nuyz125

alright, heres the problem, I replaced my whole engine, and everything went without a hitch..I go to hook up my starter and I have three wires going down there, one of them has a metal ring that I am pretty sure goes on the little terminal on the starter, it is a uniform circle shaped piece of metal that fits right on there. Than there is a brass one that is not circle shaped, it sort of has these two little ridges on either side of it that look like it is supposed to be put on when you are bolting the starter on, as in its a ground..so I hooked that up..lastly there is another regular circle/doughnut connector that has this burgundy looking box on the end of the wire right before the connector metal..this may never have been hooked up I dont even know..
heres the dilemna, I hooked up the goofy ground the one of the bolts that holds the starter onto the bellhousing..it looks like it belongs there, than, I hooked up the circle terminal to the one on the starter terminal itself..I left the one with the burgundy box disconnected..I go to hook up the battery and all of a sudden theres smoke and crap, and a relatively thin ground, going from my passenger side engine to the firewall near the ac lines just burns right up..just because I connected the terminal! What am I doing wrong here? I am desperate for help because i cant really understand the haynes wiring diagrams, and i need this thing to get back to school tonight! any help would be much appreciated..my email is guspatsy72@hotmail.com..thanks guys..

WAYNE88N/A

Lol, well, if anything else, you've proved a point, and learned a lesson

The ground wire that bolts under your starter bolt, if it's still original wiring, is black with a yellow stripe. The other big black wire is your positive.

I think what you did was supplied power to the starter OK, but didn't put the ground in the right spot. That's why your little tranny-to-firewall jumper smoke-checked itself, it was carrying the entire amp load of the starter, instead of the big black/yellow.

If you're lucky, just replace that firewall jumper for now, using at least 12 gauge wiring, and install your main ground in the right spot this time, and you should be good to go.

Check your fuses, also...

nuyz125

alright wayne..thanks for the tutelage I appreciate it..heres what happened, I had the ground from the battery hooked up to the power to the starter, and vice versa, so like you said, she smoked..lol, got it figured out, and im all ready to go now. NOW, question is, I read that Im supposed to crank the engine over until I read oil pressure (with the plugs out) and then throw the plugs in and start it..im not really gettin any oil pressure, where would I find my oil pressure sensor to make sure that it is connected? and if I know I have oil in there do you think im safe? thanks alot!

WAYNE88N/A

You're not going to get much oil pressure while cranking...What you will do perhaps is "prime" the system a bit. I cranked her three times after my rebuild and never got any gauge pressure, so I just started her up normally, and the pressures came right up...

Make sure all of your starter wiring is good (no arc-welded terminal connections or melted insulation)

ilike2eatricers

The oil pressure sender is right under the oil filter pedestal. Little round thing with a small disk protruding that a clip attaches to. The wire for the sender is a red/yellow wire with a white rectangular clip.

nuyz125

ok well I finally got my car running after 3 weeks of down time..next problem(its seeming like they never end!) ...It started right up when I pull started it..but it wont idle whatsoever, if i let go of the pedal, it stalls right away..i adjusted the idle screw on the throttle body, but it hardly helped at all, still no idle..also, I heard a little backfiring, though that sort of stopped happening..i know that idle gremlins kind of haunt rx7's alot..but im not just getting a crappy idle, im gettin nothing..what do I check first? Haynes is kind of vague in the sense that they pretty much list everything that has anything to do with the car running..what should I check first? also, how would I know if a water seal was leaking? I've changed my oil twice because I knew the engine had alot of dirt and crap in it(whoknows why..previous owner i guess) and both times its been pretty runny and solidly brown..but not white at all, just pretty much like chocolate milk..is this most likely me just flushing all that crap out? thanks!
gus

Everlastingboost

ok im not really sure on this but i believe if you're car isnt idling at all then your cas is messed up? Wayne help me out on this one. Also i think you should check you're timing also. Hey wayne ill let you know what i find on my project tomorrow man, sorry been busy heh.

nuyz125

what do mean by messed up? am i missing a sensor, how do I check timing? I guess im not sure what to do next..help!
gus

SureShot

Crossing your leading & trailing spark wires will also do that.

patman

iTrader: (3)

is it a fresh rebuild? if so it migt not idle for a few hundred miles. if not, probably something simple, like a vac line u forgot to hook up, or plug wires in the wrong place.

pat

patman

iTrader: (3)

ps theres not much timing adjustment on a fc, if it runs, it whould idle. you can take it somewhere later and have hem check it for like 10 bucks..

pat

nuyz125

how do I know for sure which wires are leading and which are trailing? Is the coil near the battery in the front of the car for leading or trailing? Also, there is a black plug that looks like it needs a flat metal male plug to go into it..its coming out of the ecu right near my omp actuator, pretty much right inbetween my uim and the coolant spout..
also.. as soon as I start my car up my oil pressure just goes all the way up to 110..but it seems like that can't be an accurate representation since I JUST started the car..than after like 3 or 4 minutes it goes back down to like 60-70..but i havent kept it on long enough to see if it will go longer, im really paranoid that somethings going to blow..
also, no, the engine is not a rebuilt, it was just replaced with a another one..
thanks for the tips..
gus

patman

iTrader: (3)

oil pressure is ok, it should do that- cold oil is denser. the plug goes to the efan coolant temp sensor. if you dant have a stock efan, just dont worry about it.

the coils have the wires marked on them L1, L2 and T1 T2. L1 is bottom front, T1 is top front and so on. the one near the battery is leading.

pat

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

Alright, I can hit two out of three.. maybe three out of three if I get lucky

1) The coils are actually marked right on them which is which. The ones near the headlight are leading (L), it's easist to remember "L=Lower" , the ones near the firewall are your trailing (T), remember "T=Top". There will be a white dot on the front rotor connections (on both coils), or, if you look at the black plastic near where the wires connect, it will be labeled 1 and 2. 1 goes to the front rotor, 2 to the rear rotor. Couldn't be easier

2) As far as I'm aware, that is just a test lead, but it may have something to do with the Air Pump.. . I removed my air pump shortly after getting my car, so I don't really remember... but I'm pretty sure it's a test lead.

