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Car stalling issue

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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:07 PM
  #1  
Pink Flea's Avatar
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
Car stalling issue

I am having issues with Flea stalling out once she is warmed up. Every time I come to a stop light the RPMs drop and she turns off. I have several things that have happened lately that could be contributing but I cant find the issue. I hydroplaned Sunday so the entire engine got wet and muddy. It has dried out by now and even Sunday after that happened I drove it all day without any problems. It started stalling on Monday... Monday I took the bevel's out of the air filter box as many people on here have done without a problem, I also had my foot well lights installed. I thought maybe it was getting too much air so I just went out, put the bevels back in and test drove it, still stalling. I took it to advance last night and although the check engine light is not on the guy ran diagnostics on her. He said a code came on that said RPM levels too low or something like that and said I needed to replace my RPM sensor, someone on here told me there is no such thing as an RPM sensor. I also ran a can of seafoam thru the tank incase it had gotten any water etc in it.... What could be making her stall like this?!!!
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:11 PM
  #2  
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From: Sunny See attle
Do you have the original ignition coils on the car? If so they may need to be replaced.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:14 PM
  #3  
Pink Flea's Avatar
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
Im sure they are original... Dangit... You think I messed it up when I hydroplaned? And that will make it stall?
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:22 PM
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From: Sunny See attle
Well they burn out at about 40K or so because they suck and overheat. You may have gotten some water in there that exacerbated the issue. My other thought is if a vacuum line came loose from your intake somewhere and is screwing up your intake airflow readings. I would check to see if you have any hanging hoses or open holes on your intake tube and intake manifold.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 03:33 PM
  #5  
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
That is what I was thinking because of me messing around wiht the air filter box.. I looked and didnt see anything loose but I can always re check and check again. I have never replaced my ignition coils, and Im at 112K!!
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Old May 14, 2008 | 06:22 PM
  #6  
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From: OC
Check your spark plug wires, make sure water did not get in the boot. My car stalled like this too when I had my spark plugs fouling on me.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 09:08 PM
  #7  
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From: Sunny See attle
Originally Posted by Pink Flea
That is what I was thinking because of me messing around wiht the air filter box.. I looked and didnt see anything loose but I can always re check and check again. I have never replaced my ignition coils, and Im at 112K!!
You probably need new coils, wires and plugs if they are all original.

Coils are ~$30 eachx4 wires you can buy from Racingbeat and plugs from a bunch of people online here and do it all yourself.

You'll need to remove the intake and your drivers side wheel and you can get at everything. It is pretty straightforward and there is a DIY here for it.

That is where I would start.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 09:34 PM
  #8  
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From: Bor. Isle
i don't know if your prob is same as mine, but i got the prob RPM drop and turns off when it come to stop light before.. i just change the rear o2 sensor (it should give you CEL P0037) and cleaned the throttle body.. now i don't have any issue again when it come to stop light
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Old May 15, 2008 | 12:07 AM
  #9  
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From: Cali
Check for the vaccum leak. If you have an aftermarket intake check the plug under the TB.
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Old May 15, 2008 | 12:55 AM
  #10  
Pink Flea's Avatar
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
Foo.. No check engine light and I just replaced both o2 sensors... But good guess.
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Old May 15, 2008 | 03:20 AM
  #11  
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From: Bor. Isle
i'm glad here to help, hope you have solved the problem anyway here's my thread: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/my-cel-145813/
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Old May 15, 2008 | 02:26 PM
  #12  
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
Sheesh.. I just went out to have a look... I still dont see any hoses loose so its probably the coils. I will go ahead and replace them and the wires. Im gonna have a look at the plugs before I replace them because they are not that old. The car girl/ tom boy in me says I can do it myself but the girly girl in me looked at what all I would have to do to get to the coils and was like OH HELL NO, pay someone to do it! LOL
I think its time for me and Flea to go pay a little visit to her uncle Gr3ddy
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Old May 15, 2008 | 03:01 PM
  #13  
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From: OKC
Girl, my dad helped me with mine but I could have easily done it myself. Getting the intake off is the hardest part, once that's out of the way it's cake. Look over one of the DIY's (there is one called coil packs installation tips) and you'll have no problem. Just make sure the right wires are hooked up correctly.

