rayadas

well, i have an 83 with a 12a with full MSD ignition, i had my glovebox pop open without my knowledge and i think the light came on and may have drained my drycell battery, but i got it jumped and there was some hesitation after i turned the key to start it. the next day i had the same problem where i still had power to my switches but no power with the turning of the key. the battery was replaced about a year ago and the alternator was done 2 1/2 to 3 years ago. i also checked all my fuses which are still good. i have replaced the ground cable already becuase of the corrosion and i'm thinking the problem im having is becuase of some corrosion in my possitive cable so i have a new one on its way. i figure either way it would be smart to replace a 26 year old cable, but if you guys can think of anything else, that would help out, thanks

74RX4

iTrader: (10)

Good idea to replace the cable. Make sure the small Black/yellow wire coming from the ignition switch is connected to the spade terminal on the starter and getting 12v when key is turned to start. Sometimes they fall off.

FunK73

iTrader: (6)

So theres no power what so ever? Radio, lights and such dont work either?

rayadas

everything works, but nothing inside the car, so i thought maybe a ground problem. the lights work and the one time i turned them on, they wouldn't go back down but out of the blue they went back down without the battery connected. the times i've gotten it started the dash lights come on but flicker and when i turn the key to start, it hesitates a second and turns over real weak but gets stronger shortly after, that's why i think the possitve cable, but i definitely need to check that starter wire and see if that's the problem.

FunK73

iTrader: (6)

Well it sounds like youre doing eveything I would do in your shoes. What does it do when you try to jump it?

speedturn

iTrader: (1)

Put a volt meter on the fuse link block, and check for power on all the terminals

rayadas

alright, so i have replaced the negative cable and the positive cable, and i know i need a little better connection on the strut tower ground, but i know that the ground is good becuase the car was running perfectly fine, i have aftermarket switches for my MSD and fan and the fan still turns on, also the lights all still work, but when i turn the key there is no power what so ever. when it would still work, everything was delayed, the dash lights were dimmer than what they should be, and when i actually tried starting it, it would hesitate then turn over, that was also during the process of jumping it. once it started to turn over, like i said before, it sounded so weak and then would get stronger untill it would finally start. another thing i noticed before it stopped working completely is that my aftermarket tach that is wired by itself and hooked up to the MSD was a heck of a lot dimmer than before, so im not sure which way to go anymore. a buddy was saying that it could possibly be the starter solenoid so i'm gonna take the starter off and get it tested, but i really dont think that is the main problem. also, before the car was done starting i noticed that my amp turned off and i couldn't get it to turn back on. i also have a 1 farat capacitor with my system, i thought maybe that could be the cause so i took the fuse out and nothing changed, so right now im pretty much lost as to what to do next. any help would be awesome, if we cant figure it out im getting to the point to where i will have to take it to the dealership. i do have one other guy that works on rx7s for a living so i was gonna see what he recommends, so any other help would be great, if you guys need more info let me know, thanks

thunkrd

iTrader: (1)

did you try another ignition switch? what about the fuse block/box. check to make sure that no wires are frayed, if they are put some electricians tape on them etc.

still sounds like a bad ground somewhere

thunkrd

iTrader: (1)

had this happen to me, i had to push start the car by myself

rayadas

yea, im pretty sure that it is going to be a bad ground somewhere so im going to check it out when it stops raining. first gonna look at the strut tower ground and then the exhaust ground and double check my ground for my amp, but other than those im not sure where else there would be a ground that would cause the problem im expierencing, so if nothing works after checking those out, i know where to come