silver bullet 53

Back to the subject, sounds like it could in fact be a flood, however I installed remote starters for over 8 years and have had situations like this even on automatic transmissions. A possiblity could be that the starter stayed enguaged the whole time because it did not sense a proper idle signal from the tachometer(ie.being started in 2nd gear). i have had this happen many times with the particular remote start brand you mention, and in many cases especially with the undersized starter the rx 8 has it could be a burnt starter and or the wires going to the solenoid on the starter. Doen't explain the antifreeze smell but could be a possiblity.

Rotario

I just found the ignore button, JM1FE, and "Andy" gets to be the first one ignored. He's obviously a child that shouldn't be allowed to play on a computer...

SpinninAgain!

"****" didn't "happen". He installed a non-factory part that bypassed a factory installed safety switch. Then he (or his ex-friend) rammed his car into a wall. That's no one's fault but his.

If he lies convincingly enough to get Mazda to pay for the repair then Mazda's warranty costs go up. Guess who pays for that? Not "the company" as you so childishly believe. Warranty costs are included when they calculate the price of next year's Mazda RX-8. In the end, we all pay for such dishonesty when we buy our next car. Economics 101.

He's getting help, the best kind. It's called good advice:
1. Grow up
2. Learn to take responsibility for your own mistakes
3. Don't lie to get stuff for free, that's called "stealing" and it hurts others
4. Don't put remote starters on MT cars

I REALLY hope he takes this to Snap-On for repairs. :D

Rotario

I, for one, wish you'd go back to the "other forums." This forum is comprised of adults, and adults that can think of better ways to express themselves than streams of 4-letter words (and their derivatives). Guess what, Andy? It doesn't take very much creativity to blurt out gutter language like yours. Idiots can do that, and if the shoe fits....

Bill

efonwang

alrite, looks like theres a lot of anger in this thread. but yea, its true that if the same thing happened to anybody, that person would be covering for himself regardless. its just human nature.
in any case.., luckily i was able to pop start the engine and it ran fine. so its probably just the starter or the starter wire. So that smoke was probably coming from the starter, and that smell was probably burnt wires, not coolant (never had a keen nose).

so, not that i dont wanna take responsibility, but when the cost is that high, the balance kinda tips. come on, none of u can honestly say your gonna shell out 2-4G for an engine just so you can sleep better at nite. If you will, then what are u doing with a 30G car? u obviously have the cash to throw around. im just telling the truth here. to me, 2-4G is a lot of $$. but now that its only a starter, and if it wont cost me anything over 1G, then i'll think about being the "Honest" guy that u all expect me to be. but u guys gotta stop lying to urselves. if ur worried about the cost of the future mazda cars, then u would do exactly what i would do. protect urself first.

snap-on

Glad it worked out for you.

Being responsible for your actions is a decision that I will not debate.

But I'm on a side of the fence that is hard for the average person to understand.

SpinninAgain!

You're almost right. The desire to protect one's finances is indeed human nature. The willingness to accept an honest loss rather than corrupt one's moral integrity requires a concious decision. It's like walking past a jewelry stand when the clerk's not watching. The desire to reach in and snag a nice watch is universal. The honest man resists the desire, even if he thinks he wouldn't be caught. He does this because, for him, honesty is more important than the watch.

I have shelled out more than that in analogous situations. My sleep is more important than my credit card balance. I can always earn more money. I can't earn back a forfeited soul.

Genuine honesty, without price tags, is apparently one of those things you have not yet imagined. I hope that will change as you grow older.

Glad your car's okay. Don't be hard on your friend, he didn't mean to do any harm. Make him help you repolish that carton of shoes and move on! :D

Rotario

Good analogy. If everyone on this planet had the same desire for honesty, it'd sure be a better place to live. Cheaper too.

Bill

efonwang

well, car's not really ok. its still a starter. dunno how much that'll be. or if it'll be warranted. they took out the alarm, and nothing seems wrong. so it has to be the starter. How does a starter fry so easily??
The car's suppose to jump forward and stop. but i figured cuz the alarm settings, it'll keep trying to start if it shuts off. that struggling noise i heard was probably the 2nd time it tried to start again. But that still doesnt make sense to have the starter die so easily...
im guesssing the starter was already dead before i got to it to put into neutral, cuz there was already smoke from the hood. it was still cranking when i tried to start it again, and then it died after about 3 cranks. weird.

