ok I did a parasidic battery test all doors shut car off before i turned on the car and pulled all the fuses inside cabin and engine. (did not pull any relays) every thing stayed at the same voltage of 12.78. I am trying to research on doing a ground test but there are so many grounds. Im not sure which or all to test. started to look for ECU ground seems like it comes from the harness, but for me to find the battery drain im trying to research i have a 2005 A/T . I havent done anymore test as its cold out and dark i think the cold would have some play on my testing. but i did complete the fuse pull. thank you

OK i put on a warm jacket just got finished wtih doing a positive battery to ground test., I started at 12.70 and its was consistant with the metal on engine and the 3 other grounds i could see in top bay area. dang I think its a short thats still not letting me get to my initial problem of crank but no start......2 weeks this car has been with this issue.

You need to do a current draw test... not voltage.

The voltage won't change until the problem draws down the battery

It is unlikely that you would get a sudden ground problem... and there are enough grounds on the harnesses that you wouldn't get no ground at all.

And when checking grounds you want to check using resistance values not voltage

Gotcha will do that now. Question can isafley overturn the engine fuse box to check ckck for damages

There are little clips on the sides of the fuse panel and the brownish fuse holders will come out of the white base if you hold them and pull up on that part. Easier if you remove the 2 wires attached to the firewall end of the fusebox... might need to undo a couple if zip ties on the front end to get the loom to move as well

It will let you turn over and access the underside of the fuse/relays and should be able to see if there are any obvious issues

ok thanks

OK I HAD A 5.00 MULTIMETER. I NIXED THAT and bought a good one from autozone. I did the test to see if my parasidic drain number was and there is no drain. It says .07 i left it on for about an hour (i did this text with all doors shut and no key so it wasnt turned on)
so now i went to start it and again a very labored whine of a crank but no start. I checked under the connections for the relays and i couldnt see anything odd althought there was a metal piece in tray i dont know what that is for or if it is even from this block of relays. i didnt want to twist it more as i didnt want to upset any wires. not sure what i should do next.

Start with this. Some things wont apply since you have an automatic. Also, stop messing with the electronics and wires for a bit as youre probably making compounding issues and making it harder to solve.
Watch this and report back whatever issues remain.

Thanks Ricky I think you are right. ill leave the electronics alone. thanks i will watfch this video now.

ok i followed the previous video you sent. even cleaned the MAF sensor. the thing is it sounds so labored in its starting. its not a tough crank at all . i read that it could be the starter or the battery. both are new and if you spray starter fuel in the intake it cranks tough and starts and then when it comes to the relay the fuel relay if a prob is put in it cranks up hard and starts. but fully charged battery it sounds like its suffering in its cranks. now the ignition coils? well prior to this it was the priming of the fuel pump not delivring fuel so that seems to be where i was focusing. any thoughts?

Sounds like all this trying may have burnt out your new starter, which may not have even been a good quality unit to begin with. Also 2kw but you have an automatic? To my knowledge there was never a upgraded starter available for the automatics. The 2kw starter typically references the upgraded starter available for the manual transmission cars. Where did you even get the starter from? What brand is it and how much was it?

How do you know your charger is truly 100% fully charging your battery? And does your charger have a "Start" or "Jump" function you can use when you are trying to start the car?

Whats happening with your red "immobilizer" light on the dash? Does it flash quickly or like one time each second?

You can sometimes faintly hear the fuel pump prime when you first turn the key to the "On" position before trying to start the car. Did you damage or incorrectly install the fuel pump? You may need to check and be sure you didnt screw anything up during that install because sounds like you probably might have.

Pictures of what you are looking at and dealing with would be helpful.

The starter started to smoke. Im wondering if i had a bad one to begin with. I ordered an online 2kw. and i put it in the day before it died out. but just noticed it smoking so stopped all that i did and ordered a new. one.

ok all great points your making and i will answer all. The battery is charged up as I do a test with a multi meter, before it was getting a drain and now no drain. So battery can stay over night and not have a drain on it. as for the fuel pump it now primes up which is another good sign. And no I dont have a jump on my charger. I used a friends car. I ordered the last starter from im sure ebay. i oredered a new one from napa. i had done alot of research for starter as i was having idle and start issues from the get go. So i replaced coils and plugs I then bought the new starter as it had the upgraded one that mazda had recalled. but it wasnt a 2kw. I researched and found that the A/T can use the 2kw. But I probley shouldnt of gotten it off Ebay. the new one is below. thanks for all your imput im really gonna follow thru on all of your recomendations.

napa has one for 140.00 with core trade
amazon has one for 185.00
a/t 2kw

I want to appologize to all who put there time and effort in helping the many problems i faced with this car. I am appologizing because I found my problem and it is fixed now. I put in a new starter and never fullly tightend the bolts i found this out as i was gonna swap for my old one but i litterlly could move each bolt with my fingers. all three. therefor this caused the car poor grounding and welll again sorry everyone.

Don't sweat it. Thankfully/luckily it wasn't anything worse and the problem is also solved now. Just be careful in the future, and truthfully I'm willing to bet that the starter you originally bought was probably going to fail that quickly anyways.

Thanks man...you guys really did teach me alot. and boy i feel dumb but thats also why it was having labored start and also why it started to smoke...but you are right....im gonna go get one from mazmart. Now i can take it in to mazda and have the recalls done....thanks buddy....

Similar issue
 

I’ve just been reading this thread with great interest!

I guess first up…..first time RX8 owner, current RX7 owner together with a myriad of other cars. I’m no stranger to cars and mechanics but auto electrical tends to stump me!

I purchased a non running RX8. On investigation I found the fuel pump doesn’t prime / run when the ignition is switched on. I can “jumper” the relay terminals and the pump will run continuously. I have good pressure and good flow from the pump.

Even with the pump “jumpered” the car still won’t start.

I get good spark from all 4 coils. I have reasonable compression (the motor has about 20,000 miles on it from rebuild) and though not tested with a specific rotary compression tester I have tested with an analogue tester with valve removed to get basic reading. I have fuel with the terminals jumpered….too much fuel so I have completed the de-flooding procedure with plugs removed.

My starter cranks fairly slowly and I suspect this will be the starting fault, however it doesn’t explain the fuel relay fault. I have tested the relay and it works, it’s just not getting 12v from the wiring harness.

if anyone can suggest what the problem may be or where to look it would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I plan on pulling my starter out and repairing / replacing it. It’s an auto so the starters are quite expensive, therefore does anyone know if the windings and “electrical” side of the starter will bolt up to an auto starter body? I’ve previously successfully combined an RX8 manual starter with an early RX7 manual starter body and wonder if the same can be done with manual to auto. I know the manual is 14 teeth and the auto 18 but that is via a intermediate gear in the auto body. I know it might seem like a lot of bother but here in Australia an Auto starter is about $500 while manual ones can be sourced for about 1/4 of that price.

Hopefully someone can help!

Hello, I am having this same problem and I don't know if the fuse socket is supposed to not have power or something, but my car won't start. Did you ever get this problem fixed?

Hello, I am having this same problem and I don't know if the fuse socket is supposed to not have power or something, but my car won't start. Did you ever get this problem fixed?