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Old 03-14-07, 04:19 PM
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Angry New rx7 owner needs help

I am a first time Forum user I put this same post somewhere else in here.

Small Problem

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

This is my first thread on here and I am embarassed to have it about this. I have just purchased a 94 mazda rx7 FD it is highly modified and I have ran into a small problem. I had the car out the other day I went int my girls work and when I cam out the battery was completley dead!!! I jump started the can to get it back to storage. No problems there running fine an the trip home it started running poorly and it would not idle i did eventually get the car back to storage.

Once i got the car back I fully charged the battery and the car still runs poorly. it will free rev finne just will not idle and runs like **** once I put a load. I will give you guys a list of some of the mods.

Full Race port
t-61 turbo
Apex-I Power Fc
AVC-R boost controller
twin MSD's

I am not sure if the Power FC could have lost its tune or if I could have **** the plugs. Saturday the car gets to the shop so we can look at it.

Thank you
Old 03-14-07, 04:29 PM
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i'm hardly an expert but I would suspect your MSDs, boost controller or even possible an exhaust flow problem. who did you buy it from? find out if he had a similar issue - he may have the answer for you.
Old 03-14-07, 04:30 PM
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Well, you don't know anything about FDs and you bought a highly modified one....how do you want us to help you?

Have you tried a brand new battery? Does your alternator/charging system work properly? Aside from that, it could be a billion different wiring, ignition, fuel, programming issues. Have you asked the previous owner about this? When was the last time basic maintenance was done?

You have to help yourself before we can help you.
Old 03-14-07, 06:56 PM
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Same ****....different day. Dude buys complex sports car, don't know why it won't run right.

Let me guess, you don't have good mechanical knowledge, nor the tools, didn't do extensive research on FD's and never seen the green shop manual.

Later
Old 03-14-07, 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by jniemczycki
Saturday the car gets to the shop so we can look at it.

Thank you
Battery drain is a pretty basic troubleshooting thing. I think your mechanic should be able to test for and rule out the basic items (short in wiring, bad battery, bad alternator, etc).

It's very hard for us to help in this case unless you're going to do all the diagnostics yourself, or just want a few basic ideas. Good luck.

Dave
Old 03-14-07, 08:47 PM
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You say the engine doesn't hold idle, so does it shake? If so, you should find a Rotary specific shop to do a compression check. I'm not shure how you could drain the battery other then leaving the headlights on and with them being popup, it's easy to notice. You may have disconected the map sensor by mistake or the hose to it could have come off.

There are region sections, so maybe you can meet someone local to you to help you and recomend a shop as well. There are sticky's on the top of each section. Start reading those.
Old 03-14-07, 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by badddrx7
Same ****....different day. Dude buys complex sports car, don't know why it won't run right.

Let me guess, you don't have good mechanical knowledge, nor the tools, didn't do extensive research on FD's and never seen the green shop manual.

Later

this forum is for f'd owners to help each other , not bash it down as soon as someone says he's a new fd owner
Old 03-14-07, 11:22 PM
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Originally Posted by xeroes
this forum is for f'd owners to help each other , not bash it down as soon as someone says he's a new fd owner
That's pretty much all that takes place on here. Ask a legitimate question and you either get dogged or ignored.
Old 03-15-07, 07:38 AM
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I'd expect people to be able to do at least basic maintenance, but being able to fix any problem with a sports car shouldn't be a requirement to owning and driving that sports car.
Old 03-15-07, 09:12 AM
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this forum isn't all bashing ....there has been a few times i've had problems, and members can narrow it down....they can't fix it for you...

hard to completely troubleshoot a car when your not physically there
not sure about the rest of you but its easier to help when you can see and hear whats going on....

but like said alright, check battery, alternator, check the battery terminals also for corrosion, i've seen some weird $#!t from that...
good luck
brad
Old 03-15-07, 09:36 AM
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Originally Posted by dblboinger
That's pretty much all that takes place on here. Ask a legitimate question and you either get dogged or ignored.
That's usually only true if you have an attitude, don't basically define the problem, or want an instant answer for things you should search for, or should have some feel for with the most basic knowledge of cars.

If I can help, I do, and so do most of the other experienced members. The main exception to that is people that feel inferior and try to put others down to boost their self-image.

