Discussion
I have a RX8 that I parked up at work with no previous starting problems. When one of my lads came to put it in the workshops for overnight storage it wouldn't start. Having given it a day to sort it,s brain out it is still spinning over fast but dead as a door nail. Having consulted my nearest garage the response was Oh yeh they are prone to flooding ring the Mazda dealer they will come out and do a little trick to sort it out and bill you good style but I don't know the trick !!
anyone more in the know than my local guy ?
anyone more in the know than my local guy ?
Mazda Assist will sort it in no time, but in short:
Connect jump leads - you'll easily discharge the battery otherwise
Remove fuel pump fuse
Turn over on the starter motor for 10 or so seconds at a time (to mitigate the risk of killing the starter)
Repeat this until you can hear it's got compression (the Mazda assist chap undid the hose clip on the back of the throttle body and popped the inlet off - made it much easier to hear the difference between when it regained compression)
Replace the fuel pump fuse
Again, turn over for 10 seconds at a time until it catches
The guy that came out to fix mine (text from Mazda assist said he'd arrive at 12:07 - he was bang on time, and on Boxing Day!) actually had a switch on a couple of bits of wire that he plugged into the contacts of one of the relays so he could perform the entire operation from the front of the car without having to sit in. Most impressive.
In future, if you're moving an RX8 a short distance, let it warm up to operating temp before shutting it off. If you can't do this, hold the revs at around 4k for 20 seconds and then switch off (without returning to idle). Warming up is the best way, but this *should* stop it flooding.
Connect jump leads - you'll easily discharge the battery otherwise
Remove fuel pump fuse
Turn over on the starter motor for 10 or so seconds at a time (to mitigate the risk of killing the starter)
Repeat this until you can hear it's got compression (the Mazda assist chap undid the hose clip on the back of the throttle body and popped the inlet off - made it much easier to hear the difference between when it regained compression)
Replace the fuel pump fuse
Again, turn over for 10 seconds at a time until it catches
The guy that came out to fix mine (text from Mazda assist said he'd arrive at 12:07 - he was bang on time, and on Boxing Day!) actually had a switch on a couple of bits of wire that he plugged into the contacts of one of the relays so he could perform the entire operation from the front of the car without having to sit in. Most impressive.
In future, if you're moving an RX8 a short distance, let it warm up to operating temp before shutting it off. If you can't do this, hold the revs at around 4k for 20 seconds and then switch off (without returning to idle). Warming up is the best way, but this *should* stop it flooding.
Many thanks for the info I presume the Mazda assist guys are for RX8'S within warranty. Mine was the heavily kitted grey MAZ unit from Glasgow, then Newcastle, now residing in York and on 03 out of warranty take your chance, pay as you go care care plan. !! Thanks again for your tips will try every last one before I tow it into the countryside and call out the RAC (LOL)
Essentially, they flood for exactly the same reasons as an Otto. The major difference being that the compression of a rotary engine is about half (hence the high fuel consumption / low thermal efficiency). With low compression there needs to be a fair bit of fuel dumped into the engine at start up. If you've stopped the engine before it's leaned out as it's up to temperature, this can sit around and cause all sorts of trouble when trying to restart it as the engine's throwing even more fuel at the engine.
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