has anybody ever tried this:

since a rotary floods due to an ECU error, if you turn your engine off before it properly warms up.. instead of restarting it, go reset the ECU?

Example: you start your car, moved it from the street to the garage. turn the engine off, then realized - *DOH* you're an idiot. so you unplug the ECU to reset it. (or however you reset the ecu's) next morning, plug it back in, start it up. *vRRRRoom* ecu has reset itself, doesnt remember what happened the night before and no flooding.

wouldnt that stop the ecu from flooding the engine? or should i just have multiple ECU's laying around. all set to not flood the engine. (theres a few junkyards with easy access ECU's)

 

none of your answers will work... the fuel will still be sitting in the rotor housing the next morning wether the ECU knows it or not. The best thing is to make a fuel pump kill switch. -Gabe

 

(i dont know much about the rx7, im just considering buying one.)

so you're saying the ecu continues feeding fuel even though you turned the engine off, thats the reason for the flooding? not that the ecu floods the next time you start it up?

 

No, this is different to leaking injectors. As I understand this "bug" in the ECU, the excess fuel that causes the flooding is injected at start-up during cranking. So it's quite possible that resetting the ECU could clear the bug for the next start.

Causing this glitch to actually happen is another thing entirely. Despite the tales of doom on various web pages, in my experience this problem does not occur every time you shut off the engine before it's warmed up. In fact it doesn't happen very often at all. I don't think the engine has to be fully warm to avoid it, just not stone cold. Shifting the car in the driveway might cause it; a drive around the block won't.

 

FWIW....My wife had a Nissan Sentra that had EXACTLY the same bug. Move it a few feet, stop motor, wouldn't start on the next try without stoping the fuel pump. No problems starting, ever, other than the "short start" problem.

Todd

 

hmm.. thats what i was thinking. if the problem is due to the fact that on the next start up the ecu will flood the engine - why hasnt anybody tried resetting the ecu before restarting it?

since most ECUs only have ROM data and a few other codes stored temporary (mostly error codes) which are 'forgotten' when resetted.

 

Because this is an intermittant problem. You don't actually know if you have a problem until you try to start the car. Restting the ECU requires disconnecting the battery, and who wants to do that every time you think you might not have run the engine long enough? Easier is just to not short-start it.

 

do you *HAVE* to pull out the battery terminal? on my toyotas i just pull a fuse. it resets the battery.

 

how come when u stall it doesn't flood?

 

because instead of turning the car off intentionally with the key, when you stall the key stays in the on position keeping the computer out of it

 

And keep in mind that those of us with s4s can't reset the ECU...

 

is it bad to stall the car?
everytime I need to move the car just a little, I put it in 4th and stall it. It always starts afterward.

 

To reset the ECU all you do is disconnect the battery. I think your getting confused with the S5 ECU's unflooding feature.

 

I thought the flooding was from when you shut the car off, not when you started it?

Turn it off, injectors are spraying fuel for 3000rpm for a sec or two after spark dies (or however long) but there is no spark to burn it?

 

s4 doesnt store codes n ****

 

Shoot...Turning off the car basically resets it.

S4 ECUs dont store anything.

Jarrett

 

No, absolutely not.
Injectors are just electrical solenoid valves. Without electrical power, once you turn the key off they cannot open to inject any more fuel. The short-start flooding problem is caused by the ECU injecting too much fuel during cranking.
BTW, why would you switch your engine off at 3000rpm?

 

I dont know why you would turn your car off at 3k rpm. I dont ever drive my car until its warmed up some and has a normal idle (plus its too damn cold to go sit in a cold car )

 

No, you have to disconnect the battery. The ECU has an unswitched feed from the battery.

 

Agreed, but there isnt anything that the ECU keeps in memory when the key is switched off. (least nothing I can think of)

 

The way I look at it is, since all you have to do to unflood the car is to push the gas pedal all the way to the floor, why even worry about it. I don't think cranking the engine for about 8 seconds and some smoke is any harder than disconnecting the battery...

 

There must be, otherwise there'd be no need for the unswitched battery feed. Plus disconnecting the battery is exactly what the FSM says to do to reset the ECU.

 

Because that only works on S5 cars, not S4's. We need to use more "hands-on" methods.

 

Why don't you guys check this out.....

http://www.our.net.au/~pnt/afm/rx7_RX7.html

 

i usually take out the fuel fuse and disconect the two fuel injectors so they dont do anything crank it for a couple of seconds put the fuse back in start it and reconect the injectos and it has worked for me but its a wast of time but since i have no money to fix it thats what i do