Well today I was heading out for work and I get in put the key in the egnition, turn nothing, turn again, a little cough and nothing, turn it again and it finally started. So then I let it run a little reved it up and turned it off, turned it on to see if it had happen again, nope. So I do it one more time and nothing had happened, so I go to work got to 7k to clean out any dirt maybe?I guess? Well finally I got to work and I called the dealer, they said it must be nothing if it didn't do it again maybe a gas leak had occured or the accelerator was tapped before egnition, so its fine now should I be worried. And did anyone experience this or was I the first?

 

I've never gotten 'nothing' when engaging the ignition. That would indicate an electrical problem, not a fuel delivery problem. I've had a hard start maybe 3 or 4 times in 17K miles. Since I started shutting off after reving to 4K and letting off the throttle, no hard starts either.

 

hmmm.........

 

The throttle on the 8 is drive-by-wire. If the ignition is off, there is no way to pump fuel.

 

I am not sure, but double check, i think this is the infamous "FLOODING" that everyone is raving about; do a search for flooding for more info...

 

Not even close. Perhaps you should follow your own advice and learn more about flooding before offering such an uninformed opinion! We've had more than enough scare-mongering about flooding already.

Regards,
Gordon

 

thx

 

Well it depends what the original poster means by "nothing"

He might mean "nothing" - no starter engagement, no engine turning over, no sounds, nothing. This would not be flooding and would likely be a battery, battery terminal, starter or other electrical issue.

Or he might mean "it didnt start" - engine cranks but doesn't fire, which to some people means "nothing" - which could be flooding or a host of other possible things.

Unfortunately words like "nothing" are used frequently ("I turned my computer on and nothing happened" for example...)

 

Was there at least a "click" each time you turned the key to the "start" position? If not, then the starter solenoid probably didn't catch. Either the starter is wearing down or there was not enough battery juice to get the starter motor kicking.

 

no click on the first turn, the second time i turned the key like the rotor spinned half way but nothing started, adn the third time it turned on.

 

It is possible although not likely to flood engine even after temp guage reads fully warmed up I experienced that once after pulling it out of garage and turning off immediately after guage went to full. I personally do not think car is fully warned up even after guage hits highest setting. I went to start it and it turned over, but wouldn't start right away. Finally, it started but not before I smelled some fuel and got a little puff of black smoke out exhaust. It was a one time thing so I figured until it actually fails on me, I won't fuss about it. If it happens often, I'd definitely look further into it. Some of us will flood easily, some of us will flood occasionally, but many of us won't flood at all. It's definitely not something to play around with though, because the flooding issue does exist, and we all have to keep that in mind.

 

Are you familiar with the M flash for the PCM? Have you read about how Mazda revised the cold start fuel injection parameters to eliminate the flooding problem? So far, NO ONE that has received the M flash has flooded their car - and quite a few have tried to deliberately flood to test this.

In other words, your conclusion quoted above is not valid for M flash cars (which should be all of them, soon, since dealers are instructed to update the flash on every RX-8 that comes in). The flooding issue will soon not exist anymore.

Regards,
Gordon

 

thx for the informatiopn guys,

regards
Adam

 

Hmm....sounds like my current car. I have an electrical issue with steering column and proper alignment. Many cars, I believe the 8 would be included have an electrical contact that must be made in steering wheel and column. Some cars also have a steering wheel lock. In that case, you must make sure the wheel locks, before trying to start...this may involve turning the wheel till it locks in position. For my car, I can turn the key and just here a single click from the starter. Upon turning the steering wheel either while keeping the key cranked, or turning off the key, cranking the wheel, than turning the key back to start, the car will start. Not sure if this has any relation, but it sounded like a simliarish problem when you said literally nothing happened. On the note, most of the time this isn't a problem, but when it is, its just annoying. I'd fix it, but I'm waiting till I get my 8 before I start taking this car apart to prep it as my winter driver.

 

Make sure your battery terminal connectors are clean and tight. Probably an unlikely scenario on a new car but I had similar issues with my FC and the battery terminals/connectors were badly corroded so sometimes they would work and sometimes under the high load of the starter they would arc and lose contact. Replacing the battery terminal connectors fixed it. Probably not your issue though since it's a new car but would be worth checking they are on tight.

 

SOLUTION to problem. If you're not getting a crank at all, read below:

I know this is ressurecting a really old thread, but surely others have had this problem too. My car was having the same issue: no crank at all for 1 or 2 turns of the key, and then it cranks/starts fine. It's very unnerving, because sometimes you wonder if one day it won't go at all.

Dealer said that there is a sensor of some sort around the clutch pedal that tells if the pedal is in. It can break, resulting in the engine not thinking the clutch is depressed, therefore not allowing the car to start.

Presumably, your plugs/coils/engine is fine. I don't know any more details about what/where this sensor is, because the service guy just described it briefly over the phone, but just have the dealer check it out.

-Andrew

 

There's a TSB on that switch, because it sometimes squeaks. It's by the clutch pedal bracket, and I believe the TSB shows the exact location. Useful info to know about it. I'm considering removing it and jumping the wires together, so I won't have to step on the clutch every time I start the car.

Ken