Hello, I have a 1986 gxl and it’s not running correctly and I’m looking for possible causes.

For like the past 2 weeks I thought my car couldn’t start, turns out all I needed to do was pump my gas pedal! But my car obviously isn’t carbureted, so I’m trying to figure out what I need to fix.

along with that it also has a frequent misfire.

when I first start it (after pumping while cranking) the car is loud, smells horribly of gas, and shoots white smoke out like there’s no tomorrow, but other than that it runs great! Until it goes to lower the idle and it stops spitting smoke, stops smelling, and begins to misfire!

so yea what would cause my car to not start (without pumping gas pedal), run rich when first starting, and have it misfire when it has a lower idle/warmer engine?

 

Pretty much all S4 (86-88) RX-7's start better with your foot on the gas pedal.

My general procedure is hold my foot WOT till it catches and revs above 1000RPM, then let it do it's thing.

And if after cranking for 3-4 seconds WOT it won't catch, I'll let off the gas and see if that works better.


All of this stuff though sounds like the plugs are fouled on your car. Take them out and clean or replace them. They go through plugs pretty fast. Rockauto or amazon probably has them cheapest these days.

 

+1 plugs, check the wires they should be 16K Ohms or less (new is like 8k)
also the TPS adjustment idle mixture, and idle speed need to be checked, i like to do it seasonally the first year i own the car, and then twice a year after that.
i'll also check the timing, but it won't move so you just need to check it once

the shop manual is here, https://foxed.ca/index.php?page=rx7manual

 

“Plugs” you mean spark plugs right? Ive just replaced my spark plugs and wires and that didn’t really seem to completely solve the problem, so I’m not sure what to say about that

Also I’m new to the shop manuals, im assuming I should be looking at the 88 fsm right? Just want to make sure I’m looking in the right place

thank you!

 

the manuals are 86-88 and 89-91, basically.

and yes plugs = spark plugs

 

A lot of people aren't fans of randomly replacing parts without knowing if they are broken or not. .. .

But if I was in your shoes, I would replace the water coolant temp sensor behind the alternator (kinda tricky to get the connector off and better to get at it once the alternator is removed) & replace mass air meter. Cost you about 150 bucks total from car parts .com . . .Take you about 1 to 2 hours in your driveway with simple hand tools.

Water temp sensor will effect cold starting and a bad mass air meter can cause back firing.

 

thanks for the help, I’m going to buy a new maf now but I’m not sure which one to choose.
im new to buying car parts and I don’t want to buy anything that’s going to end up being a performance downgrade, and I also don’t want anything to fancy because I don’t want to have too much air in the engine and accidentally blow seals.
which one do you recommend? Or what should I look for when buying one?
thanks

 

I've been experiencing this exact problem. It's why I'm here.

 

did the map or maf fix it?