Defprun

1984 Mazda Rx-7 GS w/12a.

Well, my car died last weekend. I tried cleaning off spark plugs, it tried...kindof..to start, shot blue smoke twice than died...twice. Now, got NEW spark plugs, checked for spark from my wires...we got spark!!! Did an oil change...nothing. What's weird is that the tachometer, while starting, will fluctuate wildly between 3000 rpm and 0. What's up with that?! It doesnt even try to start anymore, it just continuously spins and spins while the tach fluctuates and nothing! I checked to make sure all the battery connections were tight and i taped up that little red wire off the positive pole because it looked a little old and shitty.

Got any frikkin suggestions?!

Oh yeah, tried jump starting it too.

youdoitimtired

Was it running when it died or did you just try to start it and it wouldn't start?

Defprun

I brought it home from my shop. It was running fine. A week later i go to start it, it started really rough, exhaust problem...and than it quit. After that it never wanted to start again. I want it to start so i can store it for winter, where it would get exhaust, suspension ect.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Flooded?

Defprun

Thats what i thought! At first, i took out the spark plugs, ran the car for 10 seconds...cleaned the plugs a bit and put them back in, it tried starting....than quit. Again, same thing, only this time i switched the Leading with the Trailing plugs...tried really hard to start, still rough..puff...puff dead. Should I take my plugs out, try burning off some more fuel and try starting it again with the new plugs?!?!

82transam

iTrader: (18)

You could try it, but isn't there a specific way to unflood a rotary? They won't unflood themselves like a boinger. My boss says that a trick he used to start a few flooded rotaries he worked on over the years, is to pinch the incoming fuel line with some vice grips then crank teh hell outta it, let it dry out then try to start it again. Seemed to work for him, you might try that.

Defprun

Yikes dude, i dont know! Where's teh incoming fuel line? lol I think if it was flooded wouldnt it at least try to start? It wont even try now.

Defprun

I think i may need to re-charge my battery...this is the second ******* battery ive used.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

well, if it is flooded, then here's a link that covers starting a flooded Rx-7: https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...ighlight=stove

however, i may suspect something a bit more complex if your tach was bouncing all the way up to 3 ... maybe something electrical? how new are your cap and rotor?

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Yea, I was gonna say that too, cap rotor, ignitors, might all be shot, or almost shot. And, no, if it were really flooded it probably wouldn't try to start at all, just crank.

Defprun

Would you still get spark if the cap' N rotor are gone?

Wankelguy

First, make sure you have spark, then insure that the plugs aren't being wetted with fuel (flooded) , or oil (oil seal failure). If you are okay so far, check for a vacuum leak, and it would have to be a fairly major one to keep it from starting. Also make sure the tach send wire is connected to the trailing coil, to minimize the tach's effect (if any) on the ignition.

Sometimes rotaries will load up so bad that the ONLY cure is to tow them down the road, ease out the clutch in 2nd gear, and they'll usually blow themselves out. This is most often necessary on older cars whose compression is a bit on the light side. Turning the motor by towing it spins the motor much faster than the starter EVER can even with a fresh battery. I learned this the hard way, after 4-5 days of listening to my friend theorize about what might be wrong, I finally insisted that we try my ORIGINAL idea and tow the sucker ('76 RX4) down the road. Fired right up after blowing out a good cloud of smoke. About a year later, he calls me telling me his REPU won't start and I tell him "I'll come over and tow you down the road", but no, he ends up theorizing about it again. Finally, after a couple of days he rather sheepishly calls me and wants to know if I'll tow him. Guess what? Yup, thing starts right up once we get to 15-20 MPH. Sorry for the long windedness, no more coffee for me! Good luck gettin' 'er going!
-WG

Defprun

OIL?!!! If the spark plugs are being covered in oil, that's OIL SEAL FAILURE?!?!?!!?! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I noticed the first time i took out the spark plugs that they had oil on them, and that there was oil seeping out of the holes...

Defprun

I checked again, it looks more like gas and oil combined.

Wankelguy

Oil seeping out of the holes is very bad, indeed. Take off the header and see if engine oil is present in the exhaust port(s). Generally it is the rear rotor which goes bad first, for some odd reason. Maybe heat transfer.
I'm about to replace the oil seals in a 13B from my '74 RX4 that had the rear rotor oil seal fail so completely, the thing started acting like an oil pump, happily puking fresh Valvoline into my header. The wierd thing: The motor would still start and run, but felt way out of balance and would not spool up either. Oil seal failure is not the worst thing to have to deal with as your rotor housings are generally not affected by this type of failure.

I would still try to tow it down the road, though! Hell, you never know... -WG

Wankelguy

It seems I'm one step behind you. If it's just fuel and oil mixture, then it's probably just loaded up. Tow it and be happy. -WG

1rx7owner

tow it behind a car till it starts! I had to do that when mine flooded. It was the easiest way and didnt take that long.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Yes, its possible to get spark if the cap and rotor are shot, its just a very weak spark, but still visible. I'm with everyone else though, just tow the thing and see if you can start it that way. Then, once its warmed up a bit, run the hell outta it to make sure you get all that **** out of your engine.

Defprun

It wasnt really a weak spark at all! Instead of pulling the car could i just push it? Or is that not fast enough???
I could run pretty quickly, lol. I wonder if my friend is willing to pull my car with his truck....or will that break down because its a ford?

Wankelguy

Hey, now!

I use a Ford to tow the Mazdas when need be, 'course it's a Courier, so technically it IS a Toyo Kogyo product!
If you can run 15-20 miles an hour pushing a car, go for it! If you CAN, I sure wouldn't want to insult you! Good luck!
-WG

82transam

iTrader: (18)

It could be a weak spark and just look bright. You *could* push it but I doubt that would work.

Defprun

I actually towed it behind my friends Ford to no avail....I held the clutch with the car in 2nd...let go...it just backfired! It was cool...but not what i wanted, lol.

Oh, and I own a Ford...I was just referring to DOMESTIC Fords

RacerX7fb

Did you say that the tach was bouncing while trying to start the car?
Try changing the ignitors, that should fix your problem.

Rotor13B

Just put about a half ounce of oil down the carb, bump spin it a few times, wait about five minutes and crank on it. I bet it starts then.

Suparslinc

I had a jumpy tach once. I think the plug wires were crossed. I may have had a shorted out wire as well. You can usually tell if its shorted by cranking it at night and looking under the hood. You will see a blue arc if you've got a bad wire.
For the wire configuration, follow the marks on your rotor cap. remember from front to back and top to bottom it goes:

[T1] [T2]
[L1] [L2]

Also make sure your coil wires aren't crossed. You might have a short; see above. I definately recommend new plug wires.