Midnightmazda

So i have an 04 6spd 8. Its my baby. I bought two kept this one.
first issue i had was i grenaded the clutch.
Replaced that.
Drove fine
No issues

Now lets get to the fun part.
Went to turn it on one day and i had gasoline pooring onto the top of my engine. Was extremely confused. Then i find out someone sabotaged my car and cut the line. Idk who but assume the crazy girl i was living with at the time who didn't want me to leave for a job out of town. (Not my gf or side thing a high school friend who i used to see that let me crash for the holidays)

Lets put all that aside. I replaced the line and a vacuum line i noticed was cut too.

Car started up fine. Drove fine. UNTIL i got about 3 city blocks it started to sputter and die. I brought it home and hit the forums. Everyone told me i needed a rebuild. Over and over or i needed plugs, or a coil pack. So i got my compression tests done. They're fine and normal. Alls well there (please dont be the guy who ask are you sure theyre good and waste my time asking numbers and all that... They check out.)

i noticed an over heating issue after getting it going again as someone told me too. Turned out that over heating issue wasnt an over heating issue i have a bad resivoir (coolant tank) thats leaking because of a bad cap that doesnt seal all the way so its steaming due to that.

I pulled plugs found out who had it before me had the plugs put in incorrectly trailing where a leading belongs (talked to allot of rotary heads not too big of an issue here)
Next thing on the list. Found a vaccuum line that was disconnected, it was the pcv off the oil on the firewall.

found out my plugs were 👎 had to wait till payday to get new ones as they're 90$ where i live.

Int the two weeks time till pay day i get new plugs. Then as i look for the best way to get at them possibly from the bottom i realize i have a moderate oil leak maybe major idk how to exactly judge it but its quite a bit of oil not just a few drips its basically a nice personal pizza sized puddle, PUDDLE.

I hope its nothing major and continue working as ik oil leaks are common when these sit. Also as my car never leaked oil before just radiator fluid as its got the bad cap.

I swap plugs it takes a bit from sitting and failed previous attempts but she starts right up! No issue no exessive cranking.

I put gas in it cuz we only put enough in to get it running and it died.
She starts up again no issues....

I drive it yet another 3 blocks home and it dies as im parking it half *** next to my fiances parents car now blocking it in 😒😂 (her dads salty still)
I turn the key to have it crank and crank sounding like it wants to start more than it ever did withthe bad plugs. (Ik the sounds it makes with bad plugs and wires as i changed them and can tell the difference)

I lose my s*** and pull my key out the ignition call it a bunch of names and go inside and leave it there for the night. In the morning i come back to a dead battery. (Before you say its that its the battery!!!_ its not i charged it same thing)

now there's an oil pressure light on and the gauge is at 0. Ik that that gauge really doesnt mean anything but i had a leak and now this.
also my power steering light is on but i think i know the reason on that.

So now that we are here and im trying again to ask for help.
I have good compression i have a good battery and i dont have a water jacket failure like i first thought i did or a coolant seal failure.
wtf is my problem?

My guesses after countless hours scrolling, reading, and stressing are below.

Oil send unit is shotski
Oil pressure sensor is garbage
Oil pump is garbage

Fuel pressure regulator is wack
Injectors are toasted

Immobilizer may be trashed

And last but not least its a 13b reneisis and not an rew 😒 nevertheless someone help me before i scrap this car out of principle... I love the rotary i want to keep it rotary so dont tell me to ls swap it or ill find ur unholy swap and pour sugar in the oil spout... I just need my car running so i can get to and fro. Please please help me fix my loving and admittedly p.o.s japanese mid life crisis mobile.


for those who will ask miles 121 on body 3k on rebuild those miles i put on myself as i bought the car the day the build was dropped in.
its a 6sp manual with short throw. Been beat a bit but not since i gernaded the clutch full send around a 90° corner. (Yes that was the only time i played with it besides the origibal pull i did when i bought the car)

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Slow down, take a breath and troubleshoot.
Does it have fuel? Does it have spark? Does it have compression?

