your car will run just fine with out the trailing coil, it is mainly an emissions thing anyway.

I would definitely check the plug going into the trailing coil. On that plug there is a rpm signal that goes to the trailing coil, from there it is sent to the ecu and the tach.

If you are not seeing it it the tach it is most likely no the ECU, as a matter of fact the ecu rarely fails even though it is the first thing most point their finger at.

Also have you done a compression test? I vaguely remember that you did but I'm not sure and I am far to lazy to read back through everything.

 

About the compression test.... the day I went to do it this happened. It kept stalling so i was going to test it but I had to get up early so I figured what the hell this weekend ill do it. Now it won’t stay running and my father and me are really butting heads and everyone is blaming the ECU while I think its not. Plus I don’t have the money to throw at replacing random parts.

So ill try the compression test. This is how you do it right?
1. Remove the spark plug
2. Remove the EGI fuse
3. Crank engine over and look for 3 bounces
4. Repeat for other rotor

How would I go about checking it, what do I look for, if I find something how do i got about fixing it myself. I want to get it running before it snows so i can fix the fender, bumper and tinker around with it. Id like to get it all set for winter in the next 2- 21/2 months and all I have left for time is on the weekends.

 

That is how you check the compression, then after that do a "normal" compression test to see what your PSI is.

 

while you are cranking the engine and looking for the even bounces make sure you have the relief valve on the compression tester pressed. Also you want to see 3 even bounces, each bounce should bring it up to about the same pressure.

 

If the compression test is bad it is time for a rebuild

or maybe even a turbo swap?

 

Whats a Normal compression test?

 

Screw compression tester into plug hole, crank engine over ~10 times, look at pressure reading. you want 90+psi for each rotor.

when you hold the check valve that is just showing that all the seals and Apex's are good.

 

I did the compression test. The results are:

Front: 90,100,100

Rear: 85, 90,90

My dad said he saw 110 one or twice on the front. But the first crank I got 70 and lower. Then we retried it and got 80 70 35. After that it was all 90+ is that normal?

Then after that I figured why not try to start it. I tried it and she started up strong. I didn’t move it out of the garage but she sounded much better.Also she smoked when we fired her up.

I have some pictures of the coil pack, and wires.







I couldn’t help but notice the single black wire, should that be connected to anything? Should I clean off the wires and connections with some electric cleaner?

 

The compression looks fine, it being off at first could be a lot of things, most likely got oil pressure up and that is what caused it to even out. Though you are really supposed to test it when it is warm.

The smoke is also normal, a lot of RX7's will smoke when they first start.

What black wire are you talking about?

 

did you try running the car without the trailing coil, It should run exactly the same.

You will notice that there is no rpm reading on the tach when you do this

dont quote me on the colors here but if you connect the yellow/blue to the blue/yellow on that 4 pin connector it will make the tach work again.

 

that sounds right for the colors. or am i wrong 2?

 

The black wire was not connected to anything. Today ill try to connect the wires together and warm up the car and redo the test. Ill post the results later on.

 

Do you mean the yellow wire with the black connector? I myself do not see a black wire.

And a way to test to see if your coils are going bad is the same as in a piston engine. Take the spark plug wire off of the plug, put a screwdriver end in the plug, set the screwdriver's plastic handle somewhere, and make sure there is a little gap between the screwdriver metal part and a piece of grounded metal. If you get spark, then it's good. And the fact your getting a rpm reading on your tach means it's working fine.

Some things you should test and maybe adjust are:
1. TPS(Throttle Position Sensor) - This right here can be a major problem with acceleration. My last 7(S4) had the TPS off so much and acceleration just....was the crap. I fixed it and it all went back to awesome. I'm not sure how to adjust the tps on an S5 though, maybe someone can find a link for us. :P

2. Check ALL grounding. I know you had a problem with the starter, so why not check all of them? When I had my old car, I washed it one day and cleaned up beneath the engine. Took it out for a drive, and it felt like I was missing a rotor. Got to my work, looked under the engine and found that the ground next to the windshield wiper motor was unplugged. Plugged it back in and it ran perfectly. I know you said that you cleaned up under there, so I would look and make sure. - http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/grounding.htm

3. Check for any vacuum leaks. I haven't had that problem, but I do know that it is a problem that will make your car run like crap.

And awesome find on that vert :P I just payed 800 for mine about 4 weeks ago. Some people just like to give these cars away. But I mean, I guess it also helped that the low coolant buzzer went off (plug was unplugged come to find out) That right there was some leverage. :P

 

Yes I mean the yellow and black wire.

I disconnected the trailing coils. Then I tried it up the hill and it went with out stalling a little power loss but it made it. Then it bucked when pressing the gas down when trying to go into 3rd .

I’m thinking the trailing coil is bad so testing will definitely answer that hypothesis.

Ill look for some loose grounds and tidy up some more in the bay. I would like to know how to check the tps I believe that’s the problem. I do have the leak from the water pump so ill be sure to check the vacuum.

It looks like its coming together now, and i hope it stays together

 

you shouldn't notice any power loss.

Im going to guess that you out of time or your AFRs are off

 

The TPS couldn't cause the loss of power?

What is the AFR and how do i check the timing and AFR?

My check engien light has been on and im not sure why? If that helps any.

 

The TPS couldn't cause the loss of power?

What is the AFR and how do i check the timing and AFR?

My check engien light has been on and im not sure why? If that helps any.

 

The TPS could casue power loss but if you unplug it and then floor the gas it won't effect anything.

It just hit me that you might be in limp mode, you do have an S5.

 

Sorry for the double i hit the back space and it brought me back to the reply stop and i thought it didnt go through.

By limp mode what do you mean?

 

Personally i have never delt with it as i have an S4 but the S5 has an eletric OMP. When it goes out the computer puts the car in "limp" mode which means it doesn't allow you to go to full power to save the engine.

Someone that knows more about it will have to tell you about it though. i just know it sounds like your problems now that i think about it.

 

Dose anyone know anything about limp mode?

 

This is what I was talking about, when I said you shouldn't notice any power loss.

 

Also I believe limp mode cuts fuel to the rear rotor. I would do a search to double check, but I'm pretty sure.

AFR is Air fuel ratio. So it is the amount of fuel you have for every amount of air you take in. Too much air is lean to much fuel is rich.

There are ways to check this but the only accurate way I know of is a wide band o2 sensor, which are pretty pricey.

As for your check engine light, there is a way to put the car into diagnostic mode and read any codes that it may be displaying. I have never done it but I have seen it on here, it may even be in the FAQ. Just do some searching and you will find it.



Oh and you will get a code bitching about the trailing coil if it is disconnected, but it shouldn't make that light come on.

 

I tried the code thing nothing happened. The light is still on and it didn’t blink. So I removed the negative battery cable. But I noticed that the oil pressure gage bounces while reving , is that normal?

There must be a device you can plug into the car to see it what the diagnostics is.

 

The oil pressure gage will show a higher psi as you rev, so if thats what you are talking about than everything is working there.
Are you sure you checked the codes correctly? You don't need to waste money on a code reader. You just short out the green diagnotic plug on the drivers side near the battery (leave the battery connected). Once the terminal has been shorted turn the key to ON but DO NOT START. Get back in the car and watch for the check engine light to flash. It will flash in a series of short and long bursts. There are many threads about this on the forum, or you can search on Google.