courtesy of MIKEZ, i followed the instructions on getting rid of CEL after SR pulley replacement. It is the only method that works that I know...
I also have the M flash and no CEL in 250 miles.
thanks for the tip MIKE, hope you dont mind me sharing your info!



Since, your 8 and mine are set up with similiar mods except flywheel, I'll give you a solution that hopefully will work for your 8. I will prempt that if you have a M flash or M flash update, then this solution might not work. My 8 has a K flash and KAM(Keep Alive Memory) that is more forgiving with mods. M flash is Mazda's Big Brother watching over your mods......actually M flash is designed to make a stock Mazda run better, if it was running too rich and run worse if your car was running leaner and hates mods and has no KAM, so that being said, let's rock-n-roll .

Take one afternoon and disconnect your battery, both positive and negative for 3 hours. Then reconnect the battery and go inside insert your key in the iginition and turn it to ON but DON'T start it. Pump the brake pedal 20x in 8 seconds and then turn the iginition off for 30 seconds and repeat two more times.

After you have finished the pedal pumping, start the car immedialely and take it out for a 25 -35 mile drive. If your CEL doesn't come back, your set for the get go .

I found out that when you replace the pulleys it is manditory to do the pedal pumping, Mazda sent in a corporate communications to the dealers on this issue back in November of 2003.

So, hope this helps, let me know if it works for your 8 and in the meantime zoom zoom and kick some butt :D !!!!!

Mike Zse

 

Awesome news. I'll have to try this procedure on the weekend.... I have the same problem as you know...

Thankx...

 

Okay.. I am terrible with acronyms.. what does CEL stand for?

 

CEL = Check Engine Light

 

Ah.. thanks..

 

I installed my SR Pulleys and aFe air filter this morning. In went very smooth and had the whole job done in about two hours. I plan on doing a write up later today. Anyway I did the brake pedal press X20, twice. I also viewes the oil gage do a sweep.
I had no CEL when I started the car and when I drive it normal.

When I push the car to about 8000 RPMs+ I get a CEL that comes on. Once it comes on I then backed off and drove it with a couple of easy pulls up to ~5500RPM. After 30 seconds of easier driving, the CEL disappeared. Ok so I punch it up to 8000+RPMs, CEL comes back on, dirve normal and it disappears in a few moments or so.......Do you think this is due to my aFe and the new air flow factors at higher RPMs?
What would cause the CEL to disappear?

Tonight I plan on disconnecting the battery and then resetting the whole ECU. By the way, my wife normally drives this car and she drives it in a civil manner, thus it might just not be used to me????? Any thoughts?

 

Thats what happens to me for the most part except the CEL light constantly stays on and when I push it hard, the CEL blinks...

 

Tapping the brake 20 times resets the Eccentric shaft position sensor, that's it.

I'm not sure how that would relate to this problem. If you disconnect the sensor during installation, then it must be reset or a CEL will appear.

 

did you try the disconnect method yet?

 

Rudy, thanks for putting out the my FYI on getting rid of CEL problems after pulley installations......this is a good example of people helping people .

I am pondering getting the M flash and want your feedback. My car is currently K and does want to run rich but with the mods has leaned out some. My current mods: K&N intake system, Magnecor plug wires, SR pulleys, SR high flow cat, RB back cat exhaust, Royal Purple & Chevron w/ Techron 91. The car runs fast, decent mileage, little to no misfire, no flooding problems.

I know the M flash will tend to lean the car more giving better low to mid range power to stock 8's running richer but what about WOT with your mods and car. Are you satisfied with the power and is your CEL still off?

Would apperciate your feedback.....Thanks

Mike Z

 

Not yet. Sooon.. This weekend.... I promise

 

So far my CEL has not come back on even after hard hi rev but I think i'll wait to do a M
flash.

 

Ok, try this.

Do not push the brake pedal 20 times. Make sure you depress it and hold it long enough to drain the capcitors holing power. 20 quick presses is not enough.

By the way, does the ECU read the break light function? Your trying to drain any reserve power left in the ECU capcitors so find something that it reads when the battery is disconnected, then turn that source on. ( Don't short it )

Even if this works it may be only temporary if the ECU can immediatlely recognize the timing is off from stock setting.

If this don't work then wait for a good programable chip that you can control your timing (Wolf 3-D ?).

Ahhh.. Take it to the dealer and have them clear it.

 

OK I disconnected the baterry for the entire night. This morning I changed the oil and filter, reset the DSC, and then did the 20x brake pedal press in 8 seconds twice, with 30 seconds between each set. On each 20x press, I had the oil gauge sweep up then back down :-)

Next I drove it hard on the highway, redlining it 3 times in a row with out any CEL. I then drove it hard for ~15 miles and never had any CEL or anything...redlined a couple of more times. Idle is still very smooth.

The car must have learned the new aFe Filter and SR Pulley inputs.

This car is 100% awesome. Flywheel is scheduled to go in on Thursday.....this will not be done by me :-(

Also with the battery disconnect all night the car key's FOB worked fine, as did the Nav System...just need to reset radio stations.

