I have an 88 SE that just recently lost power and will not drive. If I have it in neutral and rev the engine slowly it will with no problems, but if I floor it, it dies. If I do try to drive slowly around the yard it back fires bad and wont pull the car at all.I thought maybe the cats were bad, but thats not the problem and I replaced the tps, so thats not the issue. Any ideas what I should check next? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Jeremy

 

Fuel system issue I'm guessing. could be a dying pump. Could be a clogged filter/sock. Clogged injectors/lines. The reason you can slowly rev it could be due to the fact that the amount of fuel stored in the lines is enough to power a slow rev, but not a hard rev. Try and find a known good used fuel pump from a local member for cheap. Run some Seafoam through your tank.

Also check the condition of your spark plugs and air filter.

Have you played with your CAS lately? Make sure the spark plug wires are wired correctly, I know I wired mine backwards (rear to front, front to rear) and it started and ran like crap for the length of the driveway until I figured it out. Test that your getting Trailing spark.

 

Thanks man. Ill check those this weekend.

 

Ok, air filter is fine and ill be replacing the fuel filter in the morning. I was out there earlier messing around with it and discovered that the car will act normal for a min or so until it gets heat into the engine and then thats when it goes crazy. Also, I discovered that after it starts acting up, if I turn it off and crank it back up its fine for a second or two then it goes right back to crappy. Another thing I found while doing all this, is that after I turn the car off and start it again, there is a beeping noise behind the dash that occurs if I let the engine die. This may not have anything to do with my problem. It beeps twice then there is about a one or two second pause, then two beeps again and so on. Thanks again for the help so far.
Jeremy

 

Does it smoke?


The beeps are the power steering computer. Nothing to really worry about. It happens when the car dies.



From the FAQ...

2-beeps, pause, repeat - in case abnormality of engine speed signal:
The buzzer sounds twice and repeats when the vehicle speed signal is missing input and/or no engine speed signal is found (short circuit, broken wire, etc.)

 

how are your injectors

 

How do I check the injectors?

 

I stated that in my first post already...

anyway...

If the car is not your everyday driver or you have another car you can drive you should pull all 4 injectors and have them professionally cleaned. Mail them off to Witch Hunter. I hear good things about them. Even if that's not 100% of your problem, it will still help no matter what. There is 20 years of buildup in the injectors.

Replace the soft lines. Replace the fuel filter. Check your fuel pump sock for varnish. Remove and clean your spark plugs or replace them for $20.

Most of the time when a car backfires or shakes it is caused by either ignition problems or a lean fuel mixture.

 

NCross is right. Mine was just doing this a few weeks ago.

I would give it gas + only get puttering. It almost died a few times.

Your computer is beeping because the engine dies. That's all really.


Change your plugs, fuel filter + clean out your fuel sock. Open up the hatch, take off the left panel w the wire coming out of it under the carpet. Discharge the fuel lines, open that other hatch, then clean the off-white colored sock w some carb cleaner.

That should solve your problem. Like me, I had 191k on my 91, original fuel filter. Chunks of rust were coming out of it when I took it off.

 

Thanks incubuseva, I know how to get at my Fuel pump, I put a walbro on my old TII. Ill be putting a new filter on my SE in just a few minutes and ill clean the sock while im at it. Thanks again guys.
Jeremy

 

Not to thread jack, but to replace the sock do you need to remove the gas from the tank or just pull out the pump?

 

Just pull out the pump. It's attached to the bottom of it.

 

Cmanns, ya, what incubuseva said. And sorry about not answering your question earlier, Ncross, no it doesnt smoke. I put the new filter on and now I have no power to the pump. Weird. I pulled the pump out and lo and behold, no sock on the damn thing and the chamber it sits in was full of rust. Tada, theres my problem. Wrong, I jumped it straight to the battery and it worked. I then, just to be on the safe side, hooked up a spare pump I had and same thing. So now im trying to trace the problem back to the engine. This sound like a bad relay? Also, I noticed that when I turned the key off that the bac was whirring and I had to unhook the battery to make it stop.
Whats the deal there? Thanks for all the input so far yall.
Jeremy

 

thanks, was just thinking since she needs a new fuel filter, may as well replace the original sock hehe.

Whats your exhaust look like/smell like

that may get us closer to your answer I believe.

If its really gas smelling then it's not burning properly.

I believe if its lean, the cats will glow...

 

^Its about normal, or it was. But like I said, it wont start now, I am wondering if I unplugged something while changing the fil;ter cause one day it starts and next day, nothing.

 

Hrmm... That's really odd. I would double check everything, then try again. I'm sure you've done that, but just in case.

If so, then *shrugs* good luck to you.

 

Check your compression. Could have lost a seal or even the whole rotor... Does it sound like dead weight wobbling around in the engine? Do the plugs on just one rotor get extremely fouled?

 

No wobbly sound. I lost the rear rotor on my old TII and my SE doesnt sound at all like that. Cranks normal, just no fuel. I havent checked the plugs yet. I need to start with the relays and sensors that make the pump come on. I dont have my repair manual anymore and cant remember where there are. Also, where is the plug that I can jump with the ignition on to make the pump run? If you can steer me to the page of the online factory service manual that deals with this, that would get me started you two. Thanks for the help so far.
Jeremy

 

rx7city.com tech connect.

 

^ Thanks NCross.

 

hey there jeremy, sorry to hear your having problems. call me or PM me if you need help. I heard oh a similar case and it ended being the omp wasnt pumping oil. the plug to jump the fuel pump is the yellow one on the passenger side shock tower.

TTYL

 

OMP should have nothing to do with whether the car runs or not. I have had mine disabled on both of my FCs and my SA.

 

Hey Paul. Thanks. I havent had time to work on the car this week, so ill be back on it this weekend.

 

Ok, heres an update. I checked the main relay(on the driver side fender well) and it matched what the fsm said it should, but it doesnt click with the ignition switch. Is it supposed to? Also checked the relay under the dash and the voltages are way wrong but the resistance is correct...no good? I tried jumping the fuel pump, but it wouldnt work. Does that mean a bad fuel pump relay? Where is it? I looked at the fsm, but im a bit confused. I got that only the TIIs had the fuel pump relays. Is that right? What should my next step be? O btw, with my key in the on position there is an electric sounding noise(like a small motor) coming form the UIM area. Anybody know what that might be? One other thing, is there anything down near the fuel filter that I could have accidentally unplugged that would kill the power to the pump?
Thanks again yall.
Jeremy

 

I found a green wire that has a one spade connector on it, down by the fuel filter, that is unplugged, and nothing it plugs into. Anyone know what that might be, I was thinking it was something with the tranny or starter.