RX7 1990 Driving along at any speed or petal pressure when engine starts to die. Sputters longer if you don't press harder on the gas, otherwise dies out more quickly. Here is the Kicker - turn off ignition for 1 second, turn back on and continue on running perfectly for another 10-15 minutes. It has been doing this for years - car rarely drivin - never better, never worse. But now I would really like to start using this car for fun. It is at a shop now, but no conclusion yet.

 

it's not a turbo

 

plugged cat
do you have any more info

 

not much. I'm not a mechanic. It went to a Mazda dealer a couple of years ago - for $150 I was told it was (Something electronic or computer related, but i got all this info second - I'm looking through old file now to see if i can find any paper on it) and they did not make that part anymore.

 

The dealership called it an Engine Control Unit - without being more specific than that. Does that still sound like the problem?

 

Have you changed your fuel filter lately? Might be clogging up, then when the fuel pump kicks out after turning the car off, dislodges. If it isn't the fuel filter it definitely sounds like a fuel related problem.

-Marques

 

the ECU is probably going into limp mode for some reason. are you getting a check engine light?

 

assuming compression is good. your problem is ether fuel or spark.
i doubt it is your fuel filter. in my experience its usually not the easy stuff.
when the car dies do you have lights on the dash? does your tach still work?
with a test light you can see if you are getting signal to the coil. bring a friend with you to crank the car. or just pull a plug and see if your getting spark.
if you have spark when the car dies
the problem is likely fuel.
then you can check voltage to the pump and fuel pressure.

 

In my experience, it's always the easy stuff.

 

I may have missed the engine check light going on - when the car starts to shut down in a line of cars in moving traffic - I'm distracted. I will run all your ideas to the mechanic. The car is in for any maintainance needed, definatly the fuel filter.

 

I don't think the tach shuts down. It doesn't just go dead, that is part of the wierdness of it. Why would turning the key off and on "fix" it if it's not electrical (ecu related), which it appears it might not be.

 

it sounds ECU related to me. there is a good chance it's a wiring problem, and it's shorting out the ecu after 10-15 minutes. I had a turbo fire that melted a chunk of my wiring harness and it did the same thing.

 

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