Aren't you the one who replaced your own clutch? If so I'd say you would have no problem!
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Old May 15, 2008 | 04:21 PM
  #14  
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
Thanks!! Yeah I did the clutch but I had a friend help me... He let me use his garage at work and helped with taking the tranny out etc....
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Old May 15, 2008 | 08:29 PM
  #15  
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From: Sunny See attle
You can definitely do the coils yourself once you get the intake out of the way it really is straightforward. Just make sure you don't mix up any of the coil wires or plug wires! Make sure you do them one at a time so you don't get the order wrong!
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Old May 17, 2008 | 05:31 PM
  #16  
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
Hmmm, could the crank angle sensor also be the culprit?
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Old May 18, 2008 | 02:33 AM
  #17  
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From: Sunny See attle
Originally Posted by Pink Flea
Hmmm, could the crank angle sensor also be the culprit?
Maybe. You should have a CEL code stored for that. If you can find someone with a CAN compliant code reader (like an autozone) they can check to see if you have any trouble codes stored in your PCM and tell you what they are. I had a crank angle sensor mis-read code once but I cleared it and it didn't come back so I dunno.

I suppose you can check to see if it's clean and free of debris. It is located about the 5 o clock position by your lower crank pully. You can sorta see it from the top but you really need to take the plastic undertray off to get a good look at it from underneath.
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Old May 18, 2008 | 02:57 AM
  #18  
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Janna, it is most definitely your plugs and coils. Seriously did you think they would last forever? Hell, I've had 5 sets in mine in the last 3 yrs! Change them out and see what it does.
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Old May 18, 2008 | 05:45 PM
  #19  
Pink Flea's Avatar
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My <3 rotates.
 
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From: Norfolk, VA
I have replaced my plugs, like 3 times... I didnt know about coils... Im replaicng them this week.
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Old May 18, 2008 | 07:26 PM
  #20  
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Well, that should fix your problem. Bad coils tend to prematurely foul out plugs. You should see a huge improvement!
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Old Jun 1, 2008 | 12:35 AM
  #21  
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Power loss at 5k-7500rpm engines dies

Hi all, please help my car has been giving me grief for sometime now. Previously she would cut off at 7500 rpm and after driving a while the engine would cut off completely. I no longer have a cat as we dont have such strict emissions rules here in south africa-so all the sensors are still in place and the original cat was replaced with a normal back box-this was about a year ago-now the stalling happens quite often once the car is hot(after about 80-90kms)-I have replaced the coils/plugs and plug wires yet there are still flat spots through the rev range and at times she redlines at 7500rpm she even switched off yesterday when I changed to a lower gear and revs went up...please help any advice will do!!!
Friends here have suggested the air flow sensor behind the air filter or possibly the fuel filter/fuel pressure regulator. On start up at certain times she also smokes heavily and its thick white smoke that comes out but stops after a drive her a bit hard in first gear.
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Old Jun 1, 2008 | 02:14 AM
  #22  
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coils / fuel pump.

is the normal answer, but thick white smoke.. well not so much.

beers
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Old Jun 1, 2008 | 08:42 AM
  #23  
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woah, 112k on original coils! D;
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Old Jun 1, 2008 | 12:26 PM
  #24  
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From: Sunny See attle
Originally Posted by Nemesis GP
Hi all, please help my car has been giving me grief for sometime now. Previously she would cut off at 7500 rpm and after driving a while the engine would cut off completely. I no longer have a cat as we dont have such strict emissions rules here in south africa-so all the sensors are still in place and the original cat was replaced with a normal back box-this was about a year ago-now the stalling happens quite often once the car is hot(after about 80-90kms)-I have replaced the coils/plugs and plug wires yet there are still flat spots through the rev range and at times she redlines at 7500rpm she even switched off yesterday when I changed to a lower gear and revs went up...please help any advice will do!!!
Friends here have suggested the air flow sensor behind the air filter or possibly the fuel filter/fuel pressure regulator. On start up at certain times she also smokes heavily and its thick white smoke that comes out but stops after a drive her a bit hard in first gear.
Year and mileage?

Have your dealer check this out. http://www.finishlineperformance.com...14-08-1924.pdf

Do you lose a lot of coolant or oil? (more than 1qt per1K miles?) The white smoke makes me think you have a leaking seal in your engine. If so you may need to rebuild it. But if it runs well except for a little white smoke in the morning it may not be urgent.

As far as the stalling at 7500rpm I assume you have an automatic correct? If your car is cutting off at 7500rpm and this is not the redline then you are in limp mode due to not having enough oil or coolant or something. Have you checked your fluids? It could be the ignition coils, dirty fuel injectors or as swoope said fuel pump if this is your actual redline.

Last edited by shaunv74; Jun 1, 2008 at 12:37 PM.
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Old Jun 1, 2008 | 12:52 PM
  #25  
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fierce rx8
 
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From: uniondale ny
I have the same prob. how much did it cost u to fix it. What type of gas would u guys recomend Ive been using sunoco 91 octane. plz help thanx!

Last edited by fierce rx8; Jun 1, 2008 at 01:10 PM.
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