I had my coolant changed at a local car shop, and they overfilled the reservoir and coolant spilled all over my engine bay. I noticed when smoke was coming out of the hood. I stopped the car and the car through a cel. I read the CEL with my accessport and found that it is a p0117: Coolant temperature: Low circuit input. I washed out the engine bay and drained the coolant. I replaced coolant with 50/50 and added a bottle of Redline Water Wetter. I didn't have the problem for about a day. However the temperature gauge on the dashboard went from mid range to H. This was during the afternoon when I was driving the car home from work. I was thinking that a sensor or thermostat is causing this. Does anybody have any input on this? I don't really know where the fill line is for the coolant reservoir since it is dark brown. I also don't know where the coolant sensor and thermostat are located in the RX-8. Thanks for any help

 

any input would be appreciated

 

update：I heard detonation on my way to work. I immediately stopped the car and turned it off. The car threw a cel saying that bank 1 sensor was knocking. White smoke was blowing out of the oil dipstick hole, and the car was smoking. Does anyone know what it could possibly be?

 

First question is have you checked your fluid level in the overflow tank to make sure it's not running dry? Are you seeing any issues with any radiator warning lights?

The coolant system is managed independantly of anything electrical so if there are cooling issues it's going to be mostly cause of either the amount of fluid OR type of fluid you're putting in the car.

Being that your in Texas, I'd look into doing something like 80% distilled water with 20% of the coolant mix just to provide lubrication. This will give you the best combination for cooling the motor.

Only other aspect would be if there was some kind of water pump failure, though I'm not familar with the pump failing just that it's not the best design. I recall hearing the stock thermostat fails closed which, if that's the case, would explain the heating issues.

I'd start with the fluid level and go from there. The fill level is actually quite low. The reason coolant was purdged is cause there needs to be a fair amount of space inside the overflow tank for excess pressure. I'd say an inch or so above the bottom of the tank is where the fill line would be.

 

Sounds like you overheated bad.....maybe there is an air pocket that prevented proper coolant flow.....

Temp sensor may be screwed? Not turning on the fans at the proper temp...lead to overheating

Fans not working properly

Thermostat not opening properly

Etc.....

 

I am overheating also but its only when the a/c is on and in standing traffic on the freeway. once i turned the a/c off the temp went back to normal. I have an auto '04 with 65,000 miles on an unrebuilt motor and my coolant and oil levels were fine. What might be my problem?

 

Make sure your fans (and their related fuses/relays) are working properly.

 

I checked the fluid level and if anything it seems to be ok. The reservoir is dark brown so i can't see from the outside. However I did try to bleed the radiator by letting the engine run and adding mixed coolant already. I have no hot air coming out of the AC and I checked the ac control module and it's working fine. Could a thermostat cause overheating problems? The car now won't start, I hope the problem can be fixed without much trouble. I plan to change the whole coolant reservoir and thermostat. Hopefully the detonation didn't cause too much damage to the engine. I did a quick compression check where the spark plugs were and i didn't hear any metal sounds but I am not completely sure.

 

Next time I would pay the extra $ and go to a Mazda dealer to do this. I dont trust a quick lube place to do work on our cars........

 

i will. Great info thanks and ill keep posted as to what happens.

 

I highly agree with this statement. If you're going to have anyone other than yourself service the vehicle it needs to be done at a Mazda dealership. While the quality of dealers does vary and it doesn't mean you'll get a tech that knows how to care for a rotary, at least the work being done won't void your warranty.

If a oil change place causes damage, it's likely Mazda could void your warranty.

The primary issue is these places are used to servicing piston motors which, for the most part, are all the same with some variations.

The rotary is something most of these places either won't have a clue about or you might run into a RX7 owner but that's a big maybe.

The problems above are the primary reason I do my own work. If I do take the car in, I literally have ONE tech (rotaryman25) who I trust to touch my car. Anybody else can take a hike.