Starting trouble, ignition has been replaced
02-13-2014, 11:10 AM
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Starting trouble, ignition has been replaced
Cranking but does not start issue
I am new to the forum, but bought a new Aniversary RX8Auto in 2008.
In 2012 I had to have the car towed to the dealership to sort out flooding issues & so gained a little experience of the pitfalls of this car.
Since then no problem till last week. I refuelled my car & drove home on 45 minute journey between 50 & 70 mph. Nothing abnormal.
I went to start the car next day & she would turn but not fire. My husband & I (he is 80 & I am a slight female of 60 plus years) took off the front wheel & removed the plugs, which were fouled so we cleaned them & as they were only 3,000 miles old replaced them. We did a spark plug test & I found that two were not sparking.
I looked on you tube & followed a video of how to remove & replace the coils etc & put everything back together expecting the car the fire up immediately.
It would not fire after turning for some time. My battery is new, & has been tested. Can anyone throw any light on this problem. I have phoned the dealer telling him that I had the crank but no start problem but he says that he cannot throw any light on the problem without I again have the vehicle towed 45 miles to the shop. Can anyone help please. By the way the forum is fantastic.
I am new to the forum, but bought a new Aniversary RX8Auto in 2008.
In 2012 I had to have the car towed to the dealership to sort out flooding issues & so gained a little experience of the pitfalls of this car.
Since then no problem till last week. I refuelled my car & drove home on 45 minute journey between 50 & 70 mph. Nothing abnormal.
I went to start the car next day & she would turn but not fire. My husband & I (he is 80 & I am a slight female of 60 plus years) took off the front wheel & removed the plugs, which were fouled so we cleaned them & as they were only 3,000 miles old replaced them. We did a spark plug test & I found that two were not sparking.
I looked on you tube & followed a video of how to remove & replace the coils etc & put everything back together expecting the car the fire up immediately.
It would not fire after turning for some time. My battery is new, & has been tested. Can anyone throw any light on this problem. I have phoned the dealer telling him that I had the crank but no start problem but he says that he cannot throw any light on the problem without I again have the vehicle towed 45 miles to the shop. Can anyone help please. By the way the forum is fantastic.
Last edited by susanh63; 02-13-2014 at 01:44 PM. Reason: title change
02-13-2014, 11:23 AM
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Where are you located? You can probably get some hands-on help from forum members in your area. Many of us are happy to help out a fellow owner when needed.
It sounds like simple ignition failure started this. Your searches got you pointed in the right direction with the coil replacement. Are you still on the old plugs and wires though? New coils won't help much if they can't get the charge through the wires or sparking on the tips of plugs.
Coils, plugs, and wires should be replaced every 30,000 miles unless you go with a more expensive ignition upgrade.
At this point however, the engine is likely just flooded. By this I mean that when you were cranking before, the ECU is injecting fuel into the engine expecting it to fire, but it couldn't because of the previous coil failure. This means a lot of fuel is just collected in the engine and will prevent any attempt to ignite the plugs. That fuel has to get swept out of the engine before you can get it started again.
Do you have jumper cables that you can hook up the RX-8's battery to another running car? If so, deflooding should get the engine started again. Hook up the jumper cables to make sure you don't run down the battery, then push the gas pedal to the floor and hold it there. This will cut all fuel delivery to the engine while cranking so you aren't just piling more fuel on top of the fuel that is in there. Turn the key to Start and let the engine crank over for 5-10 seconds, then stop. Let the starter cool down for about the same amount of time, and repeat 5-10 seconds of cranking. Do this 10 times total. Then take your foot off the gas pedal and try to start the engine normally.
If it seems like it wants to fire but doesn't, then repeat the cranking with the gas pedal to the floor, one more set of 10 times should do it.
It sounds like simple ignition failure started this. Your searches got you pointed in the right direction with the coil replacement. Are you still on the old plugs and wires though? New coils won't help much if they can't get the charge through the wires or sparking on the tips of plugs.
Coils, plugs, and wires should be replaced every 30,000 miles unless you go with a more expensive ignition upgrade.
At this point however, the engine is likely just flooded. By this I mean that when you were cranking before, the ECU is injecting fuel into the engine expecting it to fire, but it couldn't because of the previous coil failure. This means a lot of fuel is just collected in the engine and will prevent any attempt to ignite the plugs. That fuel has to get swept out of the engine before you can get it started again.
Do you have jumper cables that you can hook up the RX-8's battery to another running car? If so, deflooding should get the engine started again. Hook up the jumper cables to make sure you don't run down the battery, then push the gas pedal to the floor and hold it there. This will cut all fuel delivery to the engine while cranking so you aren't just piling more fuel on top of the fuel that is in there. Turn the key to Start and let the engine crank over for 5-10 seconds, then stop. Let the starter cool down for about the same amount of time, and repeat 5-10 seconds of cranking. Do this 10 times total. Then take your foot off the gas pedal and try to start the engine normally.
If it seems like it wants to fire but doesn't, then repeat the cranking with the gas pedal to the floor, one more set of 10 times should do it.
Last edited by RIWWP; 02-13-2014 at 11:31 AM.
02-13-2014, 01:50 PM
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Than you Riwwp,
from what you say maybe I did not thoroughly deflood the engine sufficiently as we only did it once for a short time.
I will try it again soon as the weather permits & hope you are right. Wish me luck. I will let you know what happens. As the car was driving perfectly before it may be just something that simple.
Many thanks,
Susan
from what you say maybe I did not thoroughly deflood the engine sufficiently as we only did it once for a short time.
I will try it again soon as the weather permits & hope you are right. Wish me luck. I will let you know what happens. As the car was driving perfectly before it may be just something that simple.
Many thanks,
Susan
02-18-2014, 08:31 AM
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starts but won't fire issue.
After following help from RIWWP & cranking the engine for a number of 5-10 second periods & letting it cool, the engine eventually sounded like it was trying to fire. However it was parked under a tree on slightly uneven ground so we decided to tow it onto the drive in case the level had anything to do with it. Once it was on the level it fired & has run perfectly ever since. Maybe this is something to do with the syphon I have heard mentioned regarding the tank. As the tank was three quarters full you would not have thought it would have mattered, but it obviously did. So I hope this may help someone else in the same predicament. A good thing to have available is a spark plug cleaner you can attach to a compressor, so the plugs can be properly cleaned up. Thanks Riwwp for the confidence you gave in continuing to crank the engine. I would think this has just saved me at least $500 as my car would have had to be towed 40 miles to the agent. Susan.
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