Charging a battery that can't hold charge isn't helpful. It can be "full" and still no longer have any capacity to turn the starter at the required speed. Get it load tested.

​​​​​Do you have spark while cranking? The plugs aren't doing you any good if they're not connected to the correct and functioning coils.

Sounds like you've answered the compression question.

You have to be methodical with these things, the problem doesn't care what names you call it.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

One more thing I didn't see mentioned, ESS clean/reset?
Any mods we need to know about?

Midnightmazda

Yes it has fuel yes it has spark.
aftermarket k&n typhoon intake and aftermarket borla exhaust system NO deletes in the exhaust system tho! (O2 delete or cats punched out)

im getting a new oil send unit today and oil filterand im gonna do an oil change and change the send unit.

Also whats the schematic on connecting the coil>wire>sparkplug

Like 1-4 or trail lead trail lead. Does anyone have the diagram for it cant seem to find it when searching the forums.

Shaozhou Zhang

I would strongly recommend you to have the stock intake put back. It is a very good intake.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Typhoon intake strikes again, maybe. Try starting it without an intake attached at all, see if that makes a difference and provides a clue.

Spark plug order: https://lmgtfy.com/?q=rx8+coil+diagram

If it's not starting, you're not going to see oil pressure, that's normal.

Midnightmazda

Look i get theres this big joke about search it yourself but you think id be asking if i havent already? Nothing i find give the exact to exact with how my coils are set up why you think im asking? Ive sewrched and googles pretty worthless when it comes to finding anything. It just sends me to something like amazon or ebay to buy some pos aftermarket part..... Im desperately asking for help or im honestly going to scrap this car... Im not trying to kill off another almost extinct car. Im genuinely trying to figure out whats wrong with this so i can save it... And ill try it without the intake but it wont start that way either as ive tried this method before...

Loki

iTrader: (1)

How are your coils set up? Sounds like they may not be stock, in which case.. what are they and are they causing this problem.

Can you take a photo?

We might pass a joke or two, but we're also trying yo troubleshoot this with you. Definitely don't want to see another 8 scrapped for avoidable reasons.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

You will want to follow the advice being presented to you. Loki is on to something here. The stock intake far surpasses the aftermarket intake setups. It's a great unit and the aftermarket units will cause issues as the mass airflow meter is not built to handle the amount of air that the engine is sucking in. We see more issues with these intakes and they can cause more harm than good.

The coils are also a good thing to inspect as Loki mentioned and cause cause a crank no start issue. Remove the plugs to see if the engine is flooded. Deflood the engine if necessary. You could have a failing fuel pump. You will need to hook a fuel pressure gauge up to the feed line to see if you have adequate fuel pressure. The fuel pumps in these cars can fail if run with low fuel.

Did you ensure the oil was topped off? 3.7 quarts is the capacity with new filter. Keep that in mind when checking the oil and filling it. You're oil cooler lines in the left front wheel well are likely rusty and beginning to leak. Inspect those. Keep us updated.

Midnightmazda

Spark plugs are new coils are new as i said before and i cant afford a new stock intake atm.... Ik what loki is saying is important ive done all these things and my lines are not rusty as i there is no rust on my car at all or on any part of my car when i break my nuts and bolts loose i can turn them out by hand thats how well i maintain my 8. Is the maf supposed to be clear or black

Loki

iTrader: (1)

The MAF body is black plastic, the sensor itself is like shiny dark translucent resin.

But can we go back to the part where your coils don't look like the stock drawings? I feel like there could be clues there.

One more thing that could play into this : clutch safety switch. It's on the clutch pedal, when you press the clutch, the switch compresses and allows the car to start. If it doesn't fully extend back with the clutch pedal up, it would prevent starting. Not quite the way yours is behaving, but something to check.

There's also a neutral switch which shouldn't prevent the car from starting, but could cause to die when put into neural, or idle issues. It's on the trans, there is usually a code for it, but something else to consider.

