Battery, starter or ?? (Hard starts)
01-22-2013, 08:52 AM
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Carolina Girl
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Battery, starter or ?? (Hard starts)
Hi Everyone, I just joined the RX8 club ! great info on this site for sure! I have a current issue with my 2004 RX8 -- it hesitated to start the other day, but did fire. Had the battery checked and they said the battery was good, it just needed to be charged & so we did that. After charging the battery in full, the car still hesitates to start and this morning, while the car is trying to turn over, the engine sounded like it was whining.....it did fire but Im thinking it could be something else, like the starter or alternator...... well my engine light did come on this morning, so I will go and get it checked out to see what the engine light is reading.....anyone have any suggestions, or been in a simular situation? thanks in advance ! 
01-22-2013, 09:05 AM
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- Starters in 2004s were originally too weak, there was a TSB to upgrade them. You are out of the warranty coverage for that, but if you still have the weak starter, or your upgraded one has faded, this could entirely be your problem.
- Ignition is pretty critical, and fails fast on our cars, and you didn't mention it at all. How old are your plugs, wires, and coils? If more than 30,000 miles, you need to replace them all. It will cause a TON of problems, including a harder time starting (plus misfires, power loss, mileage drop, cat damage, rough idle, etc...). Also can be caused by a corroding of the engine block electrical grounding points.
- If you have lost a coolant seal, you could be leaking coolant into the combustion area when the car is off, and it can cause significant problems to starting in the morning. Only solution for this is engine rebuild/replacement
- If there is poor or corroded battery connections, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
- If your alternator is failing, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
Those are the most common reasons. Low compression is not typically a source of hard starts unless it starts better when cold than it does when hot. If they start about equally well (or equally bad) or hot starts are better, low compression is not really a viable problem.
Also, you are going to get some people yelling at you that you should have searched. I would recommend using Google with site:rx8club.com hard to start
You may also wish to read the new owner's thread in my sig.
And moving this to troubleshooting.
- Ignition is pretty critical, and fails fast on our cars, and you didn't mention it at all. How old are your plugs, wires, and coils? If more than 30,000 miles, you need to replace them all. It will cause a TON of problems, including a harder time starting (plus misfires, power loss, mileage drop, cat damage, rough idle, etc...). Also can be caused by a corroding of the engine block electrical grounding points.
- If you have lost a coolant seal, you could be leaking coolant into the combustion area when the car is off, and it can cause significant problems to starting in the morning. Only solution for this is engine rebuild/replacement
- If there is poor or corroded battery connections, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
- If your alternator is failing, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
Those are the most common reasons. Low compression is not typically a source of hard starts unless it starts better when cold than it does when hot. If they start about equally well (or equally bad) or hot starts are better, low compression is not really a viable problem.
Also, you are going to get some people yelling at you that you should have searched. I would recommend using Google with site:rx8club.com hard to start
You may also wish to read the new owner's thread in my sig.
And moving this to troubleshooting.
Last edited by RIWWP; 01-22-2013 at 09:12 AM.
01-22-2013, 09:37 AM
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Carolina Girl
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Thanks!
Thanks for your replies -- sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, Im new to the club & trying to figure all out on the site -- but thanks for your advice, I bought this car used and Im still trying to learn about it !!
01-22-2013, 10:01 AM
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I did not know you did that already -- so I went ahead and moved it -- certainly dont need to be yelled at !
Last edited by S Jakab; 01-22-2013 at 03:49 PM.
01-22-2013, 10:18 AM
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I'm thinking the starter also........since the engine light came on this morning when I started it, I will go and have it checked ; since I bought the car used, to be honest I do not know when the ignition comp. were changed ? sounds like a hefty cost, is that usually the case? just preparing myself.....
01-22-2013, 10:26 AM
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My response in the other duplicate thread: (https://www.rx8club.com/trouble-shoo...starts-242220/)
As far as cost, you can buy all 4 coils, all 4 plugs, and all 4 wires for a total of about $180-$220 from auto parts stores. The cheapest I have seen was $182 from Advance Auto Parts online with immediate discounts and free shipping.
If you have an independent shop buy the parts, it will cost you roughly $100 more.
If you buy the parts from a dealer, it will cost you ~$150-$200 for the plugs, ~$300-400 for the coils, and ~$100 for the wires.
If you install them yourself (which is easy) then it won't cost you anything else
If you have another local owner help you out, it will probably cost you a pizza and a drink or two.
If you have a normal independant shop do the labor, it will probably cost you another $150-$300 in labor, depending on what their rates are, how competent they are, and where they get their labor time quotes.
If you have a dealer do the labor, it will cost you $300-$500 in labor.
So very literally, replacing your ignition can be as cheap as $182, and as expensive as ~$1,000, depending on how much money you don't mind spending.
Also, a starter failure will not light up the check engine light. The check engine light could be just about anything that could impact emissions, but at a guess I'd bet that it's a misfire code, probably from failing ignition. There are other options too, but until you get the code read it's really all just guesses.
- Starters in 2004s were originally too weak, there was a TSB to upgrade them. You are out of the warranty coverage for that, but if you still have the weak starter, or your upgraded one has faded, this could entirely be your problem.
- Ignition is pretty critical, and fails fast on our cars, and you didn't mention it at all. How old are your plugs, wires, and coils? If more than 30,000 miles, you need to replace them all. It will cause a TON of problems, including a harder time starting (plus misfires, power loss, mileage drop, cat damage, rough idle, etc...). Also can be caused by a corroding of the engine block electrical grounding points.
