Hi, I just collected a 2003 RX8 231 today. It was bought as a non runner so got it transported to my house. I tried to get it started but it wouldnt and below is a list of what I have tried and the problems encountered.
I tried to fire it up and the battery was dead so I tried to jump start it off of the Range Rover. This still didn\'t work as the battery still seemed completely dead. I then noticed that the Rangie has a 12V 90A battery whereas the Mazda has a 12V 60A battery.
I went and bought a new battery, fitted it then tried to fire it up. the dials lit up as normal but when I tried to fire it up nothing happened. Then after I removed the key the dials started going mad spinning back and forth, the central locking was also coming on and off every second. I disconnected the battery and it stopped, then reconnected the battery and everythign was back to normal. I managed to get it to crank over but nothing happened, I then pressed the accelerator flat to the floor and cranked it over for 20 seconds (this is the procedure to "de-flood" the engine) this never worked.
I then tried to fire it up and it was back as it was to begin with, it wouldn\'t turn over again I took a video to let you see whats happening. Is there any way to upload it here?
Any Suggestions?
Check the battery connections are tight mate, should spin over fine and jump from the range rover with heavy duty jumps leads.
Correct way to de flood.
pass wheel off.
sparks out check leads and sparks dont mix em up leading and trailing .
fuse for fuel pump in big fuse box out .
crank car 10 sec burst with 60 secs cool down for starter motor. do this 5 times.
blow torch sparks or new.
re-assemble.
crank no throttle! clutch pedal down.
could take a while 10 mins so good to have jump back, fully charge battery or running car to jump from. Check leads for hotness etc. prob take a couple of cranks..
But no runner so why?
check spark on each coil with a spark in to earth.
check underside of coils for white marks.
No smoking ! or naked flames whilst de flooding and do this and report back bud.
thats great, thanks boosted. I\'ll start working through that tomorow.
Whats worrying me is why is the speedo, fuel, temp gauges going mental after i\'ve tried to start it? even the central locking is fugoing on/off every second. Even after I\'ve removed the key. I have to disconnect the battery to stop it.
Does sound like a loose connection to me mate check the 2 large connections in the fuse box. there both positives. When the battery clamps are tight see if you can spin them on the battery posts. These can stretch and even though bolts tight clamp is not. If so give it a tap down as tapered.
there is a loose connection on the battery, I\'ll get a new nut tomorow and try that.
if that doesnt work , try removing the battery terminal connections and connect jump leads to the battery and them to the cables - this should ensure a good connection
It does sound like like a bad earth type thing
Is the clock keeping the correct time ?? Its a good way to check , set the time to something random , then try and start it .. if the clock resets its self , then you have a bad earth ( at a guess )
Which terminal is lose ?? if its the negative , just connect a jump lead from the negative to the car body , this ensures a good earth
I had a problem like this ( although in my FC ) and after spending about 6 weeks trying to fix , it was the ECU that was shot ( it was making all sorts of clicking noises in the engine bay aswell )
Keep us all posted on your findings :)
if you have a multimeter , you can also check for resistance between the battery ( - ) and the car body , if its all over the place , then its a bad earth ( well at least from the battery )
If its got very low resistance then the earth is fine ( i think low resistance is better , i usually check on a nail or a screw driver before trying on the car ! LOL )
I was worried it might be a ECU problem. How much would a new ECU cost?
New ECUs are expensive! But it sounds like a bad earth or poor battery connection. The dial behaviour you\'re describing is typical of poor electrical supply, ie dead battery or poor connection.
Fingers x for you bud a non runner becomes a runner! let us lot know your findings and we can collectively help....check them coils as well! 10mm nut lift up and have a look for white marks in the glass epoxy!
Hi, Made some good progress on the car today. I fitted a new nut on the negative battery terminal and it solved the flickering gauges.
I then disconnected the fuel pump and went through the process of running the starter motor for 10 second bursts to clear any fuel in the engine. After a while it started banging and I got some flames coming out of the exhaust. After a while I was getting a slight burble coming from the engine and it looks like I am getting some compression which now indicates an electrical issue. I removed the airbox and then marked up the coils and spark plugs ready to be removed and inspected. I\'m going to inspect them tomorrow.
Next steps are to change out the coils, spark plugs and leads. I\'ve ordered them so should have them on Tuesday. If it still doesn\'t work I\'m going to replace the crank position sensor.
I also stripped out the full interior today so I\'m well on the way to getting it up and running.
Crank sensor = eccentric shaft position sensor. ( same as crank on piston engine) Did you remove the sparks when turning over with fuel pump fuse out? this vents the the fuel to atmosphere rather than clogging the cat. if your going on track no mot buy a decat now.
very much doubt eccentric shaft position sensor mate.
It will be 1 . coils 2. flooded 3. Carbon\'d up and apex seals stuck. 4. low comp.
Trust me i\'ve just sorted the neighbours poor/ non starting rx8 231 . Hes just done 200 miles. Switched it off started within 2 secs!
avoid ebay for coils cheapest genuine coils in uk Mazda Rotary Parts my neighbour did his research.
That was deflood, sparks, leads coils new battery. Cataclean. flyin machine now. starts hot or cold.