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

Okay I'm going to go the slight a-hole route and nitpick a bunch to hopefully alleviate whatever the problem is. I'll start by saying that trying to brute force diagnosing the issue by telling us not to question anything you've done so far is a good way to not find the solution to whatever your problem is. Anyways moving forward...

Are you 100% certain that nothing else was cut or damaged? Wiring that could've been compromised at all and shorted out/broke afterwards? Check under-dash wiring? All engine bay and cabin fuses?

How DID you test compression, with a rotary specific tester? I imagine the test results aren't with the car warmed up, which will have an effect on the results. Cranking RPM has an influence as well. We. Need. Numbers.

Did you replace the cap and bottle? If not do so ASAP. When the engine is running with the cap off, are there bubbles in the tank at all?

Locate the source of the leak ASAP and report to us. This is extremely important. Make a youtube account, take a video with your phone, upload the video and give us the link, we need to see what we are dealing with, not just with this issue, but all of the issues. Having eyes on what is at hand will go a long way in resolving the issues.

This is a great way to destroy your fuel pump. PUT MORE GAS IN THE CAR. At least a few gallons of fresh gas, highest octane without lead you can get.

Sounds like possibly fuel pump crapped out after getting hot with barely any fuel to cool it off, or coils crap out 100% after they heat up and only work half-assed when cool. When was the last time you replaced the ignition coils, and what coils did you use were they OEM factory Mazda coils?

Guess what.... it can still be your battery.

Light will stay on unless the car is running. Are you saying the light stays on when the engine is on? What is your oil level at? And again, check the leak location and severity.

Car will still run if the pressure sensor is bad or if the oil pump is not running. Also, I cant say Ive seen any of those 3 oil components crap out and prevent the motor from starting.

Cant say I have ever seen a FPR fail on the Rx8 either, so I doubt your regulator is to blame.

Injectors could have some debris since you ran with basically no gas (Good one), you should put some injector cleaner in the tank when you add more gas like I said. It should at least start and idle though that being said.

Did you trigger the immobilizer somehow? Is the key icon in your instrument cluster flashing rapidly red when you put the key to the "on" position?

Who did the rebuild? Who installed the engine and when?


K&N intake isn't the best, but it should still run, drive, idle, etc. make sure all 3 vacuum lines are connected properly at each end, on top of all 3 vacuum lines for the solenoids under the upper intake manifold.

Have you checked for any engine codes? Probably a good idea to do. Get yourself an engine code reader. It can really come in handy.

Your 8 that doesn't start.. physical condition isn't everything, and being able to remove stuff that easily isn't by definition a good thing as sometimes that's very undesirable. Its great you care about taking care of your car, just maybe approach things a little bit differently maybe more approachable and less cocky.

-Ricky

Midnightmazda

My rx8 is a manual... Also my couls are mounted on the side theres supposed to be but its been moved slightly and i dont know exact what order they were re installed as i cant find an actual diagram of L to T and the order so ive been at a loss and everyone thinks its a funny joke to tell someone to search it up like i havent 15k times already. Ive been trying to get this car running right for 3 months and all it ever is is loki helping me and some idiot shitposting trying to be funny. And im really trying man im following everyones instructions im searching everything i can im doing hours of how to videos to get stuck over and over and im like at my wits end .... My maf filiment is solid black so i think it needs to be cleaned ive seen that that can cause idle issues but never seen anything about a no start issue. Also when ive spoken to many people about how its sounds starting and cranking they're confused as it sounds as its starting or started but isnt. Idk if thats a good description but allot of rotary heads ive talked to and had in person dont understand why my car isnt starting and neither do i so thank you to loki and the other brave soul actually being helpful. Lets get this figured out!!