SpinninAgain!

It makes perfect sense the starter would die in your scenario. A starter has a small, toothed gear that engages a similar gear on the engine. The starter uses battery power to turn the engine over until it ignites. If the engine gear and starter gear are engaged but cannot turn at the same speed, something's gotta give. What always gives is the teeth on the starter gear. By design they're the weakest link in the mechanical chain.

Normally when you start a car the danger to the starter comes after the engine fires. Once the engine starts running under its own power it turns much faster than the starter wants to. The gears don't mesh cleanly any more and you get that horrible grinding noise, which warns you to let the key out of the START position NOW.

In your scenario, the engine couldn't turn over at all. The transmission was engaged so the engine was attached to the tires. The tires wanted to roll and move the car, but there was a wall in the way. The starter's not strong enough to shove the car through a wall, thank goodness!, so something else had to give. If a flaw in the electronics tried to start the car a 2nd and 3rd time, with the car already jammed against the wall, no starter gear would survive for more than a second or two before shearing its own teeth off.

Self-destructing starter gears are actually an intelligent aspect of automotive design. If the starter gear didn't self-destruct in this kind of situation then something else would, probably something inside the engine that would be far more expensive to replace. Be grateful. You might even consider sending Mazda a nice "thank you" note!

efonwang

not that i wanna make a life's lesson here. but genuine honesty just doesnt work in a world like this. u'll be taken advantage of like no other. u cant succeed being honest. thats just from business experience. u sound religious, thats probably why.

I'm asian, if you've ever tried to be "genuinly honest" in any asian country, within a month, u'll be kicked to the side of the curb like a bum. not to say that asians are evil, but we are survivors in a corrupt world. works pretty much the same in most places.

as to the guy at the jewelry shop, most people wont steal it cuz they're afraid of what will happen later. if he gets caught, or if there will be karma. otherwise, if he believes nothing bad will happen to him, hes gonna snag that thing like its the last thing he'll do in his life. whos not gonna take any desirable thing for free??

So, i HAVE grown up, and this is how i've changed to accustom to this society. from what u said, i think YOUR thoughts need to grow up. otherwise, it'll be a hard life for u. well...depends on where u live too...LA is just not one of those easy places.

btw, for me, my CC bill IS the reason i wont be able to sleep well. and i'm sure that goes for a lotta people out there too

efonwang

ok, i guess the starter makes sense. so how much would a starter be approximately??

SpinninAgain!

Well, this is ranging rather far afield!

The ideal of genuine personal honesty sounds religious or perhaps even Christian, but it originated in certain philosophers of pre-Christian Greece. Ask a philosophy student why Socrates chose to accept a voluntary death sentence rather than banishment. "Honesty" is about as good a one-word answer as any. I'm reasonably sure an offer to waive his cc balance would not have changed his decision.

I haven't experienced any Asian countries, only USA, Canada and western Europe. In these places the Greek philosophical tradition molded society and morals for 3,000 years. Is it a coincidence that those same societies and countries ended up ruling the rest of the world, both economically and militarily? Societies don't produce vast surplus wealth by encouraging people to ****** watches from each other. What about Japan? I'll wager there's much cultural pressure for personal honesty there too. Another successful economy, I hear they build some great cars! This could be a fascinating, if controversial, cultural and economic study. Anyone need a thesis topic?

It is true that many, perhaps even most, people resist watch-snatching due to fear of consequences - whether legal, physical or karmic. This does not make those people "honest" of course, merely circumspect. Honesty requires not snatching the watch even if you KNOW there will be no consequences.

Doctrinaire Catholics would say we sinned for even thinking about snatching the watch. That is too austere for me. I can fantasize about snatching the watch without actually reaching for it. The very knowledge that I was tempted yet resisted will make it easier to resist the next time. No need to grovel and beat myself up over having wanted to.

No idea what a starter will cost. Call or email a couple of dealers. Trussville or Rosenthal (site sponsors here) will give you a decent price for one.

Rotario

I cannot disagree more. Success is a subjective term to be sure, but I consider myself to be reasonably successful. My life is based on honesty, and it's something I practice each and every day. It's how *I* sleep at night.

Absolutely and totally untrue.

I'm not gonna flame you or argue here, but it is unfortunate that your world view is so terribly skewed.

Bill