Electrical issue.
09-13-09, 05:00 PM
#1
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Electrical issue.
ok 1st thing's 1st i went to start my car ,when i turned key on, the light's on the dash came on like normal.
2nd i start to turn the car over to start it and all the light's shut off on the dash but it still was turning over.
3rd i happend to turn the headlight's on to see if they had power and they did,as i turned headlights on the light's on the dash came on,but i only had 8 volt's reading on my volt metter when i have allmost 13 most the time.
4th so car started with headlight's on, but i shut headlight's off and car dies
5th this might be a prob before all this started happening i would go to shut car off and it would not shut off, so i think it might be the ingnittion mabie
sorry about my spelling i suck plz help if u can
2nd i start to turn the car over to start it and all the light's shut off on the dash but it still was turning over.
3rd i happend to turn the headlight's on to see if they had power and they did,as i turned headlights on the light's on the dash came on,but i only had 8 volt's reading on my volt metter when i have allmost 13 most the time.
4th so car started with headlight's on, but i shut headlight's off and car dies
5th this might be a prob before all this started happening i would go to shut car off and it would not shut off, so i think it might be the ingnittion mabie
sorry about my spelling i suck plz help if u can
09-13-09, 05:11 PM
#2
you know you want this
sounds like a ground, short, or ignition problem Chris. both rather common on these cars. i'd get your battery load tested also. how much of a hurry are you to get it running right? im deployed right now, but when i get back around new years-ish, i'd be glad to help ya out. what car do you drive? (i know most from the area, im a valley rat). welcome to the forum, and hope your first lounge experience didn't scar ya to much!
09-13-09, 07:26 PM
#3
gsl-se only 13b
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well u probly havent seen my rx7 it has had this prob for over 3 or 4 year's so i havent been driving it but i would love some help if u wouldnt mind i live in spokane vally, let me know thx 4 responding man
09-14-09, 04:34 PM
#5
I thought he was going to take his RX-7 to prom because he didn't have a date. 
j/k..
1. clean and check all connections (battery, at starter, ground point on chassis, etc.).
2. check the fusible links and make sure they are tight and don't look burned or damaged. The fusible links are on the driver side of engine bay. There should be 5 of them for a GSL-SE. They look like a wire with a fabric cover.
3. Ignition switch could be bad.
4. have battery tested to make sure it is good and is charged.
You may even have multiple problems going on here. The funky voltage acts like a bad connection at the battery, at the fusible links, or at a grounding point. The not shutting off and the funny behavior with the warning lights might be an ignition switch issue.
There is also a choke&check relay that could be the cause of weird warning light behavior. This relay and a signal from the alternator is what is used to determine if the warning lights should all be on or not. Once the alt starts charging, the signal from the alternator signals this relay to cut off the warning lights.
Did you just get the car? Do you know how long it has had the problem? Do you know what happened when the problem started happening (like if any repair work was done, etc.)?
j/k..
1. clean and check all connections (battery, at starter, ground point on chassis, etc.).
2. check the fusible links and make sure they are tight and don't look burned or damaged. The fusible links are on the driver side of engine bay. There should be 5 of them for a GSL-SE. They look like a wire with a fabric cover.
3. Ignition switch could be bad.
4. have battery tested to make sure it is good and is charged.
You may even have multiple problems going on here. The funky voltage acts like a bad connection at the battery, at the fusible links, or at a grounding point. The not shutting off and the funny behavior with the warning lights might be an ignition switch issue.
There is also a choke&check relay that could be the cause of weird warning light behavior. This relay and a signal from the alternator is what is used to determine if the warning lights should all be on or not. Once the alt starts charging, the signal from the alternator signals this relay to cut off the warning lights.
Did you just get the car? Do you know how long it has had the problem? Do you know what happened when the problem started happening (like if any repair work was done, etc.)?
09-14-09, 07:06 PM
#6
gsl-se only 13b
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no i have ouned this car for about 7 or 8 year's and this problem started one day when i went to go start it up.
i didnt do any repair's to the car at all before this happend.
and the car has had this problem for about 3-4 year's and i havent been able to drive it,I just start it up about every mounth so it dosent foul up
i didnt do any repair's to the car at all before this happend.
and the car has had this problem for about 3-4 year's and i havent been able to drive it,I just start it up about every mounth so it dosent foul up
Last edited by chris rx7 gsl-se; 09-14-09 at 07:35 PM.
