Flashing Engine Cel
 

I'm hoping you rotary wizards can help me out. I have a 2004 with about 81,000 Kms (50,000 Miles) and it's been running well since I got it. Last week I started it up and got to the end of the street when the idling got really rough and the Engine light started flashing. I had to move the car a couple times in the past few days and the pattern is the same. The car starts normally and idles without issue but then after about 30 seconds it starts to idle rough and I get the flashing engine cel. When I try to rev the car it sounds like it's got low power but it doesn't stall. I find it odd that it seems to idle fine and then it's like you flip a switch and it changes behaviour.

I don't want to drive it to the dealership which is about 20 mins away at risk of damaging the engine, I don't think it would drive well anyways as it has hardly any pull when it's behaving that way, and getting it towed would cost about $200. I don't have anything to get codes from the car nor would I know how to get my hands on a device to do it.

The only mods I have on it are a Racing Beat intake which I installed about 5 years ago which I cleaned last fall.

Thanks in advance.

sounds like your not getting good spark. plugs, wires, coils, maybe clean the e-shaft sensor

Are your revs higher than normal? I had this problem and it turned out that the ceramic part on one of the leading plugs was cracked. Replaced the full set and everything went back to normal!

No, other than sounding like it's misfiring it's revving at the normal ranges. Other than the plugs being changed last spring (or maybe it was the spring prior, will have to check my invoices) everything else is still original like coils, wires etc. I'm going to change the plugs and wires like Paulmasoner suggested and go from there.

Air leak or dirt MAF

Check the TB make sure the cap did not fall off.

Check the Accordian tube, it could be loose.

Start with the basics.

Since a tow to the dealership would have been over $200 I decided to sign up for CAA for half that which includes towing and of course roadside assistance for the year. As a new member I couldn't get my car towed right away so I had to wait 7 days but I had a business trip just prior so there were further delays.

Anyways, my car was towed in and I didn't hear anything from the dealership the next day so I called in and the lady that answered said that the Service Manager was talking to Mazda Canada about my car. Of course I start thinking that they are discussing an engine replacement or something but as it turned out they were getting a compression tester. I find it odd that they didn't have one considering they sponser and work on a RX-8 race car. I had to wait another day and they finally called and told me that compression test on both rotors were normal and that the car just needed all the coils replaced plus plugs and wires.

Needless to say the car feels like new, it's amazing how degraded the performance was but it degrades slowly that you don't notice it that much, at least I didn't. I've had it back now for a couple of weeks and it's been running great with a lot of pull at every gear. One thing is for sure, these RX-8 parts are expensive, wouldn't be so bad if these cars held their value better.

dare I ask what the dealership charged you for for plugs, wires, and coils?
that might be why you consider the RX-8 quite expensive.

That stuff is relatively cheap, it's the dealership labor charges that usually hurt your wallet the most.


Either way, I'm glad to hear your car is back to it's old self and running strong!

Coils $440
Wires $90
Plugs $270

I priced the coils and wires at Napa Auto Parts and they were more expensive then they were at Mazda although the plugs were cheaper. Labour was about $400, obviously if do my own work it would be cheaper but with out a code reader or compression tester can't do much.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news (I'm sure someone else can find marginally cheaper alternatives):

Coils: $148
Wires: $65
Plugs: $80

DIY labor time: at absolute most 2 hours for someone uninitiated.

http://finishlineperformance.com/sto...cat=273&page=1

http://finishlineperformance.com/sto...cat=273&page=2

http://blackhaloracing.com/products-...-heat-ranges4/

Please consider this for your next tune-up.

EDIT: owait; Canadaland. Prices above are USD. Hrm... current conversions are almost 1:1... multiply by 1.0283.