- If you have lost a coolant seal, you could be leaking coolant into the combustion area when the car is off, and it can cause significant problems to starting in the morning. Only solution for this is engine rebuild/replacement
- If there is poor or corroded battery connections, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
- If your alternator is failing, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
Those are the most common reasons. Low compression is not typically a source of hard starts unless it starts better when cold than it does when hot. If they start about equally well (or equally bad) or hot starts are better, low compression is not really a viable problem.
Also, you are going to get some people yelling at you that you should have searched. I would recommend using Google with site:rx8club.com hard to start
You may also wish to read the new owner's thread in my sig.
And moving this to troubleshooting.
- Ignition is pretty critical, and fails fast on our cars, and you didn't mention it at all. How old are your plugs, wires, and coils? If more than 30,000 miles, you need to replace them all. It will cause a TON of problems, including a harder time starting (plus misfires, power loss, mileage drop, cat damage, rough idle, etc...). Also can be caused by a corroding of the engine block electrical grounding points.
- If you have lost a coolant seal, you could be leaking coolant into the combustion area when the car is off, and it can cause significant problems to starting in the morning. Only solution for this is engine rebuild/replacement
- If there is poor or corroded battery connections, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
- If your alternator is failing, then you might not be getting the battery charged sufficiently when you are driving it, rendering it weak on juice to start you up the next morning
Those are the most common reasons. Low compression is not typically a source of hard starts unless it starts better when cold than it does when hot. If they start about equally well (or equally bad) or hot starts are better, low compression is not really a viable problem.
Also, you are going to get some people yelling at you that you should have searched. I would recommend using Google with site:rx8club.com hard to start
You may also wish to read the new owner's thread in my sig.
And moving this to troubleshooting.
As far as cost, you can buy all 4 coils, all 4 plugs, and all 4 wires for a total of about $180-$220 from auto parts stores. The cheapest I have seen was $182 from Advance Auto Parts online with immediate discounts and free shipping.
If you have an independent shop buy the parts, it will cost you roughly $100 more.
If you buy the parts from a dealer, it will cost you ~$150-$200 for the plugs, ~$300-400 for the coils, and ~$100 for the wires.
If you install them yourself (which is easy) then it won't cost you anything else
If you have another local owner help you out, it will probably cost you a pizza and a drink or two.
If you have a normal independant shop do the labor, it will probably cost you another $150-$300 in labor, depending on what their rates are, how competent they are, and where they get their labor time quotes.
If you have a dealer do the labor, it will cost you $300-$500 in labor.
So very literally, replacing your ignition can be as cheap as $182, and as expensive as ~$1,000, depending on how much money you don't mind spending.
Also, a starter failure will not light up the check engine light. The check engine light could be just about anything that could impact emissions, but at a guess I'd bet that it's a misfire code, probably from failing ignition. There are other options too, but until you get the code read it's really all just guesses.
01-22-2013, 04:09 PM
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Sigh. Why are you hijacking the OP's thread?
Have you checked with Mazmart? Local dealers?
Most autoparts stores are probably going to have the old one, or just reman starters.
If you feel a need to respond to this, do it in another thread or in PM. It's quite rude to hijack someone else's thread when they are still actively seeking help (i.e., same day).
Have you checked with Mazmart? Local dealers?
Most autoparts stores are probably going to have the old one, or just reman starters.
If you feel a need to respond to this, do it in another thread or in PM. It's quite rude to hijack someone else's thread when they are still actively seeking help (i.e., same day).
01-22-2013, 06:41 PM
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Carolina Girl
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Greeting's Moderator,
Thought you may appreciate what I found out regarding my RX8 this evening....turns out its in fact the battery. Although I did have it tested on Friday by Auto Zone, and they told me the battery was fine....I decided to go to Advanced Auto and get a second opinion. The battery is in fact bad, and the test they did proved it. My battery read around 236 and its supposed to read over 600. Bought a new battery and now she purr's like a kitten.
My point is, please make sure you get a second opinion!! -- believe me it was much cheaper to buy a battery, which was needed since it was around 3 years old, than doing major part's replacement !
Thanks for all for your responses, everything helps!
Thought you may appreciate what I found out regarding my RX8 this evening....turns out its in fact the battery. Although I did have it tested on Friday by Auto Zone, and they told me the battery was fine....I decided to go to Advanced Auto and get a second opinion. The battery is in fact bad, and the test they did proved it. My battery read around 236 and its supposed to read over 600. Bought a new battery and now she purr's like a kitten.
My point is, please make sure you get a second opinion!! -- believe me it was much cheaper to buy a battery, which was needed since it was around 3 years old, than doing major part's replacement !
Thanks for all for your responses, everything helps!
01-22-2013, 06:53 PM
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2nd opinion and due diligence certainly makes a difference in the long run. It wouldn't be the first time someone has told an owner here something incorrect.
Glad you followed through and got it taken care of
Glad you followed through and got it taken care of
01-23-2013, 01:28 AM
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Sigh. Why are you hijacking the OP's thread?
Have you checked with Mazmart? Local dealers?
Most autoparts stores are probably going to have the old one, or just reman starters.
If you feel a need to respond to this, do it in another thread or in PM. It's quite rude to hijack someone else's thread when they are still actively seeking help (i.e., same day).
Have you checked with Mazmart? Local dealers?
Most autoparts stores are probably going to have the old one, or just reman starters.
If you feel a need to respond to this, do it in another thread or in PM. It's quite rude to hijack someone else's thread when they are still actively seeking help (i.e., same day).
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