UnknownJinX

Okay, you need punctuations. Lots of them.

From what I can understand from this wall of jumbled text, you might want to make sure your connections are secure, and all contacts/grounds are clean. It could also be that your new battery is a lemon. What's the voltage reading on the battery when it's sitting?

Throwing parts at it doesn't solve the problem. You need to use logic a bit here.

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Loose battery terminals, not making good contact with the battery.

That's why it will crank with booster cables, because you are boosting to the terminals.

Clean and tighten the clamps, then charge the battery.

....and you probably flooded it in all the start attempts.

ChaseZehr

I did that and the terminals are new. So I tried to bump start it and me pushing it wasn’t enough it would just stop. So I had a buddy pull it and I put in gear and let clutch out the miles turn on and rpms hit 1,000 to 2,000. Then I put I push the clutch again and the car just shut back off the when I tried again I let clutch out and and was pushing gas. I was getting nothing the car wasn’t driving on it own then a lot of white smoke cane out the exhaust and I stopped there.

Red line envy

Sounds like an electrical issue. For sure check batt terminals AND GROUNDS. Charge batt if needed and hold a volt meter on terminals. To see if the batt is only holding a surface charge. It will drop in volts( when you turn the key to start) and not come back up if that's the case. Most vehicles run and drive without a batt even connected like my truck. It's only needed to start up then alternator runs everything. The 8 is a totally different story. The car runs off the batt and the alternator maintains the charge in the batt.

PatrickG

Hi. My sons RX8, 69k on it. Stalled while driving. Towed it home . De flooded..New plugs, new coils, new wires, new fuel pump. Still wont start. Got it to start once with starter fluid and it ran horrible for 30 seconds and stalled. I'm new to the rotary game so I'm at a loss.. Cat clogged or injectors maybe? We've only had the car 3 months and about to give up on it. Any direction please. Would like to see him happy on his birthday tomorrow.

UnknownJinX

If it's the cat, you could drop it and see if it's melted.

Removes the three nuts on the front of the cat and you can push it back enough to make it drop and take a peek inside.

Red line envy

Clean the ess and do the 20 brake stomp maybe. Assuming it's cranking but not starting.

Antonio Ponticelli

I just got back from an underway and my car has been sitting in a deployed parking lot for roughly 3 months. When I reconnected the battery and tried to crank her over she didn't start. The car was parked before leaving with a quarter tank of gas (maybe less) and all basic maintenance done before hand. I don't really have time nor the space to really work on the car and was just wondering if anyone had ideas.

drag1c

Try to press full gas pedal, while cranking. Hold it for 15sec like that.
Then turn key off and try to turn on again. It might be engine flooded.
​
Edit: check battery voltage first.

Antonio Ponticelli

I have tried that multiple times and it sounds like she wants to crank but never would

drag1c

Check voltage of a battery.
If you did reflooding, i dunno what is a problem.

TheRedRotor

Is the engine turning over at all? 3 months even with the battery disconnected and not on a trickle charge could self discharge to the point it won't start the car, have you tried a boost?

Antonio Ponticelli

The engine is cranking and sometimes sputters like it wants to start but wont actually turn over.

TheRedRotor

Make sure the battery is charged up and also make sure when your cranking it's not dropping below 9.6V otherwise it won't have enough power in computer circuits to process sensor data correctly, I've found if the factory dw flood procedure does not work it's best to pull the spark plugs out (they're likely wet), crank the engine a few times without plugs to remove any excess fuel, heat the plugs up with a lighter or small butane torch to remove any fuel on them and once they're dry put it all back together and give it another shot.

Antonio Ponticelli

That is the next step for me once I get back to port again. thanks for the input, I will update this when I get her fixed

TheRedRotor

No problem man anytime! Let us know how it goes

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

it being cold isn’t helping (maybe not, not really sure where you’re located)

someone spraying some ether starting fluid into it while cranking might help get it fired
.

blue17

Had mine for a few months now and even after getting a good compression test before buying I was concerned after trouble starting the car when hot. A few times it took about 20min to get it going with a lot of fuel smells. After a while of running it seems to be ok now. What I want to know is what is the science/myth behind this difficulty between cold/hot starting and compression condition?

TheRedRotor

When the engine is hot the materials that make up the components (housings and seals ect...) expand and the tolerances increase. If your engine is already worn and has "loose" tolerance these are exaggerated with thermal expansion and it makes it difficult to build up enough compression to start the engine

Skint02001

Hello,
I've spent hours reading about the RX 8 and I'm trying to proceed in the best order but feel like I need to recap and get better advice as I may not have started in the best order.
Bought a RX-8 NO CODES. Car had been sitting for a few months and wasn't driven much anymore.
It had issues starting but drove strong once started, I realized that the battery wasn't the right power for this car, so I replaced with a new one. Car started right up but then didn't start again the following day even with jumping cables.
It cranks, and I feel some compression from both exhaust, thought it could be the fuel pump but I can hear it and it seems fine.

Williard

iTrader: (18)

Hello,

Without a proper compression test, you're essentially throwing parts at a problem. (not the best for a budget)

Have you hooked up any of the coils to an HEI (High energy Ignition) tester? That would tell you WHICH coil, if not all, are failing. Yes, you SHOULD have replaced them and the wires with the plugs since you do not know how old they are and they are prone to failure.

Next, I'll assume it is a MT car.
If the starter is original and i can remember correctly, you likely have the N3H1A starter. On the body of the starter will be a sticker with the information on it.

It'll say one of these.
N3H1
N3H1A
N3Z1
N3R3- This is the starter you want.

The 20 pedal brake stomp is pretty straight forward. ignition ON, step on brakes rapidly until you see the oil gauge needle sweep.

Travis

Skint02001

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is a manual transmission..
Should I do the brake stomping procedure?

Courtneyj09

I have a 2008 maxda rx8 and it has 112,000 miles on it. Last week I was driving it and the motor died. Tried to crank it back and got "click click click" so I figured battery was dead. Replaced the battery and the car ran just fine about 45 minutes until brand new battery drained. Car died again. So then I thought altinator was bad. Had altinator and drive bed checked and both are good. Had new battery tested and it's good to. When car battery starts to die I lose power steering and transmission locks in 4th gear every time. All dash lights come on. Once I nip the battery off it's fine again until battery drains. I also had the ECU reset. No aftermarket equipment hooked up either.. i'm lost and not sure what the next step should be.

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Not possible to have a 'good' alternator and a 'good' belt, with a 'good' flat battery.

One of those items is 'not good'.....

I suggest getting the alternator tested again, someplace different.

...almost forgot to tell you to tighten the battery terminals. (It's always the battery terminals.)

Courtneyj09

Thanks! I replaced the battery with a brand new one and also had the new one tested. I had the altinator tested twice (two seperate places) and had someone look at the drive belt. I bought new battery terminals and had them installed with the new battery too and had them adjusted when I had the new battery retested. I had the ecu reset and had the ground checked too.