I fixed my hot start! ! Fix your rx8 for under £5
#26
In the post right above you:
You need to get a compression test before purchase, otherwise you have a good chance at buying a car that someone dumped because it had a failing engine. Go get a compression test and start looking at legal options to return the car or get the dealer you bought it from to replace the engine. If you bought it private party, you just bought a paperweight, probably for far more than you should have.
difficulty starting only when hot
engine compression failure
failing fuel pump
engine compression failure
failing fuel pump
#30
#32
#33
You new owners should really read the potential buyers section before buying an 8 or you're going to get suckered into getting one with low compression. Norri171, best bet is to get a compression test first, that is the only wa to get the real story. But the fact it doesn't start when hot and you have to wait till it cools down to start leads to low compression, good luck.
#34
I would honestly say low compression, weak starter, weak ignition. Other than that, you gents got it. So IMO check those points. As Everyone has already stated, get a compression test FIRST. Then bring your numbers back here to this thread. You should have three numbers for each rotor. EX. 7.6-7.4-7.8, Rotor 1 @ 250RPM.
#35
I would honestly say low compression, weak starter, weak ignition. Other than that, you gents got it. So IMO check those points. As Everyone has already stated, get a compression test FIRST. Then bring your numbers back here to this thread. You should have three numbers for each rotor. EX. 7.6-7.4-7.8, Rotor 1 @ 250RPM.
Been there, done that. The newer starter is just a bandaid fix to avoid an engine replacement. It doesn't solve the core issue!
#36
Yup.
Williard,
Remember that low compression makes it hard to ignite the charge, regardless of if that low compression is from a dead starter or a dead engine. A low cranking speed will drop the compression, but on a healthy engine it will still be acceptable compression for starting. On a poor engine, replacing the starter gives you that "starting compression" bump from the increased speed, but won't solve the underlying problem. Stronger ignition will lower the threshhold of what compression is needed to be able to ignite the charge, but again, won't actually solve the problem. Both just mask the problem for a while.
Williard,
Remember that low compression makes it hard to ignite the charge, regardless of if that low compression is from a dead starter or a dead engine. A low cranking speed will drop the compression, but on a healthy engine it will still be acceptable compression for starting. On a poor engine, replacing the starter gives you that "starting compression" bump from the increased speed, but won't solve the underlying problem. Stronger ignition will lower the threshhold of what compression is needed to be able to ignite the charge, but again, won't actually solve the problem. Both just mask the problem for a while.
#38
No, the original starters had a cranking speed of about 250rpm. The upgraded starter spins around 290rpm. The Series2 starter (which is a direct fit), spins around 310rpm.
A starter that spins around 200rpm is a starter that is on it's last legs, and needs to be replaced. Anything under ~240rpm is a good candidate for replacing when possible.
Starting the engine with a 310rpm starter is a remarkable experience if you have only had a sub 250rpm starter.
That 1,571rpm test was almost certainly without any load on the starter. It isn't trying to move a mass of metal, so it will spin really fast. That doesn't mean much though, because you need the spin speed while also pushing the engine. It's like testing your car's acceleration without the rear wheels on the ground. You can do 0-186mph under 10 seconds. Put the wheels on the ground and that speed is quite a bit lower.
A starter that spins around 200rpm is a starter that is on it's last legs, and needs to be replaced. Anything under ~240rpm is a good candidate for replacing when possible.
Starting the engine with a 310rpm starter is a remarkable experience if you have only had a sub 250rpm starter.
That 1,571rpm test was almost certainly without any load on the starter. It isn't trying to move a mass of metal, so it will spin really fast. That doesn't mean much though, because you need the spin speed while also pushing the engine. It's like testing your car's acceleration without the rear wheels on the ground. You can do 0-186mph under 10 seconds. Put the wheels on the ground and that speed is quite a bit lower.
#39
lol. i get it. i never seen test results when buying a part so i was amazed when i saw the results. the engine definitely spins over very fast compared to all the videos ive watched about old/new starters and cold/hot starts.
