Mr President

Hello all, this is my first post on these forums. I hope its ok that I post this here since I can't seem to post anywhere else. On to the problems.

I bought a 2004 4speed automatic rx-8 a couple months back. Just yesterday I was pulling out of my local gas station and the car died. I pulled to the side and tried to start it, nothing. I was still getting juice from the battery because the interior lights were on but now the windows and sunroof wouldn't close, and the radio was completely out.

So, I checked in the fuse box, the 15a ignition fuse was blown. I threw a spare in and it blew instantly. It doesn't turn over or try to start at all. It still blows fuses the second I turn the key to accessory.

I put a 30 in there to test some, see what would work while that fuse wasn't blown. I know its a bad idea to put a larger fuse in but I only kept it going for 20-30 seconds at a time, to try and keep a fire from starting. Everything worked except for the sunroof. So, I unplugged the sunroof from above the little sunglasses hold in the roof of the car, and it was still blowing the 15s. Also, with the 30 in, it wouldn't start still.

Pre-existing problems:

When I got it, not much in the center console worked : the buttons for the radio (other than eject, but the buttons on the wheel work), cant switch the ac/heater controls, etc. I also noticed the fuse for the power windows was gone, but they still worked, I thought that was odd.

Then about a week ago, the power steering started coming and going. Thats when I pretty much stopped driving it, I wanted to get everything fixed. I thought a quick trip to the gas station wouldn't hurt though... I was wrong.

Any feedback or help would be amazing!

Thanks in advance for your time.

Edit: Also, of course, if you need any more information on it just let me know.

bladeiai

iTrader: (1)

Is it a stock or after market radio? Do you know if the alternator is in good health or the battery?
Did you check the relays?

*Oh and welcome to the boards... sorry it is under such circumstances...

Mr President

Its a stock radio, the battery is good. I'll check up on the relays and alternator tomorrow and give you an update on that.

Thanks for the reply!

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't bother with the alternator or checking relays.
Stuck relays will not cause fuses to blow.
The power steering problem is known and is covered greatly on this forum, search and you'll find several threads on that.

Your car isn't starting because the 15A ignition fuse energizes the ignition relay when the key is turned.
Does the fuse blow when the key is turned to ACC, ON, or Start?
You also mentioned the power window fuse was missing beforehand. Have you tried removing that fuse and seeing if the IGN fuse still blows?

Here is a google doc link to the service manual:
https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B4...li=1&hl=en_US#
Download all the PDFs to have handy, but go through the electrical section to narrow this down.
I usually start with page 5 to get an overview of the vehicle:

Find the electrical paths that do not have power (highlighting the paths can help).
Hope you're OK with reading electrical diagrams because these kinds of problems can be very difficult to troubleshoot over the web.

Mr President

The fuse blows at ON actually, before I start it. Sorry, not accessory.

The power windows fuse was still out when it blew the first time. Ive tried it since then multiple times with and without that fuse, it hasn't made a difference.

Thank you for that link to the PDFs, its amazing! Completely confusing (to me) but amazing. Im sure they will be very helpful. I'll do some research on how to read them or get someone to teach me. I'm pretty new to doing any kind of work on cars but I need to learn all of these things.

I'll post back if there is anything I cant quite get. Also, If anyone has had any similar experiences or has ideas, Ill still be checking up her.

Thank you guys again!