Help (RX-7 + ignition prob. + newb = trouble)
 

Hi. I'm looking at an '82 RX-7 that is pretty clean but won't start via key. The guy that has it says it turns over when you turn the key but won't fire. It will start if he bump-starts it though and it drives just fine when it's running. I've dug around on here a bit and I'm thinking it's an igniter problem.

I've had Honda Civics with terminal igniter problems so this doesn't excite me but if that's the only problem with this car and I could get it cheap I'm interested. Any ideas; and if it does look like the ingniter(s) is/are the culprit does anyone have an extra (or two) out there cheap? Thanks for any help.

First, I would verify that the information you've received is correct. If so, I would take a quick glance under the hood to see if the 'stock' wire looms are intact. You would be looking on the drivers' side near the battery. If everything 'looks untampered.' It's a safe assumption that it's some other issue; weak fusible link, bad fuse... chewed wires, perhaps even the clutch safety switch (? Those exist on '82s?) I Had a S-15 Jimmy that had the exact same issue... The clutch switch popped out of its' slot on the firewall.

As far as ignitors go; check for spark on Leading 1 and Trailing 1. They should be 'close' to the timing indicators on the main pully-- If they're both present and accounted for tach it up to 5,000 and stare at the light. If there's misfires THEN worrry about your ignitors. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Also, there's three recent threads that are ignition centric and some stuff burried in the FAQ that may help if that's the case.

That's the kind of information I was looking for. I'm going to go take a better look at it tomorrow, I just took a quick look at it today. What kind of fuses/fusible link(s) would cause the supposed symptoms? It's actually at a salvage yard that I went to to look for a seat for my '71 Suburban. It caught my eye and the owner (a guy I trust and I've know for about 15 years) gave me that story. I certainly wasn't looking for a RX-7 but I've been missing my Porsche 914 pretty bad lately and that'd fill it's spot pretty well.

Anyone have a schematic/diagram of the ignition circuit?

FSM, wiring diagrams and other manuals can be downloaded from one of these sites.

http://wright-here.net/cars/rx7/manuals.html
http://foxed.ca/foxed/index.php?page=rx7manual

Excellent, thanks for that. I've downloaded the wiring diagram, will put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and will start my investigation.

Odds are that it's not an ignitor if it "runs fine" from a push-start - - the ignitors work exactly the same whether you're pushing the car or spinning the starter. I'd start looking at the ignition switch, me; if the internal contact that provides voltage to the ignition system in the "start" position is dirty-damaged-corroded, but the contact that continues voltage in the "run" position is fine, you'd get this symptom.

Check for spark while cranking on the starter.

This makes perfect sense. I "knee jerked" at the igniter thing because of my hands-on experience with the Honda (over and over). It makes the most sense that the problem lies within the ignition circuit and it seems like the ignition system just isn't getting enough juice to start. I'm going to try to buy it at the price I'm comfortable with (cheeeeap), trailer it home and then start working on it. If I can't get it at the price I have in mind I'll take a pass. The last thing I need right now is another car but it'd sure be fun...

Thanks for the help! If I buy it I'm sure I'll eventually need more. If not, it's still fun to learn about things I didn't know much about before.