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I just did it, with the procedure for S2, namely disconnect the battery negative cable, and press the break pedal one time.
Now after reconnecting the battery I have,
- check engine light ON
- Very rough speed shifting
- Very low idle, the car goes to 750rpm, while before it was staying at 800-900 rpm
- The shifter doesn't go above 4th speed, I can't get to the 5th or 6th speed.
What is going on !!???? I have to go the garage now ?
Ok so I can't edit the title. I am sorry about it.
I tried another NVRAM reset, but same.
I also have the Charging System Warning light ON, owner's manual says "Drive to the side of the road and park off right-of-way. Don't continue driving when the charging system warning light is ON because the engine could stop unexpectedly".
Are the battery cable clamps properly tightened on the battery posts?
Weird things can happen when there is a poor or intermittent connection to the battery.
Many auto parts stores will read your CEL codes for free. If you are able to safely drive your car, go do that and let us know what the codes are.
The idle may be a bit rough after a memory reset because the ECU needs to re-learn the fuel trims.
Let's not do any more resets just pull the battery negative then the positive, clean them both up (clamps too), give it a minute to sit and plug it back in. Car must be cold. Start it, the idle should go high then gradually settle as the car warms.
Just let it idle till warm. It's learning how to idle and make takw a couple of cycles. If you still have a CEL get it scanned so we can trouble shoot further. The battery light shouldn't be on at any point.
That's what you get for listening to noobs. Why would you reset the ECU after installing new engine mounts? This is why I always promote proper troubleshooting techniques. 90% of the dip ***** around here think cleaning the MAF, cleaning the ESS, and resetting the NVRAM fixes all RX-8 issues.
That's what you get for listening to noobs. Why would you reset the ECU after installing new engine mounts? This is why I always promote proper troubleshooting techniques. 90% of the dip ***** around here think cleaning the MAF, cleaning the ESS, and resetting the NVRAM fixes all RX-8 issues.
Today I re-did it with cold engine, clean MAF and ESS connectors, unplug the 2 battery connectors, NVRAM reset again, idle warm up for 10min, and everything went back to normal. Car is still shaking in idle like at the beginning but everything else is back to normal
I don't know what happened but I feel like something was screwed up with the sensors.
Thanks a lot!
Lesson I learned - don't do mechanical stuff right after work ><
Biggest thing that happened is the re-learn process did not occur. On mine, if I reset the ECU with a hot engine, is a PITA for a bit. If you do it with a cold engine, and allow it to warm up unmolested, will figure it out. Once it warms up, drive it easy. Life should be good after the second time. I can also share that if the ECU cannot figure it out quickly, there may be something else going on. My old motor, worn all to hell, was a pain. My new motor, not worn all to hell, can pretty much take whatever I throw at it concerning re-flashes, ECU resets or battery disconnects. It may be good to get compression checked out..
That's what you get for listening to noobs. Why would you reset the ECU after installing new engine mounts? This is why I always promote proper troubleshooting techniques. 90% of the dip ***** around here think cleaning the MAF, cleaning the ESS, and resetting the NVRAM fixes all RX-8 issues.
You mean it doesn't fix all rx8 issues? I thought changing the coils fixes everything... Lol
To the op, check the screens in the intake they may have shifted. I was a noob once and took them out, car idled like a joansing crackhead.
I am assuming this is the circular filter in the air box then... but no, it didn't shift, haven't touched it.
I am still trying to find out why the car is shaking so much in idle, until I bring it to a garage...
The stock airbox has a rectangular panel filter. A circular filter is aftermarket and means you have some sort of aftermarket intake. Most aftermarket intakes suck and actually rob performance from the engine--including adversely affecting the idle. The only decent aftermarket intakes for the RX-8 are made by Racing Beat and AEM, but they are only arguably slightly better than stock.
The screens are circular mesh screens inside the accordion tube that serve to straighten the air flowing over the MAF sensor. You need at least 1 of them, but a lot of people stupidly take them out thinking they will get more power without them. If you have none, you will have a rough idle and other performance issues.
Read the new and potential owners sticky. It covers all of this in great detail.
