Hey all,

Went to start my 85 gsl-se the other morning and it was turning over but just kept chugging away and not firing up.

took the distributor off and it spins and sparks, i smell fuel when i open the engine (so i'm assuming the fuel pump is working) and the starter is chugging...anyone know what else it could be?

I saw someone mention the "ignitors" or something along that line... please help!

Thanks in advance..

 

Do a search on ignitors, search button top right of this page.

Do a search on fail to start also.

 

If the plugs are sparking, ignitors are good, probably flooded.

 

Yep... A search will turn up plenty of threads on how to "de-flood" an SE... Welcome to the forum btw.

 

well... I got it de-flooded so thank you for the advice!

Now that it started, there are more problems. It was idling rough for a while and then just died on me. I can still start it but it just sputters a bit at very low rpms and when you rev it and let off the gas, it dies.

Also, the coolant was extremely warm after the engine was only running for a few minutes..

Could I have messed up something electrical without knowing it or am I looking at some major repairs here?

It ran perfectly before the flooding happened...

Thanks
~Ryan

 

Are you getting spark to all of the plugs?

What do the plugs look like?

 

they look pretty good. only put about 4000 miles on these plugs at the most. i cleaned them off with a wire brush while i was de-flooding... should i try new ones?

im pretty sure i put them back in the right order..

3 2
4 1

right?

 

the dist cap should be labled L1, T1 and ect. match up teh wires like this:

T1 T2
L1 L2

if thats not the correct firing order you can come to texarkana and kick me in the nadslol
welcome to the fourm, btw

 

thanks for all the help so far!

Its not the sparks as far as I can tell.

The car started up fine when I tried again after letting it sit for a few days. It did the exact same thing again though. It started fine, idled high to warm up, and then as soon as the high rpms at startup dropped off, the rpms slowly choked down and it died. i started it again just fine and then died...

also, just as i mentioned above, after only running for 5 minutes, the engine coolant hoses and radiator were blazingly hot...

any ideas?

 

I did that too, I think it's still flooded. I tried a couples times before I get it running normal.

 

Go here and down the page are some links for your SE. https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/1st-gen-rx-7-faq-page-237777/

DO NOT let your engine get that hot!!! That is the quickest way to blow it there is, and it can take only once to require a rebuild, this is a rotary, not a piston.

Address the cooling issue first, you cannot troubleshoot an overheating engine. Start with checking the coolant level, the waterpump and fan clutch. Change the thermostat with an OEM Mazda one only. Flush and fill with fresh coolant.