09-14-09, 08:03 PM
#7
82, 83, 88, 82 RX-7again!
no i have ouned this car for about 7 or 8 year's and this problem started one day when i went to go start it up.
i didnt do any repair's to the car at all before this happend.
and the car has had this problem for about 3-4 year's and i havent been able to drive it,I just start it up about every mounth so it dosent foul up
i didnt do any repair's to the car at all before this happend.
and the car has had this problem for about 3-4 year's and i havent been able to drive it,I just start it up about every mounth so it dosent foul up
Do what GSL-SE Addict says - you cant go wrong with his list. Those fusible links are painful when intermittant - just replace them.
Scott
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09-14-09, 08:10 PM
#8
For the battery terminals, go to the autoparts store and get a battery terminal brush. They are only like $3. They have one end to clean the posts and another end to clean the terminals on the cables.
There is a smaller wire that leads from battery (+) to the fusible links. Make sure it is clean and tight on the connections. For the fusible links, the suspect one is likely the 'Main'. The 'Main' is the center one on the block that has 3 links. Make sure it is tight and has good connections.
There is a smaller wire that leads from battery (+) to the fusible links. Make sure it is clean and tight on the connections. For the fusible links, the suspect one is likely the 'Main'. The 'Main' is the center one on the block that has 3 links. Make sure it is tight and has good connections.
09-14-09, 08:30 PM
#9
Wrkn Toyota, Rootn Wankel
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Something I might as well throw out there since I figure that I'm not the only one that's had issues with old alarm systems failing before...
Does your car have an aftermarket alarm system? Do you know if the previous owner installed one?
If not then don't worry about it, but I've dealt with a shittly installed alarm system that came to bite me in the *** later down the line from the PO, ended up going through 4 batteries before I solved the issue. Thank the rotary gods for Costco Batteries.
Does your car have an aftermarket alarm system? Do you know if the previous owner installed one?
If not then don't worry about it, but I've dealt with a shittly installed alarm system that came to bite me in the *** later down the line from the PO, ended up going through 4 batteries before I solved the issue. Thank the rotary gods for Costco Batteries.
09-14-09, 09:41 PM
#12
Wrkn Toyota, Rootn Wankel
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Double check the way your alarm system was installed, the idiot who installed the alarm system set it up so that when the relay shorted from old age and water, it shorted the system so badly that just installing a battery caused the car to start up and idle with the keys in my pocket.
So if it was installed funkily, it could cause those issues.
So if it was installed funkily, it could cause those issues.
09-16-09, 07:32 PM
#13
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Double check the way your alarm system was installed, the idiot who installed the alarm system set it up so that when the relay shorted from old age and water, it shorted the system so badly that just installing a battery caused the car to start up and idle with the keys in my pocket.
So if it was installed funkily, it could cause those issues.
So if it was installed funkily, it could cause those issues.
09-17-09, 12:59 PM
#14
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elecrrial problem 2nd
Electrical issue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ok 1st thing's 1st i went to start my car ,when i turned key on, the light's on the dash came on like normal.
2nd i start to turn the car over to start it and all the light's shut off on the dash but it still was turning over.
3rd i happend to turn the headlight's on to see if they had power and they did,as i turned headlights on the light's on the dash came on,but i only had 8 volt's reading on my volt metter when i have allmost 13 most the time.
4th so car started with headlight's on, but i shut headlight's off and car dies
5th this might be a prob before all this started happening i would go to shut car off and it would not shut off, so i think it might be the ingnittion mabie
sorry about my spelling i suck plz help if u can
also one other thing i just started the car up and i have a buzzer going off inside car and add coolent light is on but im full on coolent,not sure if that matter's
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ok 1st thing's 1st i went to start my car ,when i turned key on, the light's on the dash came on like normal.
2nd i start to turn the car over to start it and all the light's shut off on the dash but it still was turning over.
