sirex

I've done as much reading as I can on the forums without going crosseyed, but I think my case is a little bit unusual. It seems I have a better idle when the car is still cold/just started, which is a steady idle a tad right above the 1k mark. When I start driving and come to stops or near stops, the idle is horrendous, sputtering somewhere between 100 and 300, which is the average rpm thereafter when stopped, at the point where the car is about to die and i have to give it some gas. But the cold starts aren't always perfect, sometimes it just starts out to an idle somewhere between 100 and 700, sputtering, and again, i have to give it gas to make sure it stays alive. Possibly related, while driving on the highway at a steady speed, the rpm needle will suddenly drop to 0, hold there for a few seconds, then kick back up to the regular rpm it's supposed to be at, with a little kick from the engine. Also possibly related, while driving at any speed, the engine will suddenly shut down, the lights will all come on, and i'll be forced to pop the clutch going at high speeds, which isn't pretty. The car is an 84 GSL-SE with about 150k miles on it. A mechanic who's quite inexperienced with rotary engines and enjoys ripping me off every now and then is currently taking a look at it, but I figured I'd come to the real experts and ask for help, so that I'm more aware of the problem, and try to save up as much money as I can, or spend it properly. If someone would also like to take this car off my hands, that would be great. As much as I am inexperienced with cars, I don't have the time to learn, and my wallet doesn't support me that well. Ironically, it's cheaper to buy a new car and finance it. Anyways, enough blabbing, I appreciate any help I can get.

P.S. I've had problems with flooding too, where the car wouldn't start, and I'd have to pop the hood, unplug the wire connected to the first coil (leading? trailing? shrug), go back in the car, floor the gas pedal, try to ignite the flooding gas, then reconnect the cable, and it usually starts thereafter. This happens frequently.

slashdawg00110

I don't have a -SE, so I'm not certain about this, but look at this. It sounds similar.

http://www.mazspeed.com/forum/thread...496&boardid=17

Maybe this will help too.

http://www.mazspeed.com/forum/thread...140&boardid=17

I don't think the engine shutdown thing is related. I had a '76 VW Dasher that did something just like that. I was young and stupid, though, and just accepted it as a quirk of the vehicle.

LongDuck

I also have an 84SE, 171k miles, and have experienced some similar symptoms in the past that I have traced down to several different things. Going from your description, I'll try to provide some insights;

1) the rough idle could be caused by several different factors, not the least of which may be fouled plugs, old gasoline, a clogged up fuel filter (different for EFI SE's than carbs), a misadjusted Throttle Position Sensor (TPS), dirty throttle body, etc.

In my experience, a somewhat 'unrefined' idle is pretty normal for SE's, as these cars have known issues around throttle body butterflies not moving smoothly, and the Bypass Air Control Valve (BACV) attempting to compensate idle speed based on engine load, ambient air temp, intake air temp, etc. Overall, my SE idles a bit rough, but runs great above 2000rpm, which is where it counts.

Also, old/clogged fuel injectors can cause idle issues, since the spray pattern and/or calibration to each other may be out of tolerance. Replacing spark plug wires, cap and rotor, and/or plugs may get you further down the road (so to speak). Keep reading, as there may be other factors which are much easier to check and fix...

2) the flooding problem - never had a problem with flooding on my SE, but many have experienced this. The fuel injection system uses a fuel pressure regulator at both the fuel pump (near the driveshaft at the rear of the car), and one at the fuel pressure rail which is attached to the injectors. If these regulators go out, they can lead to excessive fuel pressure which may 'leak down' when you shut it off, causing a flooded condition.

Also, a bad fuel pump can cause similar symptoms. Poor ignition can also cause an overly rich running condition which may lead to poor idle, poor running, or engine dying. By replacing some of the parts as identified in #1 above, you can determine if this is the cause, and a new fuel filter is never a bad investment in time or money - keep reading, I think we may be getting to something...

3) the tachometer dropping - the trailing ignitor on your distributor is the source for the tachometer signal (via the trailing coil), and many times, when the trailing ignitor goes out, emissions will go up due to unburned fuel in the system, and your tachometer goes out because it's lost it's signal.

Trail ignition is used in the rotary to more completely burn the air/fuel mix as it's moved beyond the leading plugs, and accounts for more complete combustion and lower emissions. It also contributes to generating more power, which may be felt if the trailing ignitor is intermittent or not functioning - as evidenced by your tach sometimes going out, and then the engine 'kicking-in' when the tach comes back up. Could be the trailing ignitor starting up again resulting in cleaner burn and more efficient power at that moment.

On my SE, when it's cold out, the grease that lubes the tach needle is thick, causing the needle not to work until the cabin is warm - after that it works 100%, but your condition is very different, as I believe it to be caused by an intermittent trailing ignitor (or coil). Check connectors on the distributor for the ignitors, check the coils for damage, and plug wires, and possibly swap out the ignitor to see if this is the source.

Swapping leading for trailing will let you see if it fixes the tach problem, which could lead you in the direction of replacing the ignitor if determined to be the cause. Ignitors can be found on eBay or this forum for a pretty good price, but the dealer will gouge you for these parts. Leading ignition has a larger effect on engine performance than trailing, but trailing makes a difference in idle quality and power produced..

4) engine dying when driving - my SE used to have a problem where I would be driving along, hit a bump, and suddenly the engine would get all 'wonky', and imbalanced and down on power. Seemed like it would only run well enough to maintain speed, not accelerate, then, 'bump', and it'd go back to normal. After inspection, found that this was due to bad connections on the wiring harness to the fuel injector (front rotor), which would result in a lost connection, so the engine was only running on one rotor. New pigtails for both injectors fixed this problem and restored reliability and power (not to mention my trust in it).

If your trailing ignitor is good, it may be a combination of other factors that cause the engine to die when driving - like a short in the coil system, or the cap/rotor, or a plug wire. Only way to find this out is to dig into it. I think you'll find the trailing ignitor to be the problem, but only way to tell is to test.

On the subject of the mechanic that you're using, if they don't know about rotary engines, don't trust them. Mechanics are in the business to make money, and if they can claim ignorance about rotary engines, then they can make a lot of money off of you. I don't even recommend the Mazda dealers because they have not seen enough cars to get good at troubleshooting rotary problems. Find a tuner shop or a speed shop in your area who knows rotary engines, or better yet, someone who owns an RX-7 and get familiar and comfortable with the mechanics involved.

The SE should not intimidate you - it is an easy car to learn to troubleshoot, and with the help of the forum here, a Factory Service Manual, and some time, you can keep your SE running strong and smoothly. Please reply back when you get a chance and let's try to troubleshoot some of things you're doing to get it running. HTH,

sirex

thanks for the reply. As of right now I'm getting the distributor, cap, and rotor replaced, as well the the plug wires, and ignitors. I might also invest in Jacob Energy Coils (do you suggest something else?) I just want regular coils that will fit in instead of the old stock ones that have been used for 20 years, without having to do extra installation. I'm also gonna try to use fuel injector cleaners and see if any improvements happens there after. I think i might also have to adjust the timing or the idle speed screw