 

Hey guys.. thankx for the input..

It worked like a charm... For anyone who has these pulley's and the M flash, perform this procedure and your CEL will go away.

I also had to recalibrate my DSC/TCS..

Thankx!

 

yeah, totally satisfied with power.

to be honest, i have done several upgrades over a period of 6-7 months and it is hard to remember whatr the car used to feel like at wot, compared to now.
however, when i did the flywheel and cz 1/1 i notice significant power increase...especially the FLYWHEEL...AWESOME.
tne sr pulley set was great too. i think the hi flow cat and midpipe is next. cant wait as this will be the last engine upgrade for now unless another one rolls around.
springtime is suspension and wheel time! wwhhhooo hhooooo!
the M flash really made a nice difference in mileage and responsiveness.

btw, is the royal purple safe since the mazda recommends against synthetic oil:
i have always used it in my saabs and porsche and like it but dont know about rotary/

are you using 5 20 or 5 30?

still no CEL after a week of hard driven miles!
success.
rudy

 

Rudy, thanks for your input, it puts me more at ease about getting the M flash.

Since, I like synthetic oils and have used them in other high performance cars, I wanted to use the right synthetic oil in my RX-8. In Japan Idemitsu Synthetic oil is used in the RX-7 & RX-8 and in Europe, oil has to meet a higher & consistent formula standard so, the RX-8 can use the synthetic oils in Europe.

In the USA, we are a marketing garbage pit so, oils can use broader parimeters, including synthetics to compete in selling their products. Example, Amsoil is a great product, but only one of their oil lines could work for the RX-8 since, it is the only line that has API rating(important for Cat life & a hot button with Mazda) and even then it's additives are more harmful than good for the RX-8. Therefore, it is confusing for Mazda on what to recommend in the USA without liablity issues to complicate their life so, you go to aviodance as a safe parimeter.

Three synthetics in this world can work in the RX-8 and could legally win a court battle if push came to shove are: Idemitsu, Royal Purple & Redline.

The most important pieces of info on the label of the container of oil are the API Service rating and the ILSAC specification. Ensure that they are API "SL" and ILSAC "GF-3".

Additionally, why I chose Royal Purple was that it has the API "SL" and ILSAC "GF-3" rating which meets the RX-8's oil requirements and it's additives are beneifical to the seals etc. If you go to the Oil Institute website, it is a learning experience about all oils and their additives. I did my homework, research, went to FAQ-Royal Purple on rotaries, contacted Royal Purple via e-mail and got a prompt and professional response from them on my questions.

I feel comfortable using Royal Purple 5w-30. my 8 idles smooth and runs well and again, as long as the oil is API "SL" and "GF-3" which meets the oil reqirement for the RX-8, then I'm Ok with that. I change my oil every 5,000 miles(my choice) and use a K&N oil filter.

I hope that I answered any questions, if not, go the Oil Institue website or contact Racing Beat, Royal Purple or Redline.

Mike Z

 

wow! thanks mike! i want to use synthetic and now i can sleep soundly at night knowing my favorite car is well cared for! you should post this on a new thread and let the others know!
let me know how the M flash, et al, works out.
rudy

 

Rudy,

How do your SR Pullies function with the Canzoomer unit. I was thinking about that setup. Aren't there any compatibility problems since the CZ unit is made to run with the stock pullies ? Did you have the CanScan tool, and tune the unit yourself ? Is the difference with the two units (which unit did you have before the other one) noticeable ? i.e. if you had CZ before the SR pullies, once you put the pullies on was the difference noticeable, or vice versa ? Any dynos ?

 

sorry, no dynos.
i had CZ first then flywheel, and last...pulleys.
i dont have scan tool so it it maurices tune...but the car most certainly feels stronger (lighter!) with both upgrades. so subjective, but i know my car and it flys. my track times at gingerman went down by 8 seconds after flywheel change. have not been there since pulleys. i will get scantool in the spring, but as is, i would recommend all the changes ive done. hope that helps.
rudy

 

Hey.. let me ask you guys something. Ever since my CEL has gone away I have noticed that my car does run strong which I love, but it now also knocks when the rpm's exceed 7,000. Does anyone else experience this? It's almost like I reverted back to K or L it's that bad.. I remember knocking a lot in colder weather with those and that was eliminated when I got the M flash. It's really strange. Does anyone else get the knocking at these rpm's now? Knocking.. Detonation.. etc... whatever you want to call it....

 

never had that problem, but what does it sound or feel like?
glad to hear your CEL went out...mine never returned.
btw, getting SR midpipe and hi flow cat installed today.
let me know about knock....im curious.
rudy

 

Im on RP now and feel better. thanks

rudy

 

Rrrr.. the knocking is getting worse now so I am going to take it in tomorrow and have them check it out and replace my diff/trans fluids... I actually bought some lucas oil injector cleaner/octane booster today and it helped but when I filled up my tank again, the knocking came back... I hope it's related to a filter or flush of some kind.. We'll see..

 

Sorry About Your Problems Dude,,,good Luck.
Let Us Know What Happens