3rd i happend to turn the headlight's on to see if they had power and they did,as i turned headlights on the light's on the dash came on,but i only had 8 volt's reading on my volt metter when i have allmost 13 most the time.
4th so car started with headlight's on, but i shut headlight's off and car dies
5th this might be a prob before all this started happening i would go to shut car off and it would not shut off, so i think it might be the ingnittion mabie
sorry about my spelling i suck plz help if u can
also one other thing i just started the car up and i have a buzzer going off inside car and add coolent light is on but im full on coolent,not sure if that matter's
09-17-09, 01:10 PM
#15
Chris,
I merged you new thread with your old one. You should not start new threads for the same problem. Just post a response to your old thread. It would be really helpful if you told us what you have tried so far. We have already gave you several suggestions to check out. Have you tried any of them? We are not there to see your car, so we can only give you ideas and then you have to check them out and report back. This way we know what has been checked and what has not. There is no way we can help you if we can't see the car and if you don't check things out for yourself in report back. You have to do some detective work and see what is going on..we can't do that part for you.
I merged you new thread with your old one. You should not start new threads for the same problem. Just post a response to your old thread. It would be really helpful if you told us what you have tried so far. We have already gave you several suggestions to check out. Have you tried any of them? We are not there to see your car, so we can only give you ideas and then you have to check them out and report back. This way we know what has been checked and what has not. There is no way we can help you if we can't see the car and if you don't check things out for yourself in report back. You have to do some detective work and see what is going on..we can't do that part for you.
09-17-09, 01:18 PM
#16
gsl-se only 13b
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Chris,
I merged you new thread with your old one. You should not start new threads for the same problem. Just post a response to your old thread. It would be really helpful if you told us what you have tried so far. We have already gave you several suggestions to check out. Have you tried any of them? We are not there to see your car, so we can only give you ideas and then you have to check them out and report back. This way we know what has been checked and what has not. There is no way we can help you if we can't see the car and if you don't check things out for yourself in report back. You have to do some detective work and see what is going on..we can't do that part for you.
I merged you new thread with your old one. You should not start new threads for the same problem. Just post a response to your old thread. It would be really helpful if you told us what you have tried so far. We have already gave you several suggestions to check out. Have you tried any of them? We are not there to see your car, so we can only give you ideas and then you have to check them out and report back. This way we know what has been checked and what has not. There is no way we can help you if we can't see the car and if you don't check things out for yourself in report back. You have to do some detective work and see what is going on..we can't do that part for you.
09-17-09, 02:29 PM
#17
That's really sounding like a grounding problem; they can happen all by themselves just thru thermal cycling and corrosion.
Second choice would be the ignition switch failing mechanically, and "sharing" ignition power backwards thru the headlight switch.
Second choice would be the ignition switch failing mechanically, and "sharing" ignition power backwards thru the headlight switch.
09-17-09, 02:50 PM
#18
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ok all fuseable link's are brand new and battery is brand new,
i started car with headlights on and car would not shut off with key,car only shut off when i turned head light's off.
by the way i am thankfull for all of your guys help plz respond
i started car with headlights on and car would not shut off with key,car only shut off when i turned head light's off.
by the way i am thankfull for all of your guys help plz respond
09-17-09, 03:10 PM
#20
What happens if you start with the headlights off?
It is sounding like it might be the ignition switch. Maybe hit the junkyard and grab one to try.
I would also go ahead and clean connects to the battery cables if you haven't. There is a ground point on the battery (-) that is bolted to the inner fender. Try to remove that, lightly sand, and reinstall. There are several other grounding points in the car, but that is one of the main ones. The battery (-) does also bolt to the engine, but it sounds like the engine ground is okay since the engine is cranking okay.
One easy test to see if it is a ground problem between the battery and the chassis is to grab some jumber cables, connect one black end to the battery (-) and connect the other black end to a bolt on the chassis (red wires not connected to anything) and see if the problems go away. If not, the problem is not between the battery and the chassis ground. Still could be a problem between the grounding point of the meter/warning lights and the chassis, though.
