dludden

Hello, I had a skipping problem with my GSL-SE about in 2017 for several months in the winter, a very fast skip, that nobody knew the problem.
But when I went out in March when the temp was over 80 the first time that year it started right up with no skipping and has run good every since until
last month. The shop and I thought the problem was dirt in the gas in the injector that finally spit out. Now last month about Jan 4 when it was cold
it suddenly ran very roughly and would only go about 2 miles per hour. I thought this could be a major problem. But as it turned out when the weather got
up to the 60's here in Missouri it started right up and ran perfectly with no problem to my shock. Could this too have been dirt in the gas in the injector causing this major running problem? And the warm temps made it shoot out of the injector. What if this happens again? Do I have to wait for the temps to warm up??
The car fixed itself both times.

LongDuck

First off, welcome aboard. Secondly, you'll need to tell us a bit more about your SE; how many miles? Are you the maintainer? Any modifications to anything? What have you done to it recently, before the problem started?

Also, if you could tell us a bit more by describing what you mean by "skipping"; is that an ignition miss? How does it drive otherwise? Additionally, when you say it won't go 2mph - do you mean it's down on power? Unable to accelerate?

Typically, cold vs. warm temperatures have little to no effect on Fuel Injectors spitting out debris. If you suspect debris in the fuel system, the tank pickup has a mesh screen filter, the Fuel Pump has a plastic screen filter, and the Fuel Filter right next to it has a mesh designed to catch crap before it gets into the lines anywhere close to a Fuel Injector. Sounds like a gold first step might be to drain the fuel tank (*14mm bolt on the bottom) into a clean and clear container and look for debris. If you find sediment, paint chips or anything like that, you can then work your way through filter cleaning and / or replacement.

Fuel Filters are designed to protect your pump and Injectors.

dludden

Good pint about the filters. They probably should block anything going to the injectors I hope. What I mean by skipping back in 2017 is that it was very fast and regular but it had close to full power. Not like a fuel filter skipping or ignition. This went on from November to 80 degree day in March and then it started up smoothly and ran smoothly with full power. Fast forward to last month when all of a sudden it lost power and barely moved, put putting along would not accelerate. It was cold. Then when shop went out a month later when it was above 60 it started up fine and ran fine. Unbelievable!! In between 2017 and last month no problem. It has about 260K miles and I haven't done anything to it was timed perfectly about 3-4 years ago by a mechanic with knowledge of RX7 who owns a 2nd gen. Nobody knows what the problem was except think dirt in the injector. But how does the car fix itself?? A 1985 GSL-SE. Can't get front calipers any more? Or rear. If not dirt what?

LongDuck

Could be Coils or Ignitors, which tend to be temperamental. One guy here had a car that would lose power going in right turns at speed, turned out to be the Coil for leading spark was leaking the catalytic oil out and it would lose spark efficiency when what oil was there would drain away from the internal plates. Have you ever done anything with the Coils? They typically last forever as long as they're not rusted out. If water got into either of your Coils, it could cause performance problems with varying temperature.

Ignitors can also be temperature dependent, as these use the Distributor housing as a heat sink. When the heat sink paste gets old or corrosion builds up under the Ignitors, they can get hot and overheat, resulting in intermittent operation. This would typically be seen in high heat situations, but the Ignitors are 40 years old at this point and are an easy diagnostic to swap Leading for Trailing and see if the problem moves.

I'm asking about ignition systems, as you seem well-versed regarding the fuel system concerns (*new fuel tank, filters, pump, etc.).

dludden

let me be more detailed. Back in 2017 it did rapid skipping whether hot or cold. I could still drive it but when the engine was hot you could still hear the rapid skipping.
just not as bad. This started in November and ended the first hot day in March in 2017 I don't know why the hot day fixed it and not the hot engine.
Then two months ago in January on cold day when the engine wasn't even hot yet and I hadn't even driven a mile it lost power and wouldn't go more than
2 miles an hour and put-putting along. Then when warmer in February around 60 it started right up and ran smoothly from cold. About the filters, could dirt
get around the fuel or air filters and into injector?

LongDuck

Dude, you basically just restated your first post. What do you mean when you say "skipping"; is that an ignition miss? How does it drive otherwise? Additionally, when you say it won't go 2mph - do you mean it's down on power? Unable to accelerate?

There are any number of things that can cause the engine to be down on power. Very few of them are related to whether it's hot or cold outside. What does your 2nd Gen owning mechanic think? The 2nd Gen cars have very similar EFI systems to the Series3 GSL-SE.

Help us to help you. Needing more information,...

dludden

I don't know more how to explain it. Except that the skipping back in 2017 was very rapid, not sounding like ignition or fuel filter. When the engine was hot you had to listen closely to hear the very rapid skipping. The sec gen mechanic didn't know back in 2017 what it was. But the desk guy thought it was dirt in the gas. I have no other info. If it was ignition miss or filter it wouldn't all of sudden run good, right?
Then in January I didn't take it to the 2nd gen guy. I towed it to another shop and when they finally got to it over 60 degrees nothing was wrong. Yes, when it didn't go above 2 mph it was down on power and unable to go faster, running real rough. But shockingly a month later no problem.

1BADRX7

It might be better for you to record a video of the car doing the skipping, it's still hard to understand what exactly you're trying to explain.