04 WB RX-8 GT 54,xxxmi.

What happened:
Driving home and all my CELs came on. The car was bucking while i tried to pull over. No power steering, ABS, DSC, TSC,....NOTHING. All gauges died except for the gas gauge. Various lights where flickering. I managed to take pics before i attempted to cycle the car...







Car Info:
I bought the car used in Sept of 08 with 42,xxxmi. I've had the following repairs from the date of purchase until now:
New Tranny
New Motor Mounts
New Plugs and Wires (x2)
New Starter
New Clutch (When the tranny was replaced)

Thats all I can remember off the top of my head.
--------------------------------------------------------------
So the car died when i tried to start it again. I had Mazda Roadside Assistance tow it to my dealership. So anyone have any ideas wtf is going on with my WB.

 

Something put the car into limp (get home) mode.

I'd guess that the ECU lost contact with the engine.

Interesting what codes the dealership can get out of this.

Please update when you get more info.

 

thats the thing, my Cobb AP wouldn't read the ECU. It said it couldn't....

 

at first i was going to say motor stalled, possible carbon buildup or compression loss. but if your reader can't read the pcm im leaning to harness problems or possible pcm failure, the PCM has a tendency to overheat and pop sometimes.

kevin.

 

Being in AZ and living in 120 degree temps,, I have yet to see a PCM "POP".My car gets hot. As in 243 degree coolant temps.
Doesn't mean this can't happen. I wowuld think Mazda could tell right off the bat by plugging into the PCM. Via the OBDII.
Sounds to me like the connector for the PCM has issues.

 

wow, this sounds pretty sever - scribed for results

 

Just got a call from North Penn Mazda.

Drum Roll please....

Dead PCM.

The dealership told me that i had alot of parts on it and they are not telling Mazda about my mods because i've spent under 3k in less then 4 months @ North Penn. The ECU will arrive on Tuesday and they said I'd get my car back then.

I'll keep everyone posted with any info.

BTW how could the PCM just die like that?

 

It's a computer and like all electrical systems,, it can just fail.

 

Sorry to hear man, is that covered under warranty?

 

If its not warrantied, I believe G3tR3DDY2GR3DDY mentioned in another thread that he had one.
Might want to send him a PM.

 

good point.

Yeap, its covered under the 100,000mi warranty apparently. Even the reprogramming of the keys are covered.

The PCM will arrive on Tuesday and thats when i will get my car back.

 

Really?
I wouldn't have thought the PCM is under that warranty.
Good to know.

 

Damn, you have a nice dealer then

 

he probably bought extended coverage, MEPP, basic warranty would cover it but only within it's timeframe.

easy e1: we see 120 mazdas a day, good deal being rx8's, i've seen tons of stuff other mazda shops have never seen. we've also been key to the release of many tsb's you probably use. I've personally worked on 3 8's where the PCM overheated and failed (aka POP) and multiple other coworkers have seen the same. Their were typical electrical overheating signs on the boards, no centralized burning of any specfic area such as is typical in non-overheating related failures. overheating normally causes a gradual disintegration of the electrical contacts, starts with intermittent failures or "glitches" and grows from there. Hell the EPS ECU does the same thing cause its right under the PCM, just rolled an 8 out this week due to that (wasn't the harness, mind you)

kevin.

 

Good diagnosis teknics. So kinda like my heater potentiometer. And I thought the Japanese were good at electrical. JK

 

I was actually going to use that as an example, the HVAC control head's faulty solder joints are a heat related failure .

Great examples are also available by looking at 2nd gen RX7's...all the solder joints in those cars fall apart due to heat and well age nowadays lol.

edit: LMAO when i posted my previous reply i didnt even realize that his PCM was found to be bad, glad they found and solved your problem, I believe they've updated the units slightly in terms of construction so now you shouldnt have that reoccur (i may be thinking of something else honestly)

kevin.

 

well this afternoon i should get my car back with the new PCM. Gawd I can't wait.

 

What sucks is that your day is going to go really slow now

 

dude you don't even know the half of it. I'm also waiting for my ExoticSpeed Resonated MP from Fluid to come.

 

i always have three light come up on my dash too once i got 80mph for couple of mins, the abs light , the brake light and the traction control light , just like in the third pic posted at the beginning of this post , any reason why this happens , usually i stop and turn off my car and turn it back on and they all go away until i hit 80mph again for couple of mins any reasons why

 

hmm i don't know man. I've only had everything die, not parts of it.

I personally would take it to the dealership

 

i guess i will then

 

if i change the spark plugs do i have to change the wires and the ignition coils too , i got 96000 mi on it i dont think the dealer i bought it from got it changed when i bought it

 

is it always the same speed, 80mph, if so considering the lights involved it sounds like your car isn't able to monitor speeds over 80mph possibly a speed sensor or something deeper.

only reall way to tell is hook up a computer, go for a drive, and check the readings while at around 80mph to see whats not reading properly.

also do you have stock size tires all around (probably 225/45r18) incorrectly sized tires (such as 235/45r18 instead of correct plus sizing of 235/40r18) will set off a light.

kevin.

 

Bad news, the dealership just called.

They put the new PCM in and its still not communicating with the engine.

The tech wants 2 hours to see if there is a short. He said it could be b/c of my Interior LED lights and my AFR Gauge. I soldiered those wires and wrapped the crap outta them with electrical tape...if there was a short...those lights and the gauge wouldn't work at all.

What else could cause the PCM not to communicate?