ok, so my wife's 04 RX8 overheated the other day, so I proceded to replaced the thermostat and when I moved the coolant jug, the small nipple ontop of the radiator snapped off. so I change out the radiator drove it around and noticed it was still getting hot, I didnt hear the elect. fans running and found out the fuse was blown, replaced it and everything seemed good for about a week or so, now the car is gettting hot again.. any ideas where to go from here?? Help>>>

 

Is the fuse blown again? If so, you have a short in the fan circuit.
Is your water pump good?

 

no, this time the fuse is not blown, but when I have the car on I do not hear the elect. fans comming on so I am going to look at that this weekend. as far as the water pump I do not know, is there an easy way to check that, since you cant just open the radiator cap and look to see if the water is circulating.

thanks,

 

I had a water pump going bad in my Windstar. It made a chirping noise and I took it to a shop for diagnostics since I was traveling at the time.
So you could run your engine and put a mechanic's stethoscope on the pump housing. But be extremely careful about rotating parts! Also, listen to the radiator hoses, you should hear the fluid rushing through. Of course it's kind of difficult to tell if you don't know how a good system sounds. If you have another good working car available you could listen them both out and gain some experience that way.
Another thing I do when I don't know a procedure: I google for videos i.e. "how to check a water pump", "How to replace a water pump in a Mazda". Usually I can find some helpful hints. This helped me to diagnose a bad AC clutch bearing, which saved me a bunch of money compared to replacing a compressor.

Good luck to you!

 

is there a way to check the fan motors? I hooked up a wire straight from the battery and put it on the fan motor on the drivers side and it kicked right on, I then put it on the passanger side fan but the fan did not come on. Which fan is the primary on? I was told there is a main fan and an auxliary (sp.) one, so if one doesnt run would that cause none of them to run?
Also I did the same with the relays, I run them to the battery and you could hear them click and I had them hooked to to a mulitmeter and they had continunity as well.

 

Did you check both circuits in each relay? The click proves that the input circuits work. After the click the output circuit should be on. (I don't know if input and output circuits are the correct terms, but I hope you understand what I mean with that.)

With your direct wiring test you found that one motor is bad. Because with direct wiring from the battery it should come on. The primary one runs more often and longer, so it is more likely to burn out. I would measure the resistance in both motors and compare them. I bet the bad one has lower resistance which indicates a short.

Your other questions should be answered by a circuit diagram. The Haynes manual should have one.

Let me know what you find. I am a hobbyist and I like to sharpen my skills using the forum.

 

on the rx8 do you know which one is the promary one?

 

Sorry, I don't know. You seriously should get a Haynes manual. They aren't perfect but they do have a lot of data and diagrams in them. They can be found cheaply online.