I live in Toronto... and right about now, the night time temperatures have been dropping to about 1 or 2 degrees Celcius (34 - 36 degrees Fahrenheit)...

I park my RX-7 outside (1990 GXL)... and when I go to start it in the early morning... it cranks like two times, and on the third time I crank it, it's as if the car was already on - but it was not (that screaaarch sound). Then it's not turning on, so I crank it again, and pump the pedal (I know I'm not supposed to do that, but I try to do it if there's a little revs, that I can hammer it up!). Then that doesn't work. So I hold the pedal down, crank it once, nothing... then finally, it starts.

Same thing happened in two days.

Is this a normal thing for rotaries in the cold?! What should I do next time I encounter it? Just keep cranking and no pedal-pushing?!

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

Around 30F (or 0C) or below, you want to press the acell pedal all the way down and let up, just once before cranking.

 

High-octane gas can also cause difficult cold starting. Use the lowest octane you can.

 

bighead - that srreeach sound is your starter grinding on your flywheel, give it a little bit longer in between cranking over. Same thing happened to me on my first gen and I burnt out a starter

 

I live in winterpeg and my car is still outside over night(who knows how much longer). please don't snow. but anyway mine always starts first time. Even with my older high mileage motor it still fired right up.

Your battery might be the problem. There is a little vent that puts fresh air into the stock battery location. Always screws up Canadian cars batteries too much cold air. Block it off or put on a battery blanket. It will most likey help out huge. Or just move it to the trunk!!!

 

Icemark, I will do that, thanks!
Evil... I do! I use the cheap-*** gas...
SA22C... wow, that explains a lot! Haha... I will give it more time between cranks. ****! I hope I don't bust my starter, I did that twice already.
WPGREXX... A blanket is not a bad idea... what type of material should I use? And I was thinking about putting MORE cold air under the hood - what a mistake I almost made!

 

No you want cold air under the hood, Just not to the battery in the winter. Cold air is a very good thing. t makes hp and parts last longer. But go to Canadian tire and get a battery blanket probably 25 bux. You can also get ones that plug in when youre parked. Also to be safe, check the temp rating of your coolant, should be atleast -35 celsius.

 

wow, electric blankets for batterys? now I've seen it all

 

How old is your battery? The colder the temperature is outside the harder the battery has to work. I thought peeps in very cold regions place a blanket on their batteries to keep them warm so they can start in the morning.

 

Oh wait!!! I have a battery box... isn't that the same deal as the battery blanket?

Is this electric battery blanket the same as the block heater?

I don't think the battery is more than a year old...

 

A battery blanket???? Thats a brilliant idea. How much do one of these doodads cost?

Hey bighead, where in toronto are u from?

 

Ive never seen anyone using one.

 

back in the day when I lived in minnesota almost everyone used a block heater or battery blanket if their car was left outside during the winter. I think battery blankets range between 20-30dollars.

 

Jim, get used to never having problems starting in the cold. She idles a little rough and needs a couple extra revs to keep runing when dead cold, but that motor fired faster sub-zero than any oher car I've owned.

 

Jim, I am not worried, this motor fires right up. But I only have the car out for another month if that. I store it in a garage till the spring. But even now it fires up awesome. I am just trying to help the fellow northerners that are having trouble.

Bighed-a battery box is not at all similar to a battery blanket. A battery blanket is a thick insulater that wraps around the battery, you can also spend more to get plug in ones. If your car was from Canada originally it should have a block heater, mine did before I took it out. But like A/c it may be a dealer option. A box won't really make a **** difference. Just cuz your battery is less than a year old doesn't mean it is still good. Have it checked at a parts store to be sure that it has enough CCA.

 

Wankels-Revenge - I'm in Markham, what about you?

Wpgrexx... thanks for the advice. I will get a battery blanket, as well as coolant change.

I hardly ever see cars with block heaters - it must be an option...

 

... really? I never saw cars without them when I lived in winnipeg. Just wait until middle of winter, every car will have an extension cord wrapped around the mirror.

 

Well, I got that electric battery blanket! Cost was $26 CAD at Canadian Tire.

I put it in, but couldn't use my stock battery box, because the blanket doesn't fit with that there... so I just took it out.

Also... it says not to plug the blanket in if the weather is above freezing (0 deg C, 32 deg F)... But it wasn't that cold, and I still had problems!!!

This morning was a hard start... and that pressing and releasing of gas pedal didn't work. I just kept it turning... and then when I hear the car almost can start, I GASSED it! Then finally, it started. For ****'s sake!!!

 

I'm in scarborough...the cedarbrae mall area. Woo represent!!

Ok...now to the relevant crap. Have you done a compression test lately? Maybe ur compressions a little low or something...

 

What is Woo? Hahaha... some Scarlem slang? SARSborough... hahaha.

DAMN it... I've never done a compression test. Maybe that sounds viable, because that blanket, even when plugged in, didn't help at all this morning...

****, I hope it's not compression. That'll be fucked.

 

You are not alone. I have the same problem with a pristine 1989 GXL with only 56K miles and all services current. It's only dropping to 50's and 40 degrees F here in Cincinnati Ohio.

It happens to me randomly, like tonight. The ratio of perfect starts and hard starts are 50 good to one bad, but I can always get it to start after a lot of patience.

I've had everything checked out at the Mazda dealership, and everything is to spec, including fantastic compression at over 90 on each rotor.

To all those trying to help, is there a valve that may be sticking that Mazda has missed in my inspections? I've had every possible fluid and filter changed in the last 1,000 miles.

Just wanted to chime in that it just isn't you. I can turn it off and then back on after a hard start, and it starts right up. That's why I think something is sticking randomly (but mostly when the weather gets colder).

 

y2kz3... wow, that sounds exactly like my car - your last sentence that is. After a hard start - it'll start easily.

Thanks for sharing your experience! It re-assures me that my car is not some heap of junk. But... does your car idle roughly after a hard start? Mine does for about 30 seconds...

 

Woo is just a sound i make

I still say u get the compression checked out..just to be safe.

 

Well, this morning, at 5am, the car started perfectly w/ the battery warmer! **** yeah! It was sitting for 5 hours in the almost freezing temps...

Nah... no need to waste $40 getting compression checked. If it's not good, what can I do?! I got no money! Also, the car is gonna be parted out if the engine ever blows... it's rusty as a bitch.

S5 tails, wing, mirros, fenders, anyone?! NOT YET!!!

 

these battery blankets are accually standard in most Chrysler and Dodge... etc. products they are on most of them stock and those that do not it is a "cheap" option! Definitely makes things easyer... I worked at a dealership and let me tell you when she get -40 to -50 with windchill nothing wants to start!