Hi Peeps,

Twas driving along fine when my baby died at a set of lights. really rough low idle, quickly followed by stalled engine.
Started her again, but when I shifted into first to take off, I thought I had accidently miss-shifted in to 3rd.
I got her moving but she was so under powered, also had a CEL. after about 2-3 mins of running everything was back to normal (sort of).
I got home (about another 15mins drive) and she did the same thing as I was backing up into the driveway.

Anyways after tooing n froing lots the following day, I hopped online and found other US peeps who'd had similar probs and it was their coils. I pulled mine out last night and low n behold.. they were burnt.

Question is.. has anyone else experienced this in AU and how many kms had you done?
I'm on 80k kms and am a little surprised as I've rarely had coild go on me in any of my previous cars.

Also I rang around today and a new coils cost anywhere between AUD$150 - AUD$175 EACH!!!
Peeps in the USA are getting them for USD$100 a SET!!!! I found some on ebay (genuine Mazda OEM) for USD$144 a set. So i'm thinking I'll go for them.

 

I only have done 36k (close to 4 years) with no problems.

I'd buy from overseas. you wont get duty till it exceeds $1000 so the savings wont disappear when it comes in the country.

 

I have recently replaced all 4 off my ignition coils after having similar problems as you L J .

MAZDA wanted TO REBUILD MY ENGINE FOR $8000 BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO DIAGNOSE THE IGNITION COIL PROBLEM . They insisted i had a bad motor ********

Mazda your diagnostic so called dealership mechanics suck

Mazda Australia as usual rips us off on thePARTS prices , so go to Online mazda parts get ontu Jason MC BAGGIE get four Ignition coils for$27.56 EACH +29.50 Postage = ... $150 aus delivered to your door within 10 days a

.......................BIG SAVING OF $ 450.00

THE PART NUMBER IS ............N3H1-18-100-9U

By the way most of the early 03 cars had faulty ignition coils causing all sort of problems with idling cats etc , the part has been upgraded my car has only done 66,000km .
( So if you havent had ignition coil problem to date or arent aware of it most likely you will get them down the road .)

If the Trailing coils are faulty theres very little sign of anything being amiss it does not show up even with the WDS IN USE until you f#ck up your cat or loose power front rotor goes intu limp mode only if the Leading coils go , the guy who works on my car here on the Goldcoast Ken from RX MOTORSPORTS has done 3 RX8 s recently .

All of the cars were once again misdiagnosed by Mazda








Cheers
Michael

 

Yeah... i've had a long standing suspicion that the Mazda dealership I goto weren't/aren't much good for diagnosing serious problems.
They were good for chaing oil and stamping my service book, plus making me feel warm n fuzzy. But thats about it..
I have a radiator light that comes on every now n then. I reported it ages ago while it was still under warranty but now they reckon it's the water bottle n lower hose. Which I think is BS btw cos if was leaking coolant, the coolant levels should be going down, but it's not.

Soz.. I think I just went OT..

Thanks Michael, will chase down Jason.

 

Search for the thread that talks about air bubbles in the coolant bottle/lines to solve the radiator light flashing every so often.
It's worth a look to see if you have bubbles in the coolant bottle.

 

Your radiator light is also another well known problem its the sensor inside the coolant bottle its sealed so you cant change it the whole unit has to be replaced at a stupid price the easiest fix is to disconnect the sensor a 1 minute job , and just keep your coolant level checked .
The worst part about this car is the cheap parts Mazda has placed in it and the hopeless ******** so called Rotary Tecknician that cannot diagnose anything correctly .
Yes they try and make you feel warm and Fuzzy while they have a hand in your pocket as they try and F#$K you up the *** .

Send Jason my regards he is a great guy , i have saved a fortune in spares using his services .

Cheers
Michael

 

Michael, good to hear your issue is resolved...Hopefully you can get back to enjoying your car.

As for coils, look into the aftermarket ones. Little bit more than the US OEM price but from what I have read a little more reliable.

 

Yep i am enjoying my car but have to be extra carefull as i am on G.D.B Good Driver Behaviour for 12 months , so if i do anything wrong its bye / bye licence.

Next year i will decide if i am keeping the car or upgrading so i may get the aftermarket coils then .

Cheers
Michael

 

Well done Michael.

Mazda Australia have educated you well & you know appreciate the well known saying from those in the industry. "Great product. Rotten company". Thankfully this applies only the **** retards that run Mazda Australia.