Dave
Old 03-15-07, 03:12 PM
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The fact that you found this website, joined, and posted a question, shows that you what to learn about these cars. I'm also a brand new RX7 owner and found the members of this website to be an enormous asset when it comes to learning about these cars. One thing you do have to realize though, is that when you post a question, some responses will come from children and some from adults. Unfortunately, the posts and replies can't be screened for maturity. As you can tell from these responses, there are allot of members that are willing to help you out. Don't get discouraged. It is a very broad question that you have asked. Do what these guys suggest and remember to always start where a failure has occured. Dead battery? Start with the battery, then check your grounds, then the alternator, etc. Like what was said before, an electrical problem can create some bizarre symptoms.
Old 03-15-07, 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted by DaveW
That's usually only true if you have an attitude, don't basically define the problem, or want an instant answer for things you should search for, or should have some feel for with the most basic knowledge of cars.

If I can help, I do, and so do most of the other experienced members. The main exception to that is people that feel inferior and try to put others down to boost their self-image.

Dave
Dave, that may be you, but the other couple answers I read above from forum members, to this guy who did not present an attitude, would be enough for a first time user to never want to post again.

To the above,
Its none of your F*cking business what he bought. If you can try and help him great, if you can not, do not bash the guy. Jesus, those responses are sickening.

For the thread starter, I would say that you should go to the local section below and find out where a good rotary shop in your area is. Since you just bought it, you should have them go over it, do the small stuff, and diagnose any big problems you may have. This could be a simple idle control adjustment.
Old 03-15-07, 03:47 PM
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Banzai Racing
110 E. Catholic Street
Pierceton, In
(574) 594-2035


http://www.banzai-racing.com/

(which is still 3.5 hours away)

Good Luck.

Last edited by ZumSpeedRX-7; 03-15-07 at 04:08 PM. Reason: new location
Old 03-15-07, 04:14 PM
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Banzai Racing is in Pierceton Indiana now, but is still the best shop i have ever dealt with! if something is wrong with your car Chris can definately fix it. if you take your car to him it will run better than you ever imagined once you leave! here is their contact info:
website: http://www.banzai-racing.com/
email: sales@Banzai-Racing.com
Phone: (574) 594-2035
Old 03-15-07, 04:48 PM
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Originally Posted by mirabile
Dave, that may be you, but the other couple answers I read above from forum members, to this guy who did not present an attitude, would be enough for a first time user to never want to post again.
Yeah, I know what you're saying. That's why I said the last part:

"The main exception to that (people that are friendly and courteous) is people that feel inferior and try to put others down to boost their self-image."

Dave
Old 03-15-07, 05:06 PM
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I've helped many people with many problems on here, but when so many folks go out and buy a sports car like the Rx7 without knowing basic mechanics and start asking those basic questions right off - how would you feel. It is a waste of time and bandwidth. Just take it to a shop and be done with it. I've been here since 1997 and began by getting a Shop manual and reading it front to back. I used the search feature to death. Then I started asking a qustion of two.

You bring a legimate question to the table and act like you know half of what you are talking about and I'll be willing to help you everytime. But constantly it's like this " Bought car and now it won't start, can someone tell me what it wrong ?"
Old 03-15-07, 05:10 PM
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The best advice given, since these are very complicated machines and you are a newb, is to find a rotary specialist and have him take a look. Just don't make the same mistake I did when I was a newb and try to take it to a Mazda dealership. They don't know beans about these cars, especially a highly modified one. My first guess since the first problem you had was dead battery is that there is an electrical problem somewhere that is draining your battery. If you are not experienced with FDs they can be a real pain since sometimes rotary mechanics are hard to find depending on where you live.
Old 03-15-07, 05:21 PM
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I think the main thing that people are upset about new users is that they seem like they make no effort to do a search for the problem at hand. If they made it seem like they made an effort to look for a solution to the problem they have by posting EXAMPLES of things they have looked at and narrowed down the possiblities, people are more willing to help out. Not just "My car won't start this morning and I don't know why......it was fine last night." That's the feeling I get when I read through threads where people are trouble shooting.

Also, I really don't think it's too hard to not post anything about telling the OP to search. Just ignore it, it's that simple. With no responses I think the OP will eventually have to do a search on the topic he's having problems with. I just skip through those threads, I just find it hilarious that on the same thread 5 people are telling the person to search back to back and he would have got the hint already from the 2nd guy telling him to search.

