jaimeduan

Hi all. I'm in Jamaica and new to the Renesis family. I recently rebuilt my '04 engine(bought it busted with 78+k miles) and now it's hard to start when hot and cold.

The motor started with one click and idled smoothly, for almost an hour, when it was just rebuilt. As soon as it was shut off, it wouldn't restart until it cooled. Some friends said I should break-in the the seals to see if it wouild help. After a few days of driving(which is as smooth as silk), I noticed it is "sometimes" hard to start when cold as well. I also have a little smoking, with a high gas smell. The oil level has been maintained without any topup.

Penny for your thoughts.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like compression issues for sure. Are you sure you rebuilt it with proper clearances?

Though, you are posting this in a thread about flooding?

jaimeduan

Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know where else to post it...and the plugs used to be fouled. Unfortunately, I can't find many persons with rotary experience, so a RX7 racer did the work for me. Tell me about clearances.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

I'm not an engine rebuilder. But a freshly built engine shouldn't have low compression issues. I'm not saying that you do in-fact have low compression, but the symptoms fit.

A few other things to check: Coil, wire, plug health, e-shaft sensor alignment/profile/clean, starter health.



A rebuilder has to properly set the seal clearances, and certainly is a range that they can be physically clearanced to, and it's possible to clearance them improperly. Technically all you need is 1 seal to be off for "low compression".


Look for engine rebuild threads to get more education on it.

jaimeduan

Thanks man. My reading continues.

precichi47

I'm a new owner of a Mazda 2006 rx-8, I have the same problem with mine, it start at the 2nd or 3rd crank, the engine feels suffocated for 5-10 seconds, then runs smooth, any suggestions to fix the problem

whataputt

i don't post often but you're experience hinted of parallels to some of mine...i'm no techie i just have plenty of experience with this car...my brother bought it new and drove it first 30k miles...it now has 119k...

are you original owner? previous owner may have not know what he/she was doing...this car should come with a coach...previously owning an rx-7 (i had a 1983 5-speed and a 1979 limited edition 5-speed years ago) helps since lessons learned during that time prepare you for now...essentially, you learn you need a coach...this site is excellent as far as that goes... :-)

is yours 6-speed or auto?

you must own a good battery...no slouches/cheapos...do you have a good battery?

you can't start (cold start) and then shut-off, immediately...potential for "flooding" or lost compression is higher...causing it to be difficult to start...

i have a 2004 6-speed - warranty on motor extended to 100k...at 99.5k i took it into mazda and agreed to have the compression checked for $100...test results: 1 rotor failed, 1 rotor marginal (but not fail)...tech called mazda usa and they suggest doing "de-carb" procedure...afterwards #1 rotor failed (epic fail) and #2 rotor failed...seems the carbon was helping and not hurting...bottom line, mazda replaced engine without a hassle...

if you're having as much trouble it pays to have mazda check it out ($100 is a no-brainer)...

if it's running incredibly rough, like it won't even go down the road then it sounds like you may have burned out a coil...this happened to me...i was able to start it and drive it (about 25 miles per hour to my destination)...i thought it was dying...

gtg but maybe some of this may help...

charlieseight

Yep agree with all here. Learned the hard way don't let novices move the '8'. Tried the owners manual fix which made it worse. Tried removing the relays, nearly there. In the end junked the plugs and installed Iridiums. Tried and tried and nearly, nearly there. In the end a short tow with fuel relay removed...stop...put relay back in and an even shorter tow and bingo away she went. The only laugh I got out of a week off the road was the look of horror on the neighbourhood's face when the smoke and fumes wrecked any carbon credits my neighborhood had or would have had for the next thousand years. Lesson well learned!

MrWitt

I did it once ....never again!

supermex

my 2006 shinka catalytic was glowing red loss of power. got it replaced and still have that problem i have read that its dumping too much fuel..please help me! i tried reseting codes with the odometer button and pumping the break.
can anyone tell me about the different displays that show up when you are pressing the odometer button. i think i somehow i might of changed those settings by accident ??

Silverdollar

Yes the RX8 will flood if you don't let t warm up before shutting off such as a quick on and off like you might do in the morning by moving out of the garage or moving to another close by parking spot. One trick you may use is to run the engine at 3000 rpms at least for 10 seconds before shutting off. Do yourself a favor and make sure the engine has idled down below the original staring level though as a precaution. One final tip: if you do flood the car, when you attempt to start it and it doesn't start, ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT SIMPLY HOLD THE GAS PEDAL DOWN TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT PUMPING AND IT WILL CLEAR THE GAS OUT AND START. if you pump it, You only worsened the flooding. Hope this helps. Please take this advice from an experienced flooder

rhjames

Interesting that after years of no flooding problems (because I know how to avoid it happening), I started to have starting problems. I could always get it to start after the first attempt, by turning off the ignition, waiting about 10 sec, and trying again. It usually started after about 5 - 8 sec cranking, and sometimes repeating the procedure. It turned out to be a faulty sensor on the crank shaft (so I was told).

