This probably happens when you start it up and move it for only
a few seconds and then shut off the engine. This is mentioned in
the manual as a no no. You are supposed to let it warm
up before you shut it off as I recall.
Paul Lamar
In the mean time if you want to try something buy one of these
four inch thick 1500 watt Pelonis room heaters and place it under
the
oil pan. It will not shut off when mounted horizontally under the
oil
pan.
Should heat the whole engine in about an hour.
Model HB-211 0307
http://www.pelonis.com/
Paul Lamar
I have been thinking about this some more and it is a very very
interesting
problem. Unlike a piston engine all the fuel that goes in the side
port
rotary stays in the side port rotary or is burned. When you flood a
piston
engine the excess fuel leaks down past the piston rings into the oil
sump. No such thing can happened in the RX8 motor. As much as half a
pint
of
fuel can accumulate in the rotor housing if you keep cranking the
engine
without it starting. No way will the engine ever start unless that
excess
fuel
is removed. Just like a lighted match dropped in a tank of gas the
mixture
is far far too rich to ignite. It takes 10 to 14 pounds of air mixed
with
one
pound of fuel to ignite. 14 pounds of air is one heck of a lot of
volume
of air.
I have no idea how Mazda is going to solve this problem but they
better do
it
quick.
Paul Lamar
Mazda never did try and solve it. All my rx7s (all the gens) carb'd or
FI had this malady. NEVER run it for a few seconds, and never ever flood
it or you are in for a long wait. I would have thought that the rx8 took
care of this. Leaking fuel injectors are the most common cause of the no
start condition. Some people fashion a valve to shut fuel off to the
injectors rather than pull and overhaul them (if disconnecting the fi
fuse and cranking it for a few minutes doesn't work!
[Marc Wiese]
The big difference is the old engines will pump the excess fuel out
the exhaust port once you shut off the supply of fuel. The RX8 on the
other hand is designed to recycle raw fuel. The more you try to start
a flooded RX8 without shutting off the fuel the worse it gets.
Mazda could have the RX8 computer shut off the fuel if the engine does
not start right away. The problem then becomes how to get the excess fuel
out of the RX8 engine.
You cannot drill a small drain hole in the bottom of the rotor housing
for several reasons.
A: That defeats the purpose of recycling raw fuel in the first place.
B: Combustion pressure will leak around the hole when the apex seals
pass over it and perhaps damage the apex seals over a long period of time.
My suggestion to Mazda is install a computer controlled 12 volt heating
element in the bottom of the rotor housing to vaporize the accumulated
excess fuel.
In the mean time a plastic squeeze bottle and small hose inserted
in the spark plug hole should suck out excess fuel accumulated
in the bottom of the rotor housing. A small heat gun used in electronic
assemble with a curved 1/4 inch OD copper pipe should also serve to
evaporate fuel wetted walls in the combustion chamber. These small heat
guns are normally used to heat shrink tubing.
Paul Lamar
I just thought of another solution that might work. Mazda is already
squirting air into the RX8 engine intake system with an electric air pump.
All it needs is a 12 volt heating element on that air supply tube. In this
diagram it is called jet air fuel mixing.
Paul Lamar
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