Please help me...I'm a little lost...
 

Here's the low down, folks:

Yesterday I was leaving work and had my car running but had to run back inside real quick. I left it running, but when I had come back out, it had died. I cannot get it restarted. It cranks really well. It really is trying hard to start and sounds like it nearly will, but it never does. I checked to make sure it is getting fuel, and it is. It's also getting spark. ANY ideas?? (1985 GSL 12A)

probably flooded it
what i try first- go to the drivers side storage bin and disconnect the fuel pump and try starting it. just keep crankin and crankin, make sure youve got a good battery. as soon as it starts remember o plug the fuel pump harness back in cause you get farther with it on :-P

if that wont work:
take the plugs out and clean em up, leave em out while you crank her over and let the gas shoot out
then put em back in and try starting it

anyone else have any ideas?

Thank you! I will actually go try that right now...But PLEASE if there are any other ideas out there, keep 'em coming!! I'll post again real soon...

no prob, it most likely is flooded, if not come on back and we'll see if we cant figure it out :D

Okay, I just did as you said...I disconnected the fuel pump connector and cranked the hell out of it...It ALMOST started! I cranked and cranked and cranked...then I reconnected the harness and it's still where it was before...How long do you think it might take to restart? Immediately or wait a while? And, where does the choke assist come into play with this? Should I use it in trying to start it now or no?

if it try to start is because is flooded. if it crank and doesnt try to start is another thing like a blown igniter or some thing else. if is a blown igniter you can check it by looking to the tach, if the tach doesnt move while cranking, the trailing igniter is gone. that happened to me twice and it was the same igniter. but is probably is flooded

You know I'm thinking that it just may be flooded because it seriously was just about to start after I disconnected the fuel pump. How long or how many times should I try cranking with the fuel pump disconnected?

Pull the air cleaner top, get some starting fluid in a can, open the butterflies of the carb's primaries and blast some of the good juice down there....wait about 30 seconds for the stuff to start really vaporizing and then crank it without the choke or stepping on the gas....Gumout carb cleaner kicks some ass as a starter fluid, too....if that doesn't do it, it's time for the plugs to come out...:(

Well I had another guy spray brake parts cleaner in the carb while I was trying to crank it and it didn't really help. Maybe I will try to let it sit for a minute like you suggested. The crazy thing is now that I've done that, it is so close to starting that it's driving me crazy!! Maybe I'll wait a while, try again, and if not, pull the plugs.

I've tried brake cleaner, too...it doesn't work....gotta use dedicated aerosol starter fluid or Gumout carb cleaner....:cool:

Hmmm...Really? Well, maybe I'll just shoot over to the parts store down the street and pick some up. I think I'm going to try taking the plugs out like you guys said...I took the distributor cap off and checked out the rotor, and it doesn't look too hot. I don't know that it's bad enough to make it not fire up, but maybe. Since they're only like $20, I'll probably just try to find one anyway. Is Gumout the brand of carb cleaner?

Yeppers...:cool:

check compression :(

It's not the compression, but thank you very much for the suggestion. I got a new distributor rotor, and some carb spray. It actually started and ran for a few seconds, though it sounded like a lawn mower when it was. I've got some carb spray chillin' on it right now...I'm going to try to fire it up again...Since it's gettting closer and closer to running, do you think I should still pull the plugs, or keep trying what I'm trying?

LMAO...Mike, sometimes I swear you are the Rotary Angel of Death...I think this is the second or third time you've suggested to some poor guy just getting into 7s that his engine has probably gone South....:p: :cool:

how well did it run before it died the first time.

probably a long shot, but do you have fuel, maybe the filter is way plugged. they seam to go weekly on these cars.

LOL...The funny thing is, before I dove into it, I thought it might be a fuel problem, and got a fuel filter (it needs one anyway, and I got it for four bucks). Then I dove into it, and found that the motor WAS getting fuel. I completely thought it was flooded after it was making progress after I cranked it with the fuel pump disconnected. I put the carb cleaner and a new distributor rotor on her, and now she runs beautifully! I'm supposing that it was probably the rotor. But who knows? Maybe it was flooded and needed the extra carb spray boost and to sit for a minute. Either way, I only spent a total of $15 on her (including fuel filter, rotor and carb spray) and she runs great. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!!! I hope in the future I can be as much help to you as you were to me!

Oh, you got it going, good deal. Never mind.
I sure type slow... -WG

What works well for me in a flooded situation is pull the plugs and dry and clean them, and spin the engine over with the starter with the plugs out to blow the excess fuel out. Replace the plugs and without touching the accelerator, try to start it, then while it's turning over, if needed, give it some gas. I'm assuming were talking about a carbed engine here?

yes, '85 GSL still had the crazy Nikki carb....

But, see, you're still pulling the plugs....the Gumout carb cleaner, the deadliest spray known to living things available over the counter, is the proverbial tip-of-the-day if you don't want to go through that hassle...starter fluid is also good, but that freakin' Gumout stuff is lethal...it cleans out anything that might be in the combustion chambers and is incredibly flammable, a fantastic one-two punch for a flooded 12A...don't use this stuff or expose it for long to rubber 'cuz it'll degrade that as well...God help your lungs or hands if they get steady contact with the deadly spray...man, I love that stuff...Oh, that sweet burning smell....:p:

Hate to bring this thread from the dead yea,right.. :p: but I just relearned an important tip that was inadvertantly covered here last year ...take a look...

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/attach...postid=1472579

What you're looking at is a 2 year old distributor rotor...the shiny part is where metal has been "pulled" off of the rotor tips as the spark jumps the gap between the rotor and cap...it's not much, but it makes a world of difference to the engine. I had followed this thread on starting and thought it was a waste of $$$ when Dusukun said he was going to replace the dizzy cap and rotor. He attributed part of his fix to that. He was probably right. My idle speed jumped from 900 rpms idle to 1100 rpms idle from that change alone. I got my set from Mazdatrix after enduring a beat-down from the rep....funny how they always make you work for an order...they know they've got the market virtually cornered. ;) :cool:

Since this thread got resurrected, I'd like to say that the proper way to start a flooded motor is to slowly depress the gas pedal all the way to the floor and hold it there WITHOUT PUMPING, and crank the hell out of the motor until it starts. Sometimes, though, a rotary can get so loaded up that it MUST be pushed or pulled down the road to clear it out. -WG

That works for boingers, but it hasn't been my experience with rotaries...:(

Well Mario, it seems we've had different experiences with rotaries. Hey, whatever works. :D -WG

I took my cap off the other day and noticed my rotor was burnt on all the tips like that. Just for fun I filed them dont just a hair with a fingernail file, and started it up. It fired up FAST and idled about 200 RPMs higher than before. Id say I need a new cap and rotor. Mine have over 10,000 miles on them :(.

~T.J.