Help!!!!

[Pete_89T2]

That's actually good news - the engine dying intermittently at random sounds spark/electrical related to me. Chances are it does NOT need a rebuild yet; get the electrical gremlins exorcised and it will run/last a long time, even with low compression.

I'm not too familiar with the RX8's, but I recall hearing somewhere on here that they are known to have issues with the coils/ignitors going bad, and I want to say there was a TSB/part # change to deal with that. A failing coil would cause your engine to die at random. Someone else more knowlegable about the RX8's can probably elaborate.

On the service history, you can either call Mazda's customer service # or stop at any Mazda dealer service dept with you VIN # to have them look up your car's service history. At least that would get you a record of any service that was done at Mazda dealerships, and tell you which of the recalls/TSBs were done on your car. If you still have the original coils after 11 years & 98K miles, it probably won't hurt (other than $) to just replace them and see if it solves your problem.

[Nicole]

I can't believe I didn't think to include this pic - the "dealer" (crook) I bought this car from obviously either had it sitting somewhere for a while or got it from someone that had. Which explains why it looks new - but while it had been sitting, evidently rats made themselves at home inside and that would totally explain the electrical issues. I already paid $300 for misc wiring to be replaced, but that was at the garage that didn't really know what they were doing. I'm getting a strong feeling now I need a rotary expert to examine the wiring to diagnose. Take a look at this pic the garage snapped for me. I'm not a total idiot lol, this was not readily seen when I checked under the hood before purchasing. I was shocked when I saw the picture.

The icing on the cake was that when I contacted the jerk that sold it to me and showed him the picture, he insisted that must have happened in the 2 months AFTER I bought the car. What a JERK.

I hope you all can see this, I didn't know how to add this picture to the original thread.

[JL1RX7]

Sadly you are learning the hard way that rotaries are different. They require more TLC than other cars. Most Mazda dealers have no clue how to work on them either.

Air filter hasn't been replaced. Check you cabin air filter in the glove box and it will look the same.

Easy to do. Open glove box, on the left side is the arm holding it up, press it out of the detent. Then look for the white plastic at the top of the glove box area. Remove, knock out the crud and replace.

[RXtacy]

Originally Posted by Pete_89T2

That's actually good news - the engine dying intermittently at random sounds spark/electrical related to me. Chances are it does NOT need a rebuild yet; get the electrical gremlins exorcised and it will run/last a long time, even with low compression.

You didn't mention it, but first thing I would do is verify the alternator is working properly. Sometimes we get lucky and it's the easy fix.

I'm not too familiar with the RX8's, but I recall hearing somewhere on here that they are known to have issues with the coils/ignitors going bad, and I want to say there was a TSB/part # change to deal with that. A failing coil would cause your engine to die at random. Someone else more knowlegable about the RX8's can probably elaborate.

The coils on the 8 are garbage. They seem to last ~40k miles if that. If that car has the original coils they DEFINITELY need to be replaced. I would also have someone verify that you got the correct spark plugs from the mechanic.