OK, first thing, give your brain an enema and stop listening to people who don't explain why you have to do something.
Second thing: Go charge your battery with the car unplugged overnight. A poor battery charge or bad battery makes the initial calibration of a Series II almost impossible.
Now start troubleshooting from there. Unplug every connection you have ever touched and add the connector grease from Autozone after you clean the connections. Buy actual electrical connection cleaner, NOT something else. DO NOT BUY SOMETHING ELSE. Do not listen to the store clerk. I believe the stuff is called QT or QD connection cleaner. It is designed not to eat plastic or kill electroplated materials. Do a small spray and rub with a soft bristled tooth brush on both sides of the connectors. (MAF, ESS, or whatever you may have touched.) Add the connection goop and plug and unplug multiple times. DO all of these with the power off for at least 4 hours, then 4 hours after. Inspect each connection before you go to add the battery back into the mix.
Unplug your MAF and rub a VERY SMALL amount of a thick oil around the o-ring and replace it. Make sure it has the correct screws.
Make sure your airbox valve is tight and functional. (can't remember what it is right now, but it is the air divert for the airbox. It also has a tendency to get stuck on my car, so I move it with my hand and verify it moves, otherwise it makes a vac leak.
Use a battery terminal cleaner and scratch the insides of the clamp terminals for the car.
Make sure you are at, at least 12.7 to 13.2 volts, or you will continue to struggle.
Now that all that is hopefully back to where you started, I would drive 75 miles at least over 5 drive cycles of the key and then shut the car off and verify that the o2 sensors are working in closed loop. (If you have a problem in open loop, the car may not detect it and struggle hard till it fixes it) Also do not baby it, unless your warming it up or cooling it off. Drive and find a balance between a psychopath and a complete moron going 15 under. You need to drive in all driving modes or "moods" to calibrate properly. If you baby it under those first couple miles, it will assume you always will until you are in psychopath mood for a few weeks straight.
Put some 93 octane and Lucas Fuel injector cleaner or upper cylinder lubricant in the car before you drive that distance. [An exact amount, like 5 gallons of 93 and 1 bottle of injector cleaner]
Rotaries get dirty easy, and washing your bay on a Canbus car is just a serious risk unless you know the layout.
So for the Open Loop/Closed Loop you will need a decent OBDII reader and logger. Something beyond your 30 dollar Autozone reader, and beyond a 9 dollar torque reader. (unless you really want to add that can of worms into it.) [Closed loop means the o2 sensors are directly changing the air fuel ratio and other parameters, open loop means zero ***** given about the o2 sensors. The car will be in Open Loop for those initial miles till it considers them "ready". Any problem is open loop is just making it harder to troubleshoot. Every time you pull the battery you start over with Open Loop and need those drive cycles and miles to get back to a closed loop state and start calibrating. So start with the battery and work your way up.]
You need to keep it simple and follow those tips to establish a baseline, then you can start moving around. By throwing parts at it, you could have worsened your problem, but at the very least you made it harder to find your starting point.
Dont misunderstand, I am not trying to attack you, but it does sound like you are like myself and listen to people thinking they are helping you, and really they are screwing you over with ignorance.
Also do not treat your S2 like it is an S1. Series 1 is a completely different computer (technically slower and less modern, but not necessarily worse), and the Series 2 is far faster, but more protocol based meaning instead of 25 wires you have 4 that talk like a wired computer network. If someone spams bullshit on one of the Canbus lines, it slows the whole system. Very few people understand CANBUS at any car parts store. Check the official Mazda Service Manual for the S2 on troubleshooting those errors if your getting them.
I hope you take this advice from someone who almost chased the same pink dragon.
There is also 1002 different ways to troubleshoot after you have that baseline, but get the baseline first, so you have something to fall back on if something changes the problem or fixes it.
Hope this helps, but ask me if you don't understand something I said. That happens a lot with me.
Last edited by badinfluence; 04-07-2016 at 03:34 PM.
Thank you.
The issues related to this topic are fixed.
Now I am struggling to get rid of the rough shaking idle, but I should probably follow up on a different topic.
03-15-2016, 09:25 PM
broke my car :'(
