RX8880

Hi guys,

First time poster. Apologies in advance if this has been covered already, was unable to find anything to pin point the issue. 2005 RX-8, recent rebuild.

About a week ago I tried to start the car in the morning and after cranking it would not start, getting less and less cranking until it stopped cranking completely. Went to work, came back, tried to unlock the car with remote/key and only passenger's side would open. Went and got a new battery, got it to start after de-flooding the engine and drove good for about 4 days, having to get into the car through the passenger's side. Tried starting the car today and as soon as I turn the key to start the engine, all power goes out. And I mean all of it. No lights at all, remote will not work, passenger side door will not lock at all. When I press hazard lights switch, I get a weird buzzing sound coming from behind the radio, but no lights. Battery resets work, but up until I try to crank it again. Had a look at fuses, passed visual inspection, however, I do hear a clicking/ticking sound coming from the fuse box. Any ideas?

Thank you.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Battery?

After that corrosion, fuse, charging system

New Yorker

RX8880

Thanks for the replies.

Battery is still good. All lights off and nothing open overnight etc.
It only short circuits after I try to start the car, trying to pin point what exactly could be going on.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

What do you mean by short circuits? Is all OK when you turn on the key....and then things don't work after you try and crank it?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Battery was tested on a load tester? If not, you can't conclude it is fine. This sounds like a current problem, so either the battery has lost a cell or two, or the connection to the battery is poor, or connection battery to ground is poor.

The buzzing, lights going out and the rest of the symptoms point to that.

RX8880

Not sure if it actually short circuits, but correct, it completely dies as soon as I try to crank it, everything works fine when they key is in "on" position.

RX8880

It's a brand new battery not even a week old, not to mention it's the best one someone can walk in and buy in a store. I do think it's a current problem though, but I don't know which steps to take to check. Where's the connection from battery to ground?

Thank you.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

The ground strap goes from the negative post to the cross member under thr battery. It's pretty easy to follow, and the whole battery tray comes out with a couple of bolts if you need to make space to work. The battery posts and clamps may also need a cleaning/tightening. It's possible the clamps have stretched and aren't snug on the battery.

UnknownJinX

It is still possible that you got a lemon battery. Get a load test done just to be sure, and if it has issues, you can probably get an exchange.

These things can spend quite a bit of time just sitting on the shelf and from what I have heard, these things don't get maintained all that well by the store staff, either.

RX8880

All sorted, thanks for all your help guys! The connection to the battery must have been poor. I blame lack of light when replacing the battery :D

Cleaned the clamps and tightened them down, works like a dream. Too bad the driver's side door still won't open!

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Does the door not open from outside, inside or both?

RX8880

Both, sadly. When I pull the handle from the outside, it feels "empty". My guess is the cable has come off. Just not sure how to take the door panel off, don't feel like cutting into it..

Loki

iTrader: (1)

You can remove the plastic around the interior door handle/lock and see if you can get at the pushrod with pliers to unlock it. If it came off at the latch, though, this will be less fun. There are 2 screws at the top part of the door pocket (kinda where the "armrest" is). Once you have those out, the only thing holding the door card are the plastic clips all around the perimeter, and wiring for lights/switches. It's a pain in the ***, but with a plastic non-scratchy tool of some kind, you should be able to get the card loose one clip at a time

There's a DIY here somewhere with illustrations, it just assumes the door is open. Can still be done with door closed.

You may want to remove the seats through the passenger opening to have space to work.

edit: I suppose that if the exterior handle doesn't open it either, the problem is in the latch itself. Good luck:/

04Green

iTrader: (1)

I just spent a day fixing my nephews cx7 Same door handle as the 8. There is a part that breaks off the handle and make that one not work. If you are lucky, the parts do not drop into the works for the latch. Also, at least with the CX7 latch, just the weight of the rod over to the side can screw the alignment up enough that it will not open the door when the inside latch is pulled. In his case, the latch itself was a bit bent and misaligned, likely when the window rolled down after the handle broke.

When you get your hand in there (Loki's idea is awesome), feel for a steel rod that comes out of the top of the latch. Make sure the door is unlocked and when you find it, say a quick prayer and gently push down on it. If that does not work, try gently pressing the bottom of the bar forward and repeat.

Post a picture of your arm afterwards. I was cut in 27 places when I got done (mostly on thumb) and bleeding from about a dozen.

I got a primed handle for his car from Amazon for $17. Somewhere here I posted how to fix the broken handle. But, for $17, you can get rolling and paint it later.

RX8880

Thanks for your help guys. Going to try this tomorrow and see how I go, maybe get a locksmith out to see if he can at least get the door opened without having to damage the door card. Spoke to the dealership, they said they will definitely have to cut it in half.