PureRotary

Okay so my 2004 rx8 sat for a few and I went to start it and it won't start?? It ran great. It will roll start and it won't run well. It makes a knocking noise and I'm pretty sure it's because the ssv valve. But I'm not sure why it won't start from the switch?? Can someone help

RX8onside

Any CELS on currently?

Steve Dallas

What does it do when you turn the ignition? Nothing? Clicking sound? When you ask for help, you need to provide as much detail about the problem as possible. "Won't start" doesn't tell us much.

Probable causes are:

1. Loose or corroded battery connections
2. Loose or corroded starter connections
3. Loose or corroded ground wires throughout engine bay
4. Bad battery
5. Bad starter

Roytary

If it roll starts but doesn't with the switch itts either a bad battery or starter, does the engine turn over slowly at least ?, if not try with a starter pack, if still doesn't, bad starter

PureRotary

No it turns oner fast it just never catches but when we got it to roll start yesterday it was making a knocking noise and it didn't when I parked it?? And my ssv is clean. What else could it be?

Mysterion

Hmmm... knocking sound like a bag of hammers or a repeated misfire? Have you checked the coils, wires and plugs for corrosion, fouling and cracked wiring? If the atmosphere where the car was stored was humid, the above might be the case resulting in a nasty misfire. Also, when it finally start, did it belch smoke like crazy (sign of flooding)? Knocking that sounds like hammering , from what I have observed, is generally a piston engine thing (bad rods, bad lifters, bad rockers, none of which exist with a rotary) and, at present, I can't think of how a rotary would knock other than a bad misfire. If it is, indeed, misfiring, drop the midpipe and cat until sorted out since a misfire that bad is probably farting loads of carbon from sitting into the exhaust and could clog the cat resulting in worse symptoms.

So, to summarize: 1) drop the cat
2) carefully check all ignition components and replace as needed (if not done immediately prior to storage, replace ignition checking coil wiring as you change coils)
3) drain the fuel tank and refill with fresh high-octane fuel with a dose of non-synthetic 2-stroke oil (3 or 4 ounces per tank full)
4) charge the battery or, if older than a year or 2, replace it
5)check all ground contact points and clean as needed, then coat with grease or vaseline to repel moisture
6) clean ESS, MAF, IAT while doing ignition
7) Once all that is done, try again to start the car without the cat and listen for odd noises (other than loud exhaust) If no oddities are apparent, carefully inspect the cat for clogging or crumbling of the matrix and, if ok, reinstall. If questionable, gut or replace the cat.

Hopefully, that will sort out the issue.

PureRotary

Thanks I'll try it tomorrow

Roytary

If what u mean is : the starter turns full speed but the engine won't turn over.. Means either your starter gear is broken "or gear is stuck to the motor/won't move forward to meet the flywheel" or flywheel gears are broken.
Start with verifying the starter gear.. Pull it out and inspect the gear & it's movement. If OK inspect the flywheel for broken gears.

PureRotary

Here's a dumb question but does the rotary motors make noises when they are bad or no idk what's wrong with mine I don't know if I should buy a new starter or what like when we role start it a lot of white smoke comes out of the exhaust witch means it needs deflooded how do I do that and get all the gas out of motor and when my 8 is started all it wants to do is die would that be from where it needs deflooded.

Roytary

Sorry for the delay. Unless you have bad crank bearings/destroyed rotors you wont ear much otto cycle like Knocking in certain areas, harder to find small causes of failures. Wankels have no valve train , rods, t-belt ect.. if something's fail inside a wankel you have to tear it apart. Poor idle ''especially hot'' with good spark/fuel delivery usually means weak compression, you might ear a small knock/pinging sound but thats pretty much it, test your engine for compression. If you ear major knocking/clanking noise you probbly have a shot rotor/bearing, look for metallic pieces in your oil.

Jvswan

I had something like this happen when I first got my 2004. What sounded like knocking to me was misfiring caused by weak/faulty ignition coils. That could also explain why it won't start right up. A rolling start might give it enough heat and energy to sustain some spark, but maybe not enough? Just a thought...

Jvswan

Oh, I forgot to mention... I also found out that when you are really low on fuel the fuel pump lags, causing misfires that sound kinda like knocking. You didn't mention anything about the fuel situation, but I did have that happen to me. I couldn't figure out what the problem was, but it went away when I filled up with 93 octane.