Car: 82 GS (77,776.2 miles, so close to all 7s).

Story:
It starts up perfectly fine in the morning, sits at work for 8 hours, starts fine again, go in to store (10 min) doesn't start. All the accessories turn on but doen't make a "click" when you try to start it or crank over. It did this at an autox this past weekend as well (started fine going there, but wouldn't start between runs). I had to pop the clutch in both instances to get home.

It seems that it won't start if it was recently shut down. Is this the starter solenoid?

I tried to check it by hooking a voltmeter to the "S" terminal with the key in the "start" position. According to the FSM: >8v = starter malfunction, <8v = wiring. However, I didn't get a reading, should I assume this is the wiring or me testing it wrong? Or is it something else?


Thanks in advance.

-Wes

 

Check to make sure the small wire that triggers the solenoid coming down from the
wiring harness has a good, stable connection. I had an issue very similiar to this
and it was just a loose spade connector that needed to be tighten up a bit.

It can also be symptom of the ignition switch itself, which you can get replacements
for from Mazdatrx and Black Dragon, I think.

 

Could be corroded battery cables...

 

This could be it. After examining the cables and connections more thoroughly, there is an open cut in the negative cable. Looks like I will be relocating the battery to the storage bin sooner than expected.

Don't you just love how the RX-7 tells you what upgrades you should do...

 

lol, I know what you mean. I've upgraded damn near everything now, so I practically have a brand new car.

 

Well, I replaced the battery cables and no go. That wasn't it. Tapped the starter motor lightly to see if that was stuck, still no go. I am back to guessing it is the starter solenoid.

Any suggestions? Is the voltmeter reading of 0 the same as <8V, meaning wiring or a bad test?

 

Take it to a parts store that offers free testing...

 

I just bought a new one, I was under the impression that they were more expensive. I'll put it on tomorrow to see if it works.

 

Did your problem get fixed. I am running into the same problem, but I have had the starter tested and it came out good.

 

its you're postive battery cable. just like kentesu said. Same thing happened to the 82' that i had... replace it if you can, but atleast clean it.

 

Well, everything is fixed. Here is what I did:
-New fusible links (30/60/30 amp) at the same time since my headlights were acting up. ($13)
-New negative cable ($10)
-New starter ($70)