Have been thinking of the "coils issue" lately as mine has 53k km on it now but wasn't keen on getting insulted at the STEALership for a price on coils. Knowing the Americans are paying $25ea & the ripp-off margins Mazda Australia apply I would have insulted the parts guy for insulting me with bullshit like $175ea had I walked into the spare parts department.

Thank you for proving a way to get them at a reasonable cost & again.............. SHAME on Mazda Australia for ripping us off again.

BTW. Mazda Australia's incompetance with the Rotary engine is legendary in the rotary world here down under. Thats the reason why the specialist rotary workshops do such great business & can be trusted 100 times over compared to the apprentices at the Stealerships.

REgards

 

I reckon that would be the single hardest thing to do. I reckon I would garage my car and rent a Prius to keep me out of trouble!

 

I've ben trying to look for aftermarket coils. Are there any that you know of that are a direct drop in to the OEM ones?

I've also read that it's rather important to get coils that performs / have the same specs as the OEM ones if you're still using stock ECU.

cheers
LJ

 

search is your friend:

clicky!

 

Unless you have Mazda maniacs rotary knowledge its best to stick with the upgraded stock ignition coils IMHO Purchased from U.S of course

Nice find .................DREWMAN

Cheers
Michael

 

Theres also this one:


https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-coil-packs-installation-tips-120475/

 

David
Glad i am not the only one flying the Mazda BS Stearlership flag , thanks for backing me up .

Cheers
Michael

 

He may be your friend, but he's been a lazyassbastard to me over the past few days
Or maybe you stole him from me..

Thanks for the link.. I found that one the other day and thats how I was able to determine my coils had packed it it.

 

Would having a midpipe on your car make your car run hotter and make your coils go prematurely.....?

 

hmmm I doubt it. I'm pretty sure that the coils failing are due electronic reasons. ie. they're running at max duty cycle for too long.. (that's the short n simple answer)

 

Could be caused by poor design where heat isn't being sunk away from the core, thus breaking down the insulate and causing the coils to arc out. My other Mazda was notorious for this, due to the way the coil were packed, the heat wouldn't escape and thus the bakelite would break down prematurely.

Do they still use bakelite around the coils?

Hehehe, polyoxybenzylmethylglycolanhydride ... try to say that after a few drinks!

Hmm ... also there could be increased resistance if the temperature of the coils is running over about 120 degrees celcius, due to the fact that some of the metals used in the coils will increase in resistance.

Just google it, this is hurting my poor head!

Just put it down to the fact that it's a Mazda and it's always going to have premautre coil problems unless you redesign the system yourself (if it is indeed possible).

 

Anyone done a custom coilpack mod yet?

I don't have the time to tinker with my car anymore, but it could be a good project for those who do!

 

Hmmm, I see I was just curious because my coils went out and I had to pay over $500 for new ones, which is retarded. They are only like 32 bucks a peice and the installation can't be that hard. I have a midpipe on my car and I just don't have time to take it on and off nor do I have time to put the new coils in. I am at college right now and don't even have my car up here. Long story short the dealership voided my warrenty because I had a racing beat revi intake and a midpipe. He said the reason my coils went out was do to my midpipe because it caused the car to run hotter......I think that is BS but oh well it's fixed noow. warranties are the biggest F**KING JOKE!!

 

I've read the thread in the link given by DrewMan and the posts here. Would it be a fair summation that if you have modified your car in a particular way (eg, ECU, midpipe - whatever that is) you are probably more likely to suffer coil problems?

 

This problem has occured on stock totally unmodified cars as well +ignition coils dont know if you have modified your car , a cheap part placed in a very hot area on top of the motor certainly hasnt help , cheap part poor design

My car is running better than ever my coils were most likely faulty from early in the 66,000 km cycle of my cars life .As stated before if your Trailing coils go theres very few signs of anything being wrong its only when you stuff up your cat etc tha you have an indecation that something is a miss .

If your leading coils go thats another matter car will go intu a shut down mode .

Cheers
Michael

 

Driving around today i realised how hard its going to be to keep my car below 5000 rpm , sticking to speed limits is a pain in the butt , i may need to take your advice Schoolies week more traffic and plenty of nice piggies everywhere trying to take my last point from me .

They even have undercover Q cars entraping motorists


Cheers
Michael

 

I don't think you'd find that would be the case ... it would be the operating heat of the coils, the breakdown of the coils due to the high level of heat and the fact that it is unable to sink the heat due to the location of the coilpack.

They designed it the way they did because it's cheaper for them to build the car on a line. So from a manufacturing perspective it's very good, from a maintenance perspective, it's ratshit!

So ... redesign! I wonder whether Petroject is looking to be providing an aftermarket replacement?