Hey all,

I just inherited an automatic 86 GX from my father-in-law and am very new to the rotary engine. From what I know, the car has been a headache for the past year and a half, always in and out of the shop. They've put a rebuilt engine in as well as replaced a number of parts, including brakes, alternator, battery, etc...

Anyway, we finally got it back from the mechanic the other day and the car has been running fine and it's fun as hell to drive. It'll normally start on the first shot, and if for some reason it doesn't start right away, I can usually just wait a few seconds, press the accelator to the floor and then turn it over and that'll do it. This is per my mechanic's instructions.

However, when it's raining, the car doesn't want to start and left me stranded, having to tow it home. The frustrating thing is that it'll usually start back up again once it has sat overnight and it's nice out.

If anyone can offer any tips or advice, it would be greatly appreciated as I'd really like to have this car as a daily driver but there's no way in hell my wife will drive it if it keeps breaking down.

Thanks,
Randy

 

First, you have an '86 - that's a S4. There's no benefit to flooring the gas, you won't unflood it.

What does "doesn't want to start" mean? Does it not crank, not fire, ?

-=Russ=-

 

the car keeps flooding on you. keep a bottle of automatic transmission fluid with you at all times if your not willing to fix the flooding problem... its probly bad/leaky injectors making it flood. anyway... read up on the automatic transmission fliud trick to see how to unflood the car... works like a charm everytime.

 

This sounds like the problem the previous owner of my car was describing it as having. (Im planning to do its tune up and tires this week, then give it its first crank:-D ) If it is the problem, Ill want to go ahead and fix the injectors. Can anyone give me a heads up about how much that would cost?

 

By don't start, I mean that it's turning over but it just doesn't actually fire up. It feels like it's very, very close to starting, but just won't fire.

I've talked to some people and they said to check that my spark plug wires aren't cracked and that my distributor cap is in good shape, because if there not, I may be getting some moisture in there which would result in not enough juice getting through the spark plugs to actually fire up the engine.

Regarding the injectors, would those not have been replaced/repaired when the rebuilt engine was put in? I'm not really sure what normally gets done when an engine is rebuilt.

Like I mentioned in the original post, the car starts fine and runs perfect in nice weather, so it just seems odd to me that this only happens when it's damp outside.

Thanks

 

Anytime you are concerned about spark, just shell out a few bucks and at least get some new NGK plugs. If you can spare it, get some new wires as well. Also, on your car, you don't have a distributor, you have coil packs. Honestly, being new to rotaries, you might want to get a Hayne's manual at your auto parts store. Those things are great. Or several members on here have the factory servce manuals available.

Devon

 

you don't have distributors, your car is flooding. your best option aside from a rebuild is to instal a fuel cut switch. search around the forum about wiring one up

 

Sounds like Plug wires..If there is moisture in the air it can Interfere with spark delivery If your wires are not up to snuff....That could also explain why it suddenly won't start (no spark)Nor start in the rain,.. Really it would be wise to Replace The Spark plug Wires ..along with a tune-up,like fuel filter and plugs..The Reason I'm not going to Hit you on Injectors or Fuel is This..If you are not getting spark the fuel is there..(afterall it Does Run) This Unburnt fuel in your engine would sit there Until the spark finally Kicks ..and then burns all the fuel..(so don't go about gettin a Fuel cut switch just yet)..The WIRES are the best cheap solution..and You don't have to go hackin at wires or take it to a mechanic to do it..Just make sure that you Remove and Replace the plug wires One at a time, and you will do Just Fine,,Good luck to ya..

 

Thanks everyone for all of the advice. The response times on this forum are amongst the best I've seen.

As for the car, well, I got it started right away when I got home from work yesterday and let it run for a little while. After about 15 minutes or so, I shut her down and thought I'd be good to go. Anyway, to cut a long story short, a few hours later I was getting ready to go to my hockey game and it wouldn't start again.

So, as I scrambled to get it started, I read up some more on starting a flooded RX-7 and came across the EGI fuse trick. I pulled the fuse, tried cranking it a few times for about 4-5 seconds each time, put the fuse back in and the car started on the first crank. A bunch of smoke spewed out of the tailpipe, and it ran a little rough for the first few seconds, but then it calmed down and was running fine again.

Anyway, all this to say thanks guys and I guess my next steps with this car are to replace the plugs and wires and have a tune-up done. Hopefully this will help the car start on the first shot and prevent it from flooding itself all the time. Is there a recommended brand I should be looking at for plugs and wires, that are better than others? I'd really like to get this done right.

Also, if it doesn't start on the first crank, should I be pushing the accelator down to the floor before trying to start it again or just try to start it normally again? I don't think I quite understand how it gets flooded so quickly?

Thanks,
Randy