3) It sounds like your oil sender is messing up. that's the unit that feeds the information to the gauge. The stock gauges are not exactly known for their accuracy anyway. If you're really concerened about giving it a minute to calibrate or whatever, get a stock gauge. Advance has autolite gauges in stock for 45 bucks.. Mine died a bit ago, so I got the autolite, and life is much happier. It's a very responsive gauge..

I'm sure people will correct me if i'm wrong good luck!

patman

iTrader: (3)

1) yep
2) no. see above...its for the e-fan temp switch, which you probably dont have.
3) Quit worrying about it. if it quits working all together, then worry. ps you can try pulling the sender out and cleaning it and then oiling it and putting some teflon on the threads when you put it back in. sometimes they get some air int hem and read real high when u start the car. probably tho, its like i said above...just the oil is thick from being cold.

pat

nuyz125

sounds good as far as the plugs and oil temperature situation goes...now if I go home tonight (i live in a dorm about an hour away) and my plug wires are correct, and im not idling at all..what should I check first? I read some things about the tps..is this likely? also, I have autolite sparkplugs..i tested all of them and there is tons of spark, so they are working fine..the thing that worries me is that when I bought them, the guy at autozone said that the part numbers were the same for leading and trailing..unlike ngks...could this be a reason for the no idle? Am I hurting my car by using autolites? Thanks for all the help guys..its much appreciated.
gus

WAYNE88N/A

The other guys are helping you out OK

Do you have a vac gauge? Sounds to me like you need to rule out a vac leak first, or the engine has little compression...

patman

iTrader: (3)

autolites arent as good, but they wont hurt anything.

first thing to check if its not plugs is a vacuum leak like i said before. try this:

get a can of starter fluid.
start the car cold. let it run for just a second.
if it will idle at all, good, if not, get someone to hold it at a very steady low rpm.
spray the fluid around the engine, get all the intake manifolds and vac hoses and stuff.
if the engine speeds up at any point, then there is a vac leak where u just sprayed it. look around till you find it.
if the engine never speeds up, there probably isnt a vac leak. still could be tho...

low compression is possible, but usually an engine with low enough compression to run bad will have other signs like smoke, bubbles in coolant, etc.

pat

ilike2eatricers

I have heard of the little prong on autlite spark plugs to break off and fall into the combustion chamber. Stock NGK sparks plugs are only $5 each.

patman

iTrader: (3)

what little prong? all the ones ive had looked just like ngks, except the outside wasnt divided. **** falling into the chamber doesnt sound good tho. i always use ngk anyway.

pat

nuyz125

alright well im pretty much at wits end..all day yesterday it was startin up, revving up, then stalling if I didnt give it gas..all while backfiring and crap..I also noticed while sitting there at around 3500-4k..it would shudder sort of at random times..I checked the plug wires, correct, I checked resistivity at my crank angle sensor, than I swapped the one that I had in the car originally, still no luck actually now its worse as far as backfiring and crap..I have a timing light and everything, but I havent checked it yet..i have been adjusting pretty much all over to no avail..I have checked most of the vacuum lines and they seem ok..is there a certain few I need to pinpoint? also, there is a plug that didnt match up, its a green wire with a black stripe, and a black plug as well..it looks like it matches up with a flat prong male end..its located near my uim as my ecu wraps around it for the injector clips and o2 sensor, however its pretty short, and before the ecu wires get to the alternator..what is this for? I looked all over and can't find anything for it..thanks for the help..

WAYNE88N/A

Did you install a new ground in the place of the originally smoke-checked tranny-to-firewall ground?

Sounds like the lonely plug might have been for the e-fan option (sensor on the water pump housing or t-stat housing). Just a guess.

patman

iTrader: (3)

dude i told you a bunch of times that plug is for the efan. it doesnt do anything.
try re-grounding the car, see if that helps. also check the timing. you may have it a notch off inside.

pat

nuyz125

sorry..i guess I wasnt picking up on the efan thing..thats good then..dont have to worry about that..I guess it comes down to I need to take off the manifold again and redo all these vacuum lines..do you guys think it would be a good idea to get rid of all the emissions crap and rats nest at this point, or would that just be another project that might create more issues? ps the grounds are ok, should I suspect the maf sensor at all? my friend literally ripped the plug off because he didnt see the metal clip off of it, so I got another one with the engine I bought, could it maybe be bad or somethin?
thanks guys

Everlastingboost

is there any smoke coming out of the exhaust? It sounds like theres a huge vacum leak. I would suggest tearing down the manifolds and checking all the vacum and wires and the rats nest. Im having this problem myself except mine wont turn off lol. Im going to get all new gaskets and remove my rats nest just to clean stuff up. Check you're wires(remove the electrical tape) on the harness and see if anything looks like its melted together. Good luck. This is a testament to how much you love rotarys nuyz125(that's if you keep it after this ordeal).