Gjorgji

Hi,

I left my RX-8's trunk opened for 2 days and the small light in it drained my battery.

I called AAA to jumpstart my car, but did not have success. They tried using their external battery and cables, but when I tried starting the car, all I got was a click. Tried many several times, but no luck

When jumpstarting, the was dashboard lights were on, and headlights and the hazards were working fine. No other components (i.e. cabin lights, radio) were working.

Any ideas of what could be wrong with my dear RX-8?

Thanks.

EDZRIDE

iTrader: (1)

Maybe their battery was low.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Hello, from past experience on my cars (not my 8), if your battery was already weak, it likely will not jumpstart.
Might want to remove battery and have it checked.

kevinande

Sounds like your battery is toast, time for a new one. Take it to Auto Zone and have them test it.

ken-x8

How long did the AAA guy try before giving up? Did he ever hook you up to his truck? If a battery is run all the way down, an external jump battery won't cut it. You need to be connected to a rescue vehicle, engine running, for at least a few minutes to get some charge in the dead battery.

Ken

Gjorgji

Yes, he did. He hooked my car to his truck. Waited for ~5 minutes, but all I got was what I described above.

Unless someone knows what could be wrong, I will take the car to the Mazda dealership later on today.

New Yorker

Some batteries are so far gone, they can't take a jump start. I believe you simply need a new battery. (The Bosch sold at Pep Boys was ranked #1 by Consumer Reports.)

Gjorgji

I got the battery checked, and apparently it was bad. So, I got it replaced with a new one (thank you insurance ).

HOWEVER, I still have the same problem as above - single click when I try to start the engine. No electricity except dashboard, horn, headlights and emergency lights.

I also wanted to add that when I turn the headlights on, I hear a beeping noise from the engine. It fades away if I keep them on for 15+ seconds.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Sorry bro, I know very little about electrical troubleshooting .
Hopefully someone will be able to help you out.
Good luck!
If it was running before you jumped it, I would guess that may have shorted something out.
Recently,* FungsterRacing*had an electrical problem and had a lot of posts about it.
I don't remember the thread title, but if you search for it, their might be something in there that could help you.

FungsterRacing

iTrader: (4)

Sounds like something similar to what I was experiencing. You say just the dashboard, horn, headlights and emergency lights work? How about the LCD screen on top of the deck?

I believe you have the main 120amp fuse gone. When this fuse is gone, you will experience no ability to start, as well as no interior lights, etc; but you will have headlights, parking lights, horns, and headlight control. The clicking you are hearing when you try to start is most likely the relay for the starter! Unfortunately if that main fuse is gone, your keyless unit and immobilizer are not getting powered, therefore the car will not allow the starter to do its job.

Here is where this fuse is located:



It is fuse #1. It is actually on the side of the fuse box. Please see this picture:



See the black cable there on the top left of the block? There are two nuts there to remove, then two more to get the fuse off. Like I said, it is on the side of the fuse block, so it faces sideways. Unfortunately you cannot see it with this picture (You may have to unclip the fuse block and lift it up to get at it).

You would be talking about this thread:

https://www.rx8club.com/trouble-shoo...er-car-244441/

Mazurfer

Yep, that would be my guess and furthermore, I'll bet the AAA guy hooked up the jumper battery backwards for a brief instance. This will pop that 120 main everytime. I'm not recommending you do this, but you could short across the fuse with a decent size piece of wire(like 14awg or better). I did this when helping someone out that had popped the fuse until she got one from the dealer about a day later.

Gjorgji

Thanks for the suggestion!

I took out the 120A fuse and it's circuit was broken.

I have ordered a new one from here:

Will that one be sufficient?

Mazurfer

Sure looks like it will be fine.

Gjorgji

Ok.. the suggestion above was a step forward. The power is completely back. Thanks for the help!

However, the car will not start. When I try to turn on the engine, there is a click and that's it. In addition, the radio light (i.e. orange dashboard where the clock is) turns completely off. When I stop trying to start the engine (i.e. disengage), the radio light turns on again.

Any ideas what could this be related to?

Gjorgji

I've just realized something in addition to above. When I turn the ignition switch on, the Security Indicator Light keep on flashing continuouslty. Also, the KEY warning light is lit up red. Is it possible this to be related to the security system?

Gjorgji

ISSUE FIXED! I went through all fuses and I found 2 that were broken: #32 (Engine) and #11 (Driver side). I guess #32 was causing the starting issue.

I will run a diagnostic test and post the error codes here (if any).