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Hey, so had my car for nearly 2 years now and over the last 2 months it's occasionally taken a while to fire up. It had become more occurrent, until last Thursday it would not start at all after filling up with fuel. I did manage to get it going and got it back home. I went out with it on Saturday and it stalled on me and wouldn't start, after faffing about for an hour or so it started up again only to then stall and not fire up after about half a mile. This time the car will not start up and the engine light had come up before the car stalled. I had to have it recovered and returned to my home.
When cranking the car and then stopping there is whirling sound like when you start a hoover. The engine and both the battery light is on, the battery definitely needs a charge which I will do but any ideas what the whirling noise is after I stop turning it over? For the engine light, I assume hooking up an OBD2 reader would be best idea?
If the car is cold it might be the air pump? But usually if the car doesn't start it doesn't run.
Figure out what the codes are.
Possible your fuel pump is dying... check the fuel pressure
After that check the compression. That's usually the base to start with when diagnosing a rotary problem.. and after that go down the usual list... does it have spark? Fuel?
If it's a MT you can try and pull start it... if it has fuel pressure that might allow it to start if the compression is borderline.
Given that it has been getting slowly.worse that doesn't sound great for an easy fix
The whirring noise should be normal, the throttle does its little dance, the airpump is winding down, etc. That doesn't sound problematic.
It sounds like a few things at play here:
- engine is losing compression (difficult starts when warm)
- it flooded repeatedly (stalling and not restarting while cold)
- it's completely flooded now
I would say root cause is worn out ignition coils/wires/spark plugs, which is a common killer of engines.
For the immediate problem, there's a deflood procedure you can follow. It takes longer than you think, but it does work. Plenty of threads here on that, you can google it.
For the intermediate problem, get fresh ignition components (every 25k miles if using OEM).
For the biggest possible problem, you need a compression test to see what state your engine is in, and if you're willing to replace it. If you're not, the previous 2 points may not matter.
If the car is cold it might be the air pump? But usually if the car doesn't start it doesn't run.
Figure out what the codes are.
Possible your fuel pump is dying... check the fuel pressure
After that check the compression. That's usually the base to start with when diagnosing a rotary problem.. and after that go down the usual list... does it have spark? Fuel?
If it's a MT you can try and pull start it... if it has fuel pressure that might allow it to start if the compression is borderline.
Given that it has been getting slowly.worse that doesn't sound great for an easy fix
I mostly agree with dannobre here... except I would skip the fuel pressure check and go straight to checking the engine compression.
Worn out ignition coils and spark plugs combined with low compression will give starting headaches, and then youll just flood the engine and not be able to start it at all.
If your compression is good, install new OEM FACTORY ignition coils (revision C) not any 3rd party garbage, along with fresh spark plugs (go with factory on those too) and same for the wires. Buy all those parts from a reputable retailer because there are fakes/knock offs all over the internet. Then clean your eccentric shaft position sensor and your mass airflow sensor.
Thanks for all the advice. Can you do a successful compression test without the engine starting at all?
I did try the deflood procedure and it got very close to firing up but just wouldn't get there and the cranking starting started labouring due to the battery. Do you think possibly the battery would need replaced, I tried the deflood procedure about 12 times, and a further 4/5 times to try to start the car. I should add the battery had been fully charged as well
A cold compression test is better than no test. If you've almost got it started, keep trying. Charge the battery back up, let the starter rest and give it another few tries.
Did you put fresh gas in it? 2 year old swill probably isn't helping
So I got her started! Had to change ignition coils, spark plugs, starter motor and new battery. I have broken the hose in the picture annoyingly, does anyone know the name of the hose or a part number for it?
The accordeon hose? Or the simple hose that connects to it. The accordeon you can probably find in ebay or such, but it's also pretty difficult to break, how did you manage that?
The simple hose can either be cut back to remove the damaged section or any autozone should have vacuum hose of the right size and length.
The 90 degree plaatic elbow? As said above you can find them in bulk or in assorted kits at any auto parts store. Just bring your pieces so you get the right size.
One more issue if anyone has come across it before. My Power steering is uneven or intermittent. I tried cleaning the 2 connectors under the airbox but still the same. I'm wonderiing if it's the battery, the one I got was cheaper than the others but was compatibale with the RX-8 from the car parts site I purchased it from. Or would it be the alternator that supplys the power steering system?
You can get the battery tested but I doubt it's that or the alt, you would see other issues if it were. Do you mean intermittent like sometimes it goes out or as in the steering force changes as you turn the wheel?
Turning the wheel either way feels like the power steering is very much off an on, quite a notchy feeling. It's strange as I thought it would be off completely off if the power steering wasn't working.
You wont be able to see much in terms of the rack. What I suggest is disconnecting the battery and then cleaning and wire brushing every ground spot connecting on the power steering harness and battery. You can apply some dielectric grease to help connection and prevent some corrosion.
It is possible that your PS module lost its positioning. Instead of typing it out, Essex Rotary has a good guide to what should be done after a battery disconnect. (See image below) Basically after the battery reconnect you will do the "20 brake stomps ECU reset" and the "Power Steering Reset"
I also battle with power steering issues randomly for the past 5 years on my car. I have a hunch that the modules can lose the positioning without knowing it and end up damaging itself. However I suggest take every route possible before going on a wild goose chase of buying parts. 80% of the time it will be wire connections disconnecting when shaken or a reset procedure must be done.
03-27-2023, 11:25 AM
