!984 Gsl Se. Pretty much stock, new exhaust, banjo bolt is about it. I was driving in des moines yesterday i drove on the highway for about 30 miles from ames before and when i exited the highway and stopped at a stoplight it died. I restarted it and about 2 blocks later the ignition went haywire. It seemed to be only firing on 1 rotor. I checked the spark and the leading plug on the rear rotor was fairly fouled so i got a news set of plugs, same problem, so i replaced the wires, no help there either. If anyone could help i would appreciate it, my car is stranded in a parking lot and if i cant figure it out im going to have to get it towed to the mazda dealership

 

Have you changed your cap and rotor?

I would try pulling the fuel pump fuse out, pull the plugs out of the housing and see if there is spark from the spark plugs when you try to crank it

 

the cap and rotor are new, i checked them and they were in good condition. I pulled the plugs to look for spark and the leading on both cylinders was weak.

 

Ignitor. You can check the lrading coil first. Do you have a spare ignitor in your glove compartment like every Good Little Rotary Owner? You should also have a little rightangle phillips driver for that awkward spot. You can get one with a rachet for $5 at the checkout counter at Tru Value, Ace Hardware or Kragens auto.

 

unfortunately i dont, and im in the middle of nowhere in iowa, so i have about a 3 day wait on most parts, my rx7 is my primary car when im here at school so i need to get it fixed before then, so it looks like its the overpriced mazda dealership for me

 

Swap the ignitors around. That will allow you to run on the leading ignition.

 

The problem is that if he swaps ignitors around, the fuel pump will not run and his injectors will not fire. Assuming that the leading ignitor is currently dead.

Have you checked for spark on all fiour plugs? You mention leading looking weak, but you do not mention trailing. On most 12As, the trailing not working has no real impact (except for keeping the fuel pump going on the 84-85 models). The SE requires trailing to work for the injectors and the fuel pump. Does the tach bounce when you crank? Did it work when you drove that few blocks?

 

I have been having the same problems. It was running fine all of a sudden it would just die, start it back up it would die a few minutes later, ignition, car alarm and lights would go crazy turning on and off. It was my ignition switch (just waiting on part). The only reason I think this may be your problem is because you mention your ignition going crazy (sounds electric).

 

There's a simple test for ignitors available on this forum and in the FSM. You should be able to test the ignitors in a few minutes (you may need that rightangle phillips driver!).

Used ignitors (J109) are usually available on eBay for about $20. Check it out. Also in the classifieds here on the forum.

Any wrecked FB has them. Now might be a good time to call around to your local auto junkyards to find where the wrecked FBs are. Sometimes they know, and sometimes they don't. Phone calls are quick and cheap. Some JYs pull the part for you and you pick it up at the front desk.

Many of the people reading your post have spare J109s laying around and might be willing to ship one (or two) by overnight mail if you're desperate and in the boondocks.

 

I tried to swap the ignitors and the car wouldnt start at all. Im getting strong spark on the other plugs. I appreciate all the help and i wish i had some time to mess with it, but ive got finals this week so i had it towed to mazda this morning. I let you know what they say for anyone else having the same problem.

 

Well I got a call from mazda today, apparently the weak ignition wasnt the only problem, they did a compression test and ive got nothing on the rear rotor, they wernt all to helpful with an explanation, i honestly dont think they knew what they were talking about, but im assuming a blown apex seal. This basically leaves me up **** creek without a paddle, im at school in the middle of nowhere ames iowa, finals this week and ive got to be back in palatine, il next week for work. Im tring to decide if its worth it to bring my car back home with me and rebuilding it, I know this question has been asked 100 times but what would be the most cost efficient way to fix this problem if i go that route.

 

Never believe a mechanic when he tells you that your motor is blown based on low compression readings. Could be nothing but a flooding issue, and they'd just look at the low numbers and make the phone call that ruins your day.

 

Do your own compression test with a basic screw in compression tester. First, squirt a little 10/30 on the spark plug hole, then turn it over. ideally you want 3 strong pulses (hold the relief button in) of 60+ each (90 is ideal, 60 would be normal if flooded). Then do the back rotor, if you took out 1 apex you will get 2 decent pulses of 60+ on one and maybe 30+ on the other. If you took out 2 seals, common, you'll see one pulse only of about 30 psi. If that's the case bank on 1 housing and rotor with the rebuild. Rotary resurrection would be your least expensive bet on a rebuild and a good chance of him having a good housing as well. Good luck.......here is what mine looked like after tear down 9couple years ago) when the back rotor went.

 

Once more thanks for the advice, I will take it into account when i get a chance, im at school now finishing up my semester and dont have time to look at it, Im going to pick up the car soon, and im renting a uhaul trailer to bring it home with me to palatine, ill have a look at it then. Where would you recommend getting a compression tester from, also a little more instruction would be appreciated, the mazda people didnt seem to really know what was up, but i dont think its flooded because it happened when i was driving the car. I initially thought it was an electrical problem so i was surprised when i heard they got a bad compression test back .

 

That is incorrect, if you take ONE APEX out of the equation, you have taken TWO compression phases out, thus you will have only ONE strong WHooSHHsh!! Take TWO APEX seals out and you'll get nothing!

Moving on, it sounds like your leading ignitor has failed. Here's a link to test the culprit https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...t=test+ignitor.

 

PM Sent

 

After a long discussion with the mechanics at mazda who botched the compression testing the problem turned out to be the ignitor, which has since been replaced, thanks to everyone who responded. Its good to know you guys are more knowledgeable than the professionals. Thanks also to IanS who offered me a few extra ingnitors, and promply shipped them to me.

 

Glad you got them ok and all is well.

 

Glad to hear you got it figured out, and that you didn't believe the BS that the mechanics were trying to feed you. Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens all the time...