It does sound like either a grounding issue or a bad ignition switch. I just sold my last spare ignition switch..otherwise I would have sent it to you.
Good luck
It is sounding like it might be the ignition switch. Maybe hit the junkyard and grab one to try.
I would also go ahead and clean connects to the battery cables if you haven't. There is a ground point on the battery (-) that is bolted to the inner fender. Try to remove that, lightly sand, and reinstall. There are several other grounding points in the car, but that is one of the main ones. The battery (-) does also bolt to the engine, but it sounds like the engine ground is okay since the engine is cranking okay.
One easy test to see if it is a ground problem between the battery and the chassis is to grab some jumber cables, connect one black end to the battery (-) and connect the other black end to a bolt on the chassis (red wires not connected to anything) and see if the problems go away. If not, the problem is not between the battery and the chassis ground. Still could be a problem between the grounding point of the meter/warning lights and the chassis, though.
It does sound like either a grounding issue or a bad ignition switch. I just sold my last spare ignition switch..otherwise I would have sent it to you.
Good luck
09-17-09, 03:17 PM
#21
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im looking for a ignition switch, also to reply to your questing about car with headlights off.
it will turn over with headlight's off and just keep turning over but not start and car has no power
it will turn over with headlight's off and just keep turning over but not start and car has no power
09-17-09, 03:22 PM
#22
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so i need to get the part that the key go's into correct?? if so i looked in my haynes book and it dosent show how to remove one, what site can i go to to show me how to remove one??
09-17-09, 03:29 PM
#23
Now that I think about it, my car had almost the same problem at one time. It was the ignition switch. Here is what happened:
I stopped to get gas, go to start the car up, but the warning lights would not come on. I could can't the car, but it would not fire. I had to push the car to the side. Luckily, I had my Haynes manual in the car to look up the wiring for the switch. I had some spare wire in the car, but nothing to really clip it in place. I sort off just twisted the wire on to jumper between two terminals (the warning lights would then be on even with the key out). Then I could crank with the key and it would run. I never tried with the headlights on as it was during the day.
I then drove the car home, but the stupid wire fell off on the highway. I pulled to the side (no real shoulder). Now I am trying to reconnect the wire, but can't open the door to really get at it because of traffic. Then I hear a *tap* *tap* on the window. Look up and it is a cop. Must have looked pretty bad with having the ignition switch apart and trying to hot wire the thing. He thought I was hurt or something since I was leaning over. He did check the license and registration just in case. He was nice enough to help me push the car into a parking lot so I could get at it better.
Take your steering column cover off. I'll grab the wire colors you need to jump. If it works, then you know it is the switch.
I stopped to get gas, go to start the car up, but the warning lights would not come on. I could can't the car, but it would not fire. I had to push the car to the side. Luckily, I had my Haynes manual in the car to look up the wiring for the switch. I had some spare wire in the car, but nothing to really clip it in place. I sort off just twisted the wire on to jumper between two terminals (the warning lights would then be on even with the key out). Then I could crank with the key and it would run. I never tried with the headlights on as it was during the day.
I then drove the car home, but the stupid wire fell off on the highway. I pulled to the side (no real shoulder). Now I am trying to reconnect the wire, but can't open the door to really get at it because of traffic. Then I hear a *tap* *tap* on the window. Look up and it is a cop.
Must have looked pretty bad with having the ignition switch apart and trying to hot wire the thing. He thought I was hurt or something since I was leaning over. He did check the license and registration just in case. He was nice enough to help me push the car into a parking lot so I could get at it better.Take your steering column cover off. I'll grab the wire colors you need to jump. If it works, then you know it is the switch.
09-17-09, 03:32 PM
#24
The ignition switch is real easy. The electrical part is separate from where the key goes in. Remove the plastic cover (goes above/below the switches for the wipers and headlights). There is only one screw that holds the ignition switch. Then just unplug all of the connectors.
09-17-09, 03:38 PM
#25
Okay. For the ignition switch, try to connect the white wire with a red stripe to the black wire with a white stripe. Once you do this, all of the warning lights should turn on. Now try to start the car and see what happens. If you drive like this, make sure that the jumper wire doesn't fall off.