Hi Roxy, I created a thread for you to see if we can get someone local to help you out.
If you want to go there and restate your issues, it might help.
Good luck!

https://www.rx8club.com/gulf-rx-8-fo...4/#post4888769

 

Over the summer, my son bought an RX-8. It has had the motor replaced and the transmission. The motor has 49k miles on it I advised him to not buy it...but him being 21...he knows more than me.

So, here we sit....car not starting at all. At first, it was not starting when it was hot..had to wait 15 minutes before it would start up again. Now, it will not start at all.

No lights or anything....it was completely dead. I need to mention how he recently had a new battery installed this past July. Nonetheless, we tried to jump it with my car....which did give it enough power for the lights to illuminate...as well as it is trying to start. It is turning over...smoke comes out of the tail pipes....but will not start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

A few things could have happened:

- ignition failure
- fuel pump failure
- engine failure

The problems starting hot are kind of a clue toward that last one but if you want to be certain, get a compression test. Suppose it needs a new engine, are you ready to invest in that?

What kind of maintenance or modifications did your son make during his ownership? Do you know if the ignition coils were replaced in the last 30000 miles? Anything from the previous owner?

 

He only has bought the new battery....no other modifications. The previous owner told him he had replaced the motor 48k miles ago...and transmission. It appears there were recalls on this model for sealing rings located in the fuel pump.. Would something like that cause this issue?
I don't know if the other owner changed the coils or not....But we have not done anything else to it.
Also, is there a way I can test the ignition coil?

 

exact same boat mate 2004 MT beautiful car to drive looks great but once you stop him thats the end of it till stone cold

 

You can buy an inexpensive HEI tester to check the coils.
Looks like a spark plug.

 

I had the same problem that you had with my 04 series 1 rx8. First thing to do is DONT BELIEVE ANYONE WHEN THEY SAY YOU HAVE A BAD ENGINE. One thing that is unique to this car is all the morons who say you have a bad engine when really you dont. This car is notorious for creating symptoms that seem like a bad engine, but really it's not. I used to have a 1.4Kw starter in mine, and it was doing this. Not being able to start when warm. I found that if you dont rev the car up when shutting it off(just shut it off from idle) helps a little bit, but wont solve it. After I replaced my starter with a 2.0Kw from bosch, never had the warm start problem again. Dont believe any of the people who say you have a bad engine(ESPECIALLY THE IDIOTS AT MAZDA) because 9 times out of 10, your engine isnt bad and there is a different problem with the car

 

Just thought I'd chime in with another datapoint as an "old timer". I've had my 2004 AT w/88k for 17 years now. Up until 2017 it was a daily driver (got a 981 Cayman S as the new daily driver, awesome car). I have been dealing with the "hard start while hot" for probably 12 years now. Yes, seriously. The initial problem was solved because of bad batteries, but it has resurfaced and it's not the battery this time...

Yes, it's obnoxious. I used to go to the dealership, and they were useless. Got a compression test, but it didn't specify the RPMs while the test was taken, so they're kinda useless. They replaced the starter, they did all the flashes. Then they shut down and left town. I've been through 4 batteries. Multiple spark plug changes. 2 coil pack changes.

Anyways, just recently I replaced all the wires, upgraded coils to BHR, got a new battery, and put in new plugs ($700, battery alone is $200!). Still won't start hot. Well, it will, but I have to crank the **** out of it for 20-30 seconds as the RPMS slowly climb from 500-1000, and then it will catch. Starts up instantly while cold. So I have "gas station anxiety" because that's the only time this problem really occurs.

I'd love to sell this car, but can't in good conscious in its current state. Hell, my old post in the Sell forum is probably still up from 2018. I'll just keep driving it until it won't start ever again, then sell the MazdaSpeed bumper by itself. :-)

 

It's 99.99% bad compression imo.
Parasitic draws on 8s are battery killers if you don't drive regularly or use a battery tender.

Any weakness in a battery will manifest itself with bad compression.

I got $1500 on my '04 GT MT on a trade in with hot start issues.
What color is your bumper?

 

Lets stop with the replies that the car has a big problem, that is not the case I have the same problem and my car runs great.
I am trouble shooting my issue and I am starting with the gas pump relay or the computer system, there is a cooling tube that is coming off of the radiator fan to cool the CPU.
There is a known problem with GMC CPUs when the car heat up, its shut off the fule pump, so lets check to see if the car is getting gas when the car wont start.

I will update this posting this weekend 8/10/2024 when I take my fule line off to test it, this could be a cold solder joint on the CPU board or a bad fule relay.

Thank you.

 

If you have the same problem, you want to start with a compression test. No sense testing all the things that are not the problem when you can test the most likely problem. This isn't like an urban legend, hard hot starts are very common first symptom of compression loss.