Hi there,

I've read countless forums of people trouble shooting flooded Mazda rx8 engines... everyone gets it working. This is what i've done:

1. Replaced battery with new one
2. Opened air clip
3. Hooked car up to another car with jumper cables for extra power
4. Did not take out the fuel fuse
5. I put my foot down on the accelerator and cranked for 10 seconds and then let go for 30-60 seconds
^ Repeated around 9 times
6. Cranked and elevated foot off the accelerator trying to get the engine to start, made some noises like it wanted to start but never managed to get to the point of starting.

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG>? I have read and watched so many videos and I don't know what's wrong. I would idealy like to get this fixed myself but will set up an appointment at the mazda dealership on Monday if I don't get any responses... i just don't have the funds to pay a dealer right now.

Also, anyone have any recommendations for mechanics in Vancouver-Surrey-Langley Canada?

 

Is your car an auto or manual?

If man, attempt to pull start it. Then I recommend testing your ignition system. When was the last time the car was maintained?

 

It's automatic, and I bought it used from the dealer last August, so that's when it was last serviced.

 

What do you mean by that ?

The starter needs to be turning over quite fast , if you post a clip of it turning over I can tell you if it's fast enough.

 

Can you tells us how it became flooded in the first place? A healthy car should not flood, so it's important to know how this happened. Knowing the year and mileage of the car and engine would help also.
It's possible you have failed ignition coils, so no amount of deflooding will get it to start. Also possible you have a slow starter, as pointed out above.

How many kilometers have you put on the car since the last service? August last year sounds like a long time ago.

 

I went traveling for 4 months and when I came back it was flooded, perhaps a family member drove it, i'm not too sure.
What's the process of fixing failed ignition coils and how would I diagnose that from examining the car?

I haven't driven it much, but it's below 100,000km right now

 

Coils, spark plugs and ignition wires should be replaced every 30,000km or so. Do you know when they were last replaced? If not, you may want to do that, regardless of whether they have failed or not. Coil failure quickly leads to engine failure, so replacing them is preventative maintenance.

A simple diagnosis of coils is to use an inductive coil test on the leading spark plug wires (the trailing ones don't fire when trying to start). Another simple next step is to remove and examine the spark plugs. They should not be coated in deposits. Automatic cars are often poorly maintained in this respect, since their drivers are on average less car-savvy, so this could easily have been neglected.

What year is the car and how many km have you put on it since you bought it?

If the car was sitting for a long time, the gas could have gone bad and that's what's preventing you from starting. If you can top it up with fresh gas, it may help.