Help me trouble shoot my rx7. When I turn the ignition switch the car makes a noise but doesn't feel like it Is turning over. Any suggestions from some of the more experienced rotorheads.

 

Is it a click or whirring noise? A click would indicate not enough juice from the battery or bad connections to the started. A whirring noise might mean the solenoid is not pushing the pinion out to engage the flywheel or the flywheel is missing teeth at that location. If its missing teeth you can rock the car in gear to move the flywheel a bit and maybe engage it. Either way clean and check the starter connections. Also make sure the ground has a good connection at the driver side shock tower.

 

charge the battery if good hit starter with something firmly while trying to start the car, two man job.

 

^This is as concise and accurate as you're going to get. Follow it exactly and check back in here.

 

Thank you I will start with a charge check and work my way through the list. It is a whirring noise.

 

Seen more than a few of these with overruning clutch failure in bendix drive of starter. Symptoms= solenoid engages bendix drive into flywheel,starter spins but clutch in drive slips so engine does not turn over. Owned a 1982GSL,never a hint of trouble from starter. Came back from a trip down south,left car in parking garage at airport. Threw luggage in back and hit the key,several times,did exactly as i described above. Car was facing downhill nose up against a retaining wall,couldn't push it out to bumpstart(tried several times) nobody around at 1:30 am. So in exasperation/desperation i held the key in crank position for about 30 seconds and let go and tried to start. Engine turned over 2-3 revolutions before starter clutch slipped again. After a few more of these extended crank/spin events and a restart,the car cranked over and started right up. When got home,shut off and restarted several times with no issue. Drove this car almost a year like this,probably happened a dozen times but always eventually cranked over. While doing a clutch job,took apart starter motor and replaced bendix drive assembly and never had a bit of trouble. To prove it wasn't a fluke,my SE that i still have did the same thing while on a trip several years ago,performed same ritual as above before i pushed it out for a bump start,worked like a charm. Replaced bendix,serviced starter-it's still in car 6 years 20k more miles,all good. Try this-you have nothing to lose,there is a chance it will work.

 

I tested the battery and it was bad so I replaced it. I also cleaned and checked the ground on the drivers side shock tower. Once I climbed under the car I noticed a strong fuel smell and found fuel leaking off the header on the ground. I know I am leaking fuel somewhere but cannot find it. I also pulled my spark plugs out and they are wet with fuel on the tips. Any more suggestions?

 

When is last time car ran? Have you been trying to start it...as in extended cranking? The noise you're hearing is the engine spinning over with no compression from being flooded. A flooded rotary can push fuel out into exhaust system and will leak out thru a small gap-too small sometimes for you to hear an exhaust leak while running and may explain the fuel you see there. 1st thing to look at,from outside the car,reach in and crank engine over while keeping your eyes on pulleys,fan belts,cooling fan to see if they're turning-if so,starter is good and engine is cranking over. Unlike a piston engine a flooded rotary can and will lose compression from being flooded. The raw gas washes all lubricant from rotors/housings and makes it difficult for seals on rotors to seal effectively to housings so there's little to no compression. 2nd step,remove all plugs from engine,remove negative primary wire from leading and trailing coil(so no spark) and crank engine over watching the spark plug holes in rotor housings . When fuel mist has stopped coming out,the engine will be mostly unflooded. 3rd,dry all spark plugs. Plug each spark plug into a plug wire boot and lay all 4 on top of engine(rotor housing-for a ground) reconnect both ig.coil negative primary wires and while you watch grounded plugs closely,have someone else crank car over while you check for spark at all plugs,color of spark should be blue. Post back your findings,this will determine which direction you go next. Will look in on your thread in a bit.

 

My help has left for the day lol. We did verify the pulleys, fan and accessories are spinning. I have plugs and wires on the way tomorrow morning. I figured it was time for it more than likely anyway. The last time the car ran was on Friday. I tryed to start it on Monday and it wouldnt start. I have been having rough starting problems for the last couple of weeks. Where when I first start it the engine does not want to ​​​​stay running. Normally I would have to give it gas until it was warmed up then it would run. If I did this without letting the car warm up it would die at stop signs or red ights. I did not have any luck finding the fuse that goes to the fuel pump for a dry start to push fuel out of the motor.

 

Pulleys, fans etc are spinning so I know my starter is good. I am on the second step GSLSEFORME replied with. My question is where is the fuel pump fuse to ensure I am not squirting fuel into the combustion chamber while turning it over. The car ran last on Friday, it has been having starting problems basically where I have to give it alittle gas on cold starts to keep it running or it wold cut off.

 

What model of 1st gen do you have,you make no mention...makes a difference on direction of diagnosis. If SE model,disconnect yellow/green wire from trailing coil negative primary terminal(this removes tach signal/input to ecu to fire fuel injectors) so no fuel goes into engine during deflood/cranking. All other models being carbureted,not having plugs installed while cranking,will have no compression and therefore no vacuum available to pull fuel from carb into engine so not necessary to disable fuel pump. Recommend removing air cleaner lid,turn key on and look down into carb for fuel visibly trickling/dribbling into venturies. If none this is a good sign and maybe ignition system is source of problem. Deflood,do spark test and report findings...and post what model you have so you can get more specific diag info.

 

It is a 1985 gsl-se, with the fuel injected 13b.

 

Ok,follow 1st procedure outlined and post back results on spark test. Off to work,will look in on thread later.

 

Spark plugs are showing yellow spark, It definitely is flooded because it was misting out of the sparkplug holes earlier when I turned it over.

 

I fixed it, after trying the 2nd and 3rd steps for about 20 minutes I said screw it and got my brother to tow me up a hill push it down and do a rolling jump start. It was extremely flooded to the point to where I had to change the oil and put new plugs in it. I did alittle bit of research and I will be ensuring the car is warmed up completely before I even think about shutting it off.