WarEagleRX8

On Monday, my car started taking abnormally long to crank. It only takes one time but it takes awhile to turn over, it has done that all week, but only when 1st cranked in the morning after sitting for about 12 hours. Any other cranks during the day are normal. Also if I am sitting in a red light in the morning, the car feels like it wants to die. Once i'm going, I have figured out that the acceleration is extremely sluggish under 4k RPMs. This is apparent in all gears. once i get to 4k-5k RPMs the acceleration kicks like normal but as soon as I change gears and it drops, it's slower than normal to get back to where it was.

it is an 04 RX8 with 56k miles on it. Its original owner did not drive it much so I can only assume nothing has been replaced on it. prior to Monday, I had gotten the oil changed last tuesday. It drove fine Wednesday and Thursday. But it had sat idle from Friday to Monday morning.

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

Have you checked/replaced the spark plugs? have you checked the coils? Have you looked at the MAF (in regards to the poor idle)??

WarEagleRX8

no and no to the first questions....I wasnt sure if those would be the problem.

and what is the MAF?

also i forgot to include in the 1st post.. there have been no CELs

WarEagleRX8

I assume I can find the directions to check those 1st 2 on the DIY forum?

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

MAF = Mass Air Flow Sensor.

It's the little black box on top of the piping connecting your intake box to the intake manifold. Check and see if it's fastened all the way on. If it comes loose for whatever reason, it could mess up your idle greatly and even shut down your car. Also, be sure to check and see if it's dirty, that could also obstruct idle.

Definitely look into changing your wires and sparkplugs. If they've never been changed i wouldn't doubt it being the issue. On the spark plugs remember - brown: Not so bad - black: Bad. If you're also in there, be sure to check the coils (typically you can tell on the back)

there's some DIY's on this forum that'll explain how to check all these things and how to replace them - be sure to check em' out when you get a chance - it might end up saving you a lot of money.

jmc23200

There goes my entire post. Atilla beet me and said everything I said. Oh well, spam spam spam spam spam

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

WarEagleRX8

For the MAF - which side am I looking under the car or under the hood? and which side of the car?

Ive had my 8 for about 3 years and this is the first issues ive had with it, so bare with my while i learn

and thanks for the help!

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

MAF - under the hood. on a pipe connecting the intake box to the manifold. it's a little box with wires coming out of it.........

ODDDOOD

iTrader: (3)

If the above stuff doesn't fix it, check the...

Catalytic Converter...sounds like an issue I had.

Replace with high-flow cat if necessary.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

I disagree. Replace with a OEM cat. The U.S. Emissions warranty is 8/80 so it would be no cost. Only get a High-Flow if want one. Save the good OEM one for a back up. High-Flow cats don't have a good record for longevity.

jmc23200

Take off the engine cover and the MAF is located.............

jmc23200

Also, I dont think its the cat or it would not have power in high rpms.

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

^thank you JMC - i ran out of ways to describe where it was located lol

jmc23200

Before he askes, https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ight=clean+maf

WarEagleRX8

Hey, i was going to try to find it myself....I know where the forums are.

But thanks for saving me the trouble anyways.

WarEagleRX8

I was reading another thread and I thought of this.

I flooded my engine about 2 or 3 months ago, but after many times trying the emergency thing...it cranked.


however I never changed the spark plugs. could this almost verify that its going to be the plugs?

myriadshalaks

iTrader: (1)

is your car making any noise at idle like, say, clicking?

jmc23200

This does not verify 100% it is the plugs, although it wouldnt be a bad idea to change them. Long story short, same thing happened to me and I did not replace them and my car runs fine. How long have the plugs been on? How many miles? They may just need to be replaced. How many miles on the car? You may want to do coils/plugs/wires depending on the miles. Most people change these things(other than wires) yearly.

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

*Ahem*

WarEagleRX8

im thinking about checking my spark plugs later, im not sure when they were last replaced, may have been when I last flooded the engine and had to get towed about year ago. didn't not realize I should pay attention to this at the time.

However, I had a question if the type of Oil used could cause some of these issues. I know the place I go only keeps regular 10w30 in stock, generally, I've gone ahead and let them put that, then when it's time for a manual oil refill, I put the factory suggest oil in. I didnt want to admit this b/c i know its probably bad for the car.

I've decided to my oil change next time, as after reading the forum it doesnt look that hard.

but for now, (please without the public flaming of my stupidity) could the type of oil in there now create this issue? it actually started shortly after that oil change.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Won't be the oil this time of the year Maybe in the middle of winter

Is your car cranking at a normal speed..or does it seem slow?

Your battery may be crapping out.....when it sits for a while it looses charge...and when you have been driving it all day the voltage will be higher.....

WarEagleRX8

Battery is new, it was replaced in Dec.

startup is long takes what seems to be awhile for it to turn over, almost makes you believe its not going to turn over.

Jim UK

apart from the dodgy idle, its sounds the same as when i had a coil pack down

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Check the battery voltage.....

And Alternator output...then starter..

If you have more than 30K miles on plugs or coils..bit the bullet and replace them too


It isn't unheard of that a new battery is faulty, so don't discount it as a source of your problem till you test it

Also check your cable connections from the battery....