Ok I'm done voicing my opinion, just had to get that out Hey did you guys notice the OP never came back to post after the first one?
Old 03-15-07, 06:05 PM
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Originally Posted by badddrx7
I've helped many people with many problems on here, but when so many folks go out and buy a sports car like the Rx7 without knowing basic mechanics and start asking those basic questions right off - how would you feel. It is a waste of time and bandwidth.
Give us a break.
Old 03-15-07, 07:53 PM
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Originally Posted by jniemczycki
I am a first time Forum user I put this same post somewhere else in here.

Small Problem

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

This is my first thread on here and I am embarassed to have it about this. I have just purchased a 94 mazda rx7 FD it is highly modified and I have ran into a small problem. I had the car out the other day I went int my girls work and when I cam out the battery was completley dead!!! I jump started the can to get it back to storage. No problems there running fine an the trip home it started running poorly and it would not idle i did eventually get the car back to storage.

Once i got the car back I fully charged the battery and the car still runs poorly. it will free rev finne just will not idle and runs like **** once I put a load. I will give you guys a list of some of the mods.

Full Race port
t-61 turbo
Apex-I Power Fc
AVC-R boost controller
twin MSD's

I am not sure if the Power FC could have lost its tune or if I could have **** the plugs. Saturday the car gets to the shop so we can look at it.

Thank you

The Power FC is sometimes responsible for this. In the 6 years I've owned mine it has done this several times, my friends does it also. When I questioned the tuner about this the answer I got was that "sometimes the Power FC needs to reprogram itself". No you didn't lose your tune, but at idle it will rev high, then low, high,and low. It will repeat this until it is satisfied it's tuned correctly. It could take days or just a few minutes. I suspect the power fc needed to do this because your battery died. Check your battery. It may have continued to do this because your battery keeps dieing. If your battery is good, check your alt.

If what your talking about is a gentle pulsing of the rpm's, it's probably the PFC. If it's just idleing rough as hell, then I don't know enough about your car to help you.
Old 03-16-07, 12:24 AM
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Originally Posted by autocollector29
The Power FC is sometimes responsible for this. In the 6 years I've owned mine it has done this several times, my friends does it also. When I questioned the tuner about this the answer I got was that "sometimes the Power FC needs to reprogram itself". No you didn't lose your tune, but at idle it will rev high, then low, high,and low. It will repeat this until it is satisfied it's tuned correctly. It could take days or just a few minutes. I suspect the power fc needed to do this because your battery died. Check your battery. It may have continued to do this because your battery keeps dieing. If your battery is good, check your alt.

If what your talking about is a gentle pulsing of the rpm's, it's probably the PFC. If it's just idleing rough as hell, then I don't know enough about your car to help you.
Now there's a man that sounds like he knows what he's talking about
Old 03-16-07, 01:46 AM
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Originally Posted by jniemczycki
I am a first time Forum user I put this same post somewhere else in here.

Small Problem

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

This is my first thread on here and I am embarassed to have it about this. I have just purchased a 94 mazda rx7 FD it is highly modified and I have ran into a small problem. I had the car out the other day I went int my girls work and when I cam out the battery was completley dead!!! I jump started the can to get it back to storage. No problems there running fine an the trip home it started running poorly and it would not idle i did eventually get the car back to storage.

Once i got the car back I fully charged the battery and the car still runs poorly. it will free rev finne just will not idle and runs like **** once I put a load. I will give you guys a list of some of the mods.

Full Race port
t-61 turbo
Apex-I Power Fc
AVC-R boost controller
twin MSD's

I am not sure if the Power FC could have lost its tune or if I could have **** the plugs. Saturday the car gets to the shop so we can look at it.

Thank you
The PowerFC will not lose its base map just from a dead battery.

Check your MAP sensor, check for vacuum leaks, and if you still cant figure it out, get a compression check.
Old 03-16-07, 04:20 PM
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You'll have to earn your break when your Rx7 breaks....then we'll see how you respond Newbie...





Quote:
Originally Posted by badddrx7
I've helped many people with many problems on here, but when so many folks go out and buy a sports car like the Rx7 without knowing basic mechanics and start asking those basic questions right off - how would you feel. It is a waste of time and bandwidth.



Give us a break
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