine for free bc it's still under warranty. they're also replacing clutch (57k mi on it) for free labor (but i pay parts). overall, i think this is a pretty great deal.

what is the typical clutch replacement interval? (assuming no hard driving, mix of highway and city driving)

Don't know about a replacement interval for the clutch, but I can tell you that mine still works just fine and I have 125k miles on my '04.

I also have the hard start problem occasionally when it has been sitting for more than two days and is very cold outside. Only rarely has it resulted in completely flooding. The de-flodding procedure has worked for me, but I have also found that the plugs need to be cleaned/replaced after it happens too. After a bad stutter on hard starts, I wait until it has fully warmed up and then drive the wee out of it for the rest of the tank to make sure any sludge is burned up and blown out. It's worked so far for me at 125k miles.

bump

it's me again, 1 year later, and having engine problems AGAIN, even with the new engine mazda gave me 1 year ago. basically here is what has happened:

car had been running pretty well for the past year, then the other day, started running REALLY rough just driving down the street at ~20mph, CEL going nuts, i pull over. code reader puts out engine misfire code. i hop on here and read up, looks like i need to replace my coils/wires/plugs. the plugs were replaced a year ago w/ the new engine, so i figure its not them. i order new coils and wires and install them, not too hard. then i go to start it up........won't even turn over (engine cranks no start).

so, i have it towed to a nearby firestone and tell them to diagnose it for $90. they tell me that the engine has low compression, has tons of carbon buildup, and the plugs are gunked up with the carbon.

i already talked to the dealer (who replaced the engine a year ago) about this and had it towed there last night. i'm going there tomorrow night with maintenance records to prove i know what im doing, and i'm going to demand they replace the engine, AGAIN. this is ridiculous. i dont drive the car hard, always let it warm up for 5 min+ in cold weather months, chance/add oil appropriately, use premium gas, etc. i see no reason that over the course of ONE year for the engine to accumulate carbon like that and have low compression.

luckily, i am still covered under the 8 year/100k warranty. thoughts? anyone think i WONT be able to get another engine for free? even with another motor, i'm fed up with this car and will be selling it when spring rolls around.

sounds like you lost a leading coil or two. this resulted in the carbon fouling of the plugs and flooded the engine.

the low compression that firestone found may only be a result of the flood. when its flooded you lose the oil film on the seals which screws up the compression.

what should happen is that it get deflooded and decarbed. that should get the compression up.

you will probably lose the cat next thanks to the flooding.


that could be the reason for some of the carbon build up. you need to run it hard sometimes to keep it clean inside.

just left the dealer, talked to the tech (nice guy, straight-shooter) who worked on the car. he said pretty much exactly what you said. what LIKELY happened is that one (or more) of the coils slowly went bad, which slowly fouled up whatever plug it was connected to, and then repeated attempts to start in cold weather only led to flooding, which led to more fouling of the plug. 3 out of 4 plugs were firing, he took out the bad one, it looked pretty bad but not terrible. solution: bargained with the guy, and he replaced the bad plug and did a deflood, now the car starts. def cheaper than replacing all 4 plugs, although i may have to do that at some point. :/

how can you fix gas flooding?

Press the gas peddle to the floor and crank for a few seconds. It sounds counter intuitive, but when cranking, this actually cuts off the fuel supply allowing the engine to pump the excess fuel out of a flooded engine. After cranking for about 10 seconds or so, stop. Release the gass peddle and wait about 10 seconds. Then, attempt to start normally. It works... most of the time. More cranking with the gas peddle fully depressed may be required for badly flooded engines. Just don't crank for more than about 10 seconds at a time. Thats the official Mazda proceedure.

Now for the unofficial one. https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ood+proceedure

I have the starting problem but when the car warm up.

Quick question
 

Hey guys whats up? proud owner of an 05' 6speed gt RX-8 here with a quick question, my car when its been driving for like 20-45 minutes or however long until its properly warmed up ( temp needle directly in the middle of hot and cold) and i say drive 45 minutes to the grocery store and turn my car off, and if i come to turn it back on or even try to turn it on like 10 min later it wont start but once the temp needles move a little bit towards cold it will start back up has anyone herd of thes problem before? i have not read about this problem anywahere if anyone has any answers at all pleas email me me at Sansone009@gmail.com thank you ver much everyone

Just a guess, but it may be your coils. RX8 coild are known for short lives and cutting out when hot. A coil going bad might work ok when it's cold and then shut down once it's hot. Your trip to the store is heating up the engine and the coild a little, but sitting in that parking lot while you shop is soaking the coild in heat with no air flow. So, when you go to start it back up after 10 or 20 minutes, the bad coil is too hot to work. It would also explain why it works again once it cools down enough.

Thanks Musclecar your talking about the ignition coils correct?

Correct. They sit on the top driver side of the front rotor housing just under the rubber air hose that goes to the throttle body. Take that house off and you have direct access to the ignition coils.

Hello everyone, not sure if anyone has has this start up problem,

I've had this car (190PS) since it was on 47k and now its on 56k, for about a year and a half. I drive it on weekends mostly. It starts up great, quick as recently changed my spark plugs, thought it might fix the issue, but no change.

PROBLEM 1:I drive for a while and then start the car up again, it does not start. I have to wait for a few minutes! Like, for the engine to cool down or something???

For example, yesterday, I told to the petrol station, 10minutes away, filler her up and then tried to start her up. After 2 attempts, I waited for a few minutes and a que started to build up at the petrol station! after a few minutes, she started and drove normally.

I was told this could be a symptom of engine wear? Rotors are starting to wear?!
I have been having this problem for a while now. PLEASE HELP!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

PROBLEM 2: I've just changed my spark plugs and I noticed on one of the that it has a bit of oil on it, just very minimal amount. Was told that I am loosing compression. Not sure if it was petrol either? What do you guys think? How do I fix this and is this a major issue?

Having Starting Issues? START HERE

hello
I have overhaule my engine but it's giving problem. i have to use ATF oil to give start so what is the issue of it?

Read the thread I posted above yours.

I have 2004 rx-8. I don't have trouble starting my car if it sits for like 20mins or more
But if I get gas, turn off my car and go to start it again it won't start.
Unless it sits for a bit.
Any one have this problem with theirs?
Or anyone know what might be wrong?

Google search:
site:rx8club.com hot start

I don't have any starting issue but when i rev the over 5000 the rpm don't go smooth to the redline as before..

It sounds like this is the wrong thread for your problem then. Try one that is more relevant?