StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Only tester you need is a stout piece of wire.

There are three relays marked 'fan' in the front fuse box, #1 is for the smaller fan (if I remember right) #3 is for the larger. Ignore #2, it just does some fancy bridging to run both on 'slow'.

Pull the relay and you'll see four sockets, two small and two larger. With the ignition on, but engine not running, bridge the larger two with your wire - that fan should run. No run, you'll need to check if the motor is jammed (that's common) or you need a new motor.

When you push the airbox down into it's rubber grommets, they can be popped through, right down into the fan blades below, jamming and burning out the motor. Been there, T-shirt acquired.

Venem

hey thanks ok so not sure if I'm testing the relays right but I do know that it's the fan under the battery do you know which fan relay that is?

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

The one that rotates the fan under the battery when bypassed....that one.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

for US S1 RX8s Fan #1 is on the RH/passenger side and Fan #2 is on the LH/driver side




Original S1 Fan Control - May have been modified later by Mazda




Original S1 Fan Wiring






.

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

My point was that if he bypassed relays #1 & #3 he would KNOW which fan works or doesn't - problem solved, no?

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

My point was to help him with the actual diagrams that allow him to figure that out, yes?

zenbluerx8

passenger fans go out ask rotary performance i dont work there

hoopes123

Hello my rx8 cooling fans are not turning on both of them are not turning on. I have tested them out of the car and they both work but they do not turn on when put back in the car I thought it was the coolant temp sensor and I tested it via paper clip and it still did not work I do not know what is wrong please help

Loki

iTrader: (1)

There aren't too many options: fuse, fan relay, motors, sensor. You proved the motors work, so check all the fuses and relay next. My bet is the relay.

Pr0metheus

When my car is running for awhile it starts to smoke from the coolant reservoir area and idk what the problem is i was thinking it could be the water pump or thermostat went bad!

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Could be the fans, could be the thermostat, but the damage is done, your side O-rings are melted.
Rebuild time before you do any more damage. After the engine shuts off, the coolant will enter
the chambers, and mix with the oil....run it much longer and you will miss the rebuild window and
need a new short block.

Pr0metheus

how can you be sure that’s the problem??

Nisaja

How high does the temperature needle go?

Pr0metheus

wkrenegade49

Is it possible to set the temperature when the fans will come on?

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

yes you can do it with a tuner (cobb, mazda edit, adptronic) or i believe they make a much cheaper option. you need to figure why its overheating tho and not drive it till you do

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

Not adjustable, but set to a more suitable temperature

https://www.rx8performance.com/produ...an-control-kit

kenneththenerd

so i have an 07 and i was driving down the road at about 45 when i saw the temp gauge start slowly climbing over the mid point( ac on) i pulled right over and cut the engine. i checked under the hood and there was no steam, fans were spinning, no leaks, and coolant could be seen in the bottle. i closed the hood and when i got back in the car and turned the key it was back at the mid point on temp.i started the car right up and it stayed in the middle so i drove home with no issues. about a week later the same thing happened again this time at highway speeds. it seams like a sensor issue but i wanted to feel out some more experienced people. its at 128,000 miles no rebuilds yet and im almost certain water pump is stock. i have only had the car for about 6 months.

anthony_rx8

I tried making my own thread but it said I couldn’t. I was drifting yesterday & when I stopped I noticed my temp gauge was all the way at H. I don’t know how long it was like that for but as I was slowing down and coasting it went back to normal temp. Coolant was everywhere.

Today in the morning I refilled coolant with a 70/30 mix. No smoke out the tail pipe, starts fine cold, starts fine hot. Everything seems normal except for one thing. It makes a sound around 3.5k rpm till 4k rpm. I have a video link here: https://www.reddit.com/r/RX8/comment...tm_name=iossmf

I been driving it and it doesn’t overheat I think it just got too hot for what I was doing. It’s the only time it’s done it and I was pushing the car the hardest I ever have. My concern is engine damage as I only have 10k on this motor. Please let me know what you think & or what I should do.

thanks!

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Maybe you got lucky, maybe not. Pull the plugs and see if there's coolant on them.

And invest in a better rad, etc. If you don't have the engine under tray, put it back on, it's a key part of the radiator airflow design.

jcbrx8

If you know anything about our 8s you know that excessive heat is the bane of their existence. Monitor temps religiously. To that end the OEM coolant gauge is unhelpful, i.e. it is not linear by design. As temps rise it will continue to read "normal" within a "significant elevated temp range" ...until it reaches an avalanche temp; THEN it will it rise to actually display "HOT", which m/b too late. Point being ...I strongly suggest to install an aftermarket gauge w/ a programable warning temp feature if you intend spirited driving AND want to properly monitor coolant temp. This relieves the immediacy of attempting to monitor ...while you're attempting to enjoy your 8.

The above merely addresses the monitoring aspect. Max ambient temp in the Bay area is only ~ 60°F this time of year. So, if your 8 is overheating at this temp ...it m/b worth looking into increasing the robustness of your cooling system, e.g. system flush, upgraded rad., reduced fan initiation threshold, secure under-tray (as was suggested), sealing around rad, etc. as well.

All the best.

finalbloodfest

So this may be less of an overheating issue at this point and more of an engine issue, so move if need be.

First some back story, I hit a deer a long time ago, the only damage (that I or the shop noticed) was cracks in the paint on the bumper, and a fog light. About 2 years ago I bought my house, when parked (about a year before) the car ran but had loss of power. I figured I would be able to drive it to my new house, about 15 miles away, I had severe power loss and basically finished my trip at like 20mph and nothing above 3000 rpms. The car overheated and died as I was pulling in and has been sitting pretty much since then.

I've started the car since then usually just trying to get it to redline (no luck with that), let it sit and idle once and when I came back to it it had died (either overheated or choked itself out). Pulled off the cat last week and sure enough the inside was breaking down, without the cat it would start and redline and had all of its power back. I went to go into town and get some bolts to put the exhaust back on, on the way there the temp gauge shot all the way up, I turned on the heater and the temp gauge started going back down and then dropped completely, then the car overheated and died again.

I called a tow truck, and while waiting noticed there was oil coming out of the exhaust, keep in mind there is no cat on the car at this point. The oil was diluted a little, but no foaminess or discoloration.

Anyways, I get the car home and start taking it apart and theres a big hole in the top of the radiator right beside where the bottle connects to it, I assume the damage there was done when I hit the deer, and just got worse over the years. I don't know how many miles I put on the car from the time of hitting the deer till when I parked it but never had any issues with overheating until I moved. So from then till now I would say maybe 30 miles, plus the time it was just idling and died.

So my question is, do I need to pull the motor and replace gaskets, since there was some oil coming out the exhaust? Or is there possibly another explanation?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Gaskets are probably the least of your problems, that engine sounds toast. They do not survive overheating very well and there's not really any point in spending time and money on a seals to find out whether the big parts are still good. It's not like a piston engine. Get a new / rebuilt engine instead.

Sounds like a lot of coolant boiled off through the hole in the radiator. There should be coolant stains all over the place?

​​​

finalbloodfest

So either way, I'll need to pull the motor at least?

There really isn't any staining from the coolant maybe a little on the radiator right beside the hole but not anywhere else that I can see.