Abotray

yes mine was cool for awhile, but i just happen to me. i havent had any problems until now,and i cant get it started. i dont know what to do

fals13b8

i have that problem for the past 5 years every year and i do warm my car up it does tend to flood in the winter time here in norcalif.

morne

Well my car for the lats 4 week at least onec a week when i go somewhere it woulnd start at all i have to sit there for around 15min and wait,it doesnt mater if i do 1mile or 20miles it happens.The car has had new plugs and upgrated coilpack in March this year so i am not sure what is the matter.Every time the recovery service comes out the first guy said it is the roter tips the second said it is the plugs,the car has done 45950miles and i am thinking of getting rid of it now as i am not to sure what to do.

Any suggestions would help

Thanks all.

supermex

i know the feeling bro. i cant seem to get rid of check engine light on mine. started with cat going bad replaced it. then had to replace a bad coil. and now the mazda dealer tells me all 4 coils need replacing along with spark plugs and wires. I just want to make light go away so i can get rid of this car that has been nothing but a money pit...

rhjames

As I mentioned recently, my problem was a crank sensor. One symptom was that it lacked torque at low revs - a bit of kangarooing in 1st gear when first accelerating. The service computer can pick this up.

556Magpul

Hey guys new to the Forum and new to the RX8, love the car BTW. Its like an Engineers wet dream :X. So to give some background, had the car for about a 2 months, its a 2005 with less than 40k on the clock Its been great up until just yesterday; wont start now. As a good new RX8 owner I read up on the car as much as possible and learned about its quarks. After getting the car home mid November I changed the plugs, plug wires, and all 4 coil packs. I also had my local Mazda dealer flash the ECM to the newest map 2 weeks ago. I premix with 4oz per tank of Amsoil Saber, and have always made sure not to turn the car off before it reaches operating temp. I want to reiterate the the car has been a dream up till now and has started in very cold temps perfectly, its actually pretty warm at the moment here in Pittsburgh which kinda has me puzzled. I have tried the Flooded Start Procedure in the hand book to no avail. I was planning on Pulling the plugs and drying them out if need be and letting the car sit for a few hours. And Cleaning the battery terminals the negative one has a nice fuzz on it.

So the question I pose is, is there any more I should look for? Or other tricks that I missed while searching for flooded starting threads? Also could this be symptom of a larger problem that is going to cause me headaches?

Sorry for the length of my post, just wanted to be detailed

Kosova

For Magpul

If your transmission is manual just have some one push your car (better if its down hill) and start it up that way on first or second gear than take it for a long drive. Dont over work the starter you can burn it , i burnet mine ones.

rhjames

Clutch start on a hill is good, but just in case it doesn't start, make sure you're not stuck somewhere inconvenient.
The other thing is to pull the fuses to the petrol pump and give it some strong turnovers (the starter is reasonably robust - I've had smoke coming off mine, but suggest you don't go that far). Give it perhaps 15 minutes to settle down, the pop the fuses back and try again, without touching the accelerator pedal.

556Magpul

Thanks, kosova and Rhjames I didn't have to roll start her but pulling the fuel pump fuse was a great idea. This let me turn the engine over with the plugs out and literally blow out the excess fuel. With the help of the weather holding out for most of the day I got my 8 running without much fuss. Should have taken Pics of my spark plugs, the trailing plugs were so wet fouled that when I turned them up side down gas poured out. I also found that just a little bit of Lucas UCL dribbled in to the Leading Spark plug hole of each rotor helps get her going to. Probably helps restore the oil film that gets washed off by the raw fuel.

Carbon Fibr

Ive joined fuqing flooded engine club.
Tried to de-flooding winshield washer fluid trick.
while boosting to keep up battery
And NO Luck.

i Bought a fuking lemon

rhjames

Another problem I've had starting was traced to a faulty crankshaft sensor. I don't know much about this, but I assume it measures crankshaft position and adjusts fuel or valve timing. The car ran smoother at low RPM after replacing. I now have the same symptoms - difficult to start sometimes, but get going within about 5 attempts. I normally switch ignition off between attempts, and don't touch the accelerator.

Carbon Fibr

crank-shaft sensor? do you mean Ecentric shaft sensor?
& Toed my lemon up to my garage yesterday; Red top battery +coils +plugs +wires are in the works. Hopefully this solves the issue.

Still in the back of my mind i feel my engine has lost compression~ and im going to start a war with a Mazda dealer soon probably.

rhjames

Yes - the workshop told me crankshaft - probably just common terminology.