So I bought my RX-8 on Friday and I'm absolutely in love with it! Yesterday I hung out with a friend and we decided to race a little bit (he has a Miata) I got my rpms in the 7500 range and then suddenly my check engine light started flashing it scared me so I backed off and pulled over, luckily there was a gas station to stop at. However when I backed off the throttle the check engine light went away.... What does this mean? I drove it home and it felt totally fine... But I don't want to press my luck.


I had already planned on changing my oil today, so what else should I do or check while I'm working on it?

 

flaching cel is a misfire and 99% of the time its ignition related. get the basic maintence done. search the noobs guide cause im not here to spoon feed ya

 

^ Listen to this guy. Check your plugs/wires/coils. It can do wonders for this car.

 

Flashing Cell mostly represents a misfire.
However, I've come across this scenario a few times, if I drive my car like under 4k rpm for a few days then suddenly I drive it hard it would flash once and sometime twice and then it goes away.

My cure has been, as long as you redline it once a day, it stays healthy and helps the engine clear out the carbon.

Now, I know my plugs are new, I have BHR kitt and no cat so don't want you to just go based on my experience and ignore your CEL..

Get the codes checked and look them up.
SInce you just got the car, get the fluids changed, if you are not on a budget get the BHR Ignition kit and call it a day :-) otherwise, find out how old are the current coils, plugs and wires. They need replacing every 25-30k..

Also, thoroughly read the new potential owers thread in the stickies..

All the best.

 

+1 200

Khurram, get a coolant pressure test. I had a similar symptom before I pulled my motor. Slight leak in the coolant seal into the front housing.


Travis

 

That would explain the slow death of my previous RX8 then..
Thank God my new 8 does not have such symptoms or else I'd end up killing this one as well ..

Thanks for the clarification Travis..

 

Yeah, like Khurram said, get the codes checked.
Flashing CELs are usually misfires caused by bad ignition components, which in turn can ruin your cat.
If you are getting misfire codes, you'll want to get your cat checked also.
I had the same issue, replaced my bad coil & plug, but I was still getting the flashing CEL.
My cat was shot, and it caused the CEL, and by that time I was losing power at high RPM also.
Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.