#40
Not always true! i see a lot of cars with hot start problems that are can be completly atributed to a slow starter! if cranking speed drops below 220 rpm (and ive seen older cars cranking as low as 150 ) even a fairly healthy engine will struggle to start warm! ... the fix that this post is about is always what i try first before having a customer spend £300+ on a new starter and i can confirm it will, more often than not get you by at least a little while!
another trick i find helps is if you remove the earth bracket on the near side of the engine (earth for the starter loom next to the coolant drain plug) and give it a good clean up with a wire wheel or similar (they get a bit crappy) the better earth will help speed up your old starter
word of caution when dismantling your starter, the 2 long thin bolts sometimes dont wanna be moved BE VERY CAREFULL, if they feel iffy they probably are and if you try force them they WILL snap, so worth hitting them with the wd and winding them in and out till your happy before you go diving into the starter
oh and the early starters never ever crank faster than 250 rpm so dont expect to get a cheep R3 starter with abit of wd40 ... if your engine is that ill you need 300 rpm to start it just get a rebuild before you do more damage
@Benedunn
HI Benedunn im i having this problem with my rx8 and i was wondering if you could guide me step by step on how to do this or what the first post is talking about i have tried some many things to try and fix it but no luck i tried cleaning MAF sensor, Throttle, got my starter tested at Autozone and it passed got new oil change and the previews owner said he changed the spark plugs so idk what to do!! and i dont have money for new engine or rebuilt please someone help me. i live in california close to san francisco if anybody is around here that could help me.... thank you so much everyone for your time and sorry for bothering you all.
another trick i find helps is if you remove the earth bracket on the near side of the engine (earth for the starter loom next to the coolant drain plug) and give it a good clean up with a wire wheel or similar (they get a bit crappy) the better earth will help speed up your old starter
word of caution when dismantling your starter, the 2 long thin bolts sometimes dont wanna be moved BE VERY CAREFULL, if they feel iffy they probably are and if you try force them they WILL snap, so worth hitting them with the wd and winding them in and out till your happy before you go diving into the starter
oh and the early starters never ever crank faster than 250 rpm so dont expect to get a cheep R3 starter with abit of wd40 ... if your engine is that ill you need 300 rpm to start it just get a rebuild before you do more damage
@Benedunn
HI Benedunn im i having this problem with my rx8 and i was wondering if you could guide me step by step on how to do this or what the first post is talking about i have tried some many things to try and fix it but no luck i tried cleaning MAF sensor, Throttle, got my starter tested at Autozone and it passed got new oil change and the previews owner said he changed the spark plugs so idk what to do!! and i dont have money for new engine or rebuilt please someone help me. i live in california close to san francisco if anybody is around here that could help me.... thank you so much everyone for your time and sorry for bothering you all.
#43
#46
It only works on some engines that are badly carboned up . Mostly it's a waste of time but if you suspect the engine has spent a lot of it's life been driven nanny style .......... could be the best thing for it !
#47
Probally does have a lot of carbon I removed the the lower intake to change injectors . Took about 2 hrs to get all the carbon out of the intake. I've been told that meth water injection cleans the engine out good so I've been trying that no positive results yet. It always starts just takes a while sometimes.
#48
Hot start issues
I just got my 2005 RX-8 in July (traded a kid straight across for my bad tranny BMW, hoping I got the better end of the deal. Now Im not so sure). When I got the car, the kid I got it from told me the starter was going out. My car was not included in the few 05's with the recalled starter that Mazda replaced. I don't know any of the history on the car whatsoever. I never noticed long, cold starts until I watched everyone's videos with their upgraded starters and 1 second starts. My cold start is 3 or 4 seconds maybe, but it starts on the first try every time. On hot starts, sometimes it can take up to 8-10 seconds to start, sometimes it wont start at all. I have watched video after video on bad starters and have noticed the same thing in every one of them. The RPM gauge acts different than mine does, and I am hoping someone has an explanation (please bear with me, I don't know a whole lot about cars, and I am a girl ). It seems like everyones RPM gauge stays on 0 when they are having a long start. My gauge goes up to maybe 500 RPMs. If my car is going to start, the gauge will stay there until the car starts. If it is not going to start, the gauge will drop back down. There are a couple other issues I have noticed with my car: my idle drops when I am in drive, but sitting at a stop light, and my car vibrates. The RPMs drop to about 800-850, then they come back up to around 900-950. The only other issue I can think of is the other day, I backed out of my driveway and as I was backing up, the car stopped suddenly, as if someone slammed on the brakes. It did it twice (and scared the crap out of me). What would cause this?!? Any advice is much appreciated! Thank you.
#49