Loki

iTrader: (1)

So for the coils, they really only connect one way if stock positions are used. It's possible to mix up the harness connections, but you really have to try. If they were miswired, this is what you would get though. If they're not in the stock positions, then I have no idea. Pictures?
​​​​​
​​​​​​Good idea about a video. That would help see what you see. If it's almost starting that's different from not even trying.

Dirty MAF will cause idle/stalling, but not start problems really.

This car doesn't have an oil pressure light, it's an oil level light. So there's that.

Hunch: is the jet air hose connected? It's supposed to go from the lower intake manifold to the intake and serves to help idle.

​​​​​​

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

I started my post the way that I did because I knew it would come off as me being a a-hole. While I was a bit snide, All of my points were/are meant to question components to help troubleshoot.

I'm feeling generous/kind, so despite my car and engine bay being filthy, I'm going to make a video and post it here that might help. I'll be using my cell phone, so quality will be rough and video will be shaky but should answer many questions. EDIT: Made a 12 minute video with my phone going over a lot of things with the car. Its in the process of uploading to youtube. Youre welcome.

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

Red line envy

I don't know if they are all the same but I found that each coil plug from harness is a diff length.
starting with the longest wire closest to the front of car.
Front L (lower)
Front T (top)
Back L (lower)
Back T (top)
Also the plugs have a T or L on them


Already had this photo from years ago.

Midnightmazda

Thank you so much for the video im gonna go over it in a bit!

Midnightmazda

Ive confirmed my culprit i believe. I hit some other forums in the rx8 club to see why my car is stuck in limp mode. My ecu is not vin compatible as it was from the car that this engine came out of and has not been flashed or retuned. Plus my key is a replacement that doesnt match the computers reading and thats why my ignition system throws codes randomly. Also my coil packs test good until they get warm i have two that get weak after the engines hotter and the lines warm up the test light is super dim when they're warm. But when they cool down again and i re test the lights bright.... Im gonna get a new dealership key and have my ecu flashed and vin compliant. Ill let you guys know how it goes after i get all that done.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

The key being wrong would trip the immobilizer and not even try to start the car. You can get a replacement, of course, but the 2 coils getting weak sounds like the main problem.
The ECU must have been reprogrammed at some point, because the immobilizer is in the ECU, and it would need to pair with the ignition cylinder and key and all that. Otherwise it wouldn't even try to start.

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

+1


I have a set of good aftermarket coil packs I could sell you for pretty cheap ($50) including shipping if you are interested. Or a set of used low mileage OEM revision C coils for $100.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

Unless the pcm is the same model year as the chassis I don’t think you can get it flashed at the dealer.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Just out the ECU from the car back in....

Midnightmazda

ok so its been a while since i hit this post up but ive decided to go over it again ive found all the problems with my rx8 after long painstaking hours and have learned allot and been humbled allot in the process and have been taught allot by allot of rx8 vets. my key was lost this winter so i dont even have a key to start it and with this virus mazda isnt too keen on getting me a new one any time soon.
here is an updated list of issues ive found from previous owners neglect and incompetent mechanic work.

ecu immobilizer pcm and abs and sensors are not compatible or matching.

collapsed coolant hose and bad resivoir.
one coil (new coil mind you) was bad and factory defective

main fuse is bypassed

battery cable damaged at far end out of original sight.

lost key of course is another major roblem.

wiring harness tampered with and i fear done incorrectly.

now that that is all sorted there are other minor non mechanical issues i need to adress also but nothing that will keep it from starting

i have been advised to buy a donor rx8 to remedy my situation and not cost me in the upwards of 3k at a dealership.
taking the donor rx8s all matching instruments and replacing them out of my current car for the donors latter.

now my questions are is how would i go about this all?
where are all the sensors located exactly for the key? ik there are 12 placed strategically around the car for anti theft purposes but idk location of such items.
and will this eally solve my issues? will replacing allmatching coded items fix my problem or will it be pointless are there any experts that can weight in on this topic and assist me or point me to the right forum i cant really find anything on it. thanks and sorry for my previous naive behavior ive learned allot lately