Hey! I am new to the RX scene. Got a 1984 california model from my sister and it ran pretty good for awhile then just quit running. The tac was working then, just before it quit, it started going dead off and on. I have figured out that I must have a bad igniter on the leading plugs. My question is where is the igniter located on this model? It is a 12a engine. I have purchased both the Haynes and Mazda manuals but they are no help with location of igniter. Please help as I really have gotten hooked on this little car. They are a blast.
dustyaffair

 

Ignitors are located on the side of the distributor. Where those wires plug into the sides of it, those are the ignitors. Cant remember which is which but the tach runs off the trailing ignitor, and since you have an 84 if the trailing ignitor fails the fuel pump does not work.

 

The "leading" ignitor is the one closest to the radiator. "trailing" towards the firewall.

 

thats right, the trailing one sucks cuz the alternator is in the way. Its all coming back to me now...

 

See if you have spark on the trailing plugs (sounds like you won't). Then you can try swapping the coils to see if there is a difference. If no change, then the ignitor has blown. Also, take a look at the cap and rotor to make sure it didn't get misaligned and tear up the rotor (seen that happen).

 

thanks guys for the info. I had alredy figured it out but didn't know that it also effected the fuel pump as well. That tells me why I kind of thought that maybe it was kind of a fuel problem as well. You guys were a great help.

 

Don't forget when replacing the ignitor that you put a coating of thermal paste on the backside to help dissipate heat. You can get small tubes at radio shack.

 

Thanks for the tip. Do you have any suggestions where to buy ingniters?

 

The FS section