Frustrated, looking for advice from the many who have owned an 8 longer than me..
I have gone through the forums, searched the flooding procedures, the many DIY articles, and the many articles/stories detailing what others have experienced, looking for guidance about troubleshooting start issues before taking car to the dealer..

I have a manual 2011 RX8, just under 70k miles. I bought the car about a year ago, and have never, not once, had ANY issues with the car starting. In short, three weeks of the car sitting due to ACL reconstruction surgery, my 8 will no longer start.
With my father-in-laws help, as I am barley limping around...

• Hooked up the battery, tested, reported healthy
  • Bought a new battery anyways, as it appeared the factory battery was still installed, and some corrosion was present - still no dice
• Decided to check the spark plugs, and thought I MAYBE had the culprit. Plugs were severely corroded and i was shocked the car still started previously, given the condition
  • Replaced the four spark plugs, wires still appeared to be in decent shape
• I went through the de-flooding steps, removing the fuel pump fuse, trying to start a few times, then putting the fuse back in, just cranks away never starts

My next logical step, from my research, would be to take one of the spark plugs out, to see if it is actually sparking. Am I off base here?
I have then heard mixed reviews about then replacing the ignition coils? Given the condition of the spark plugs, Im thinking that may also be something to check..

Should I continue to troubleshoot one part of a time, and $150 dollars at a time? Are there any steps I am missing, or would anyone prefer I try first?
I find it odd, that I have never had any issues with the car starting, then with it just sitting for a few weeks I then have to swap out several hundred dollars with of parts. Or maybe it is just my luck.

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

borrow a timing light from your local auto parts store. use it as directed. that will tell you if you have spark without pulling the plugs again.

beers

 

Search around and you will find a Series 2 Service/Workshop Manual. Follow that to troubleshoot.

Wires can degrade over time as well. Get a multimeter to test their resistance.

For coils, test them with the timing light like swoope mentioned. If you don't know the history of them, it's not a bad idea to play safe and replace them anyway.

 

Did you ever figure out what was wrong? I am having the same issues with my.2010

 

+1^
If you can't find a timing light you can use a HEI tester, about $15.