Hey guy, just recently joined your forum and had a question. As of this Thursday, I will be picking up another rx7, a 88 or 98 GLX. I havent had much time to inspect this vehicle, but the previous owner has given me a heads up on a problem. He says its good on short trips. If you go 30 or 40 miles it runs well, but the next time you get in to go somewhere, it may only make it a mile or two before dying out. Im not sure what he means by that, I guess Ill find out when I put it through its paces on Thursday:-D This will be my 3rd rx7, so Im not entirely unexperianced, but its been a few years since my last one, so I thought Id ask for any tips you guys may have to troubleshoot this problem. Ive searched different keywords within the forum, but thus far nothing has come up to catch my eye, if this is covered somewhere, please point me in the right direction:-)

Thanks
- Josh

 

I don't know much about this, but if its a S4 the 88, it might be the fuel fluding of the engine. I think it was leaking injectors or something, don't quote me on it...


Anyone else...

Gil

 

Thanks for the reply Gil. I hadnt even considered the flooding of the engine, but thats a distinct possiblity. Ill deffinately check that out. The first RX I had (10 years ago now... *shudders*) had a similar problem to what this guy described, but it was a clogged airway. I guess we'll see in the morning! i should pick the vehicle up by 9am and post something more specific about its problem sometime tomarrow afternoon.

 

Ok, heres the promised update. I got the car trailered home, got the battery for it and popped that in. Its an interesting case.

With just the new battery in, and the switch turned on:

the sun roof is working
the drivers side window is working
the clock is working
the open door indicator light is working

But on the other hand:

the lights wont pop up, or turn on
the horn doesnt work
the instrument cluster has no lighting
the signals and tail lights and hazard lights dont work (although when you turn on the signal, you can hear it clicking like it was flashing)

Im going to be checking the fuses, as well as replacing the terminal connections themselves (they're pretty old and soldered looking). Outside of that, Im not sure what could be causing some things to work, and others not.

I hit the switch just a little ways, and the motor will spin, but I havent tried to fully crank it. Im saving that for about 2 weeks from now, when there will be the money to perform its full 60K tuneup first. Its been sitting a while, so the oils extremely thin. I dont wanna start it and take chances.

I really did luck up on this car. Its an 86 GXL, with 91,000 miles. Outside of some cracking in the upper dash, the interior is nearly perfect. Some of the vents are cracking, but other than that its in great shape. The only problem with the outside, is that some of the molding is loose, and its quite dirty. But those are minor.

I have a few questions for anyone who is willing to answer:

(1) Ive read the FAQs, but outside of the 60K tuneup, are there any other precautions I should follow before cranking. This car has been mostly sitting outside of occassional lot moves for at least a year.

(2) Has anyone ever seen a set of the 17" OEM Mazda 6 wheels on 2nd gen? Im going to be painting this rx the factory burgandy red that the 6's come in..Im open to opinions on how that would look.

 

Take the dip stick out..SMELL the Oil..if it smells like fuel..the car most likely has been flooded..check the Coolant.level..(I would automatically Change it..)..I do this when I get a car,,wires,plugs,fuel filter,oil filter,Oil<coolant.. ,,check trans..Drain and refill trans..check differential..top up differential..check lights,check hoses.check tires,wheels,condition of brakes,pads,..then I go inside..instruments .lights .horn.wipers..FUSES....This will givve you a start..best of luck to you ..and Welcome!..(forgot thermostat but you get the over-all pic right?)

 

i think this is the CPU...located nect to your INSIDE fuse panel....next to brake or clutch pedal....
i will get corrected if im wrong but it sounds like the problem i had...i resoldered the CPU and now everything is fine

 

Thanks for the advice guys. Ill deffinately be following up on that. That was the downfall of my first 2 RX7s... No one in my area really worked on rotarys, and all I had was a haynes shop manual (which I found this morning thankfully! lol) Each others knowledge is the best tool weve got to keep our cars running strong.

That brings me to another question, this may already be in a thread , but I was wondering: Is there a list of reputable shops, broken down by state? Im doing most the work to this vehicle myself, but Id love to be able to pull it in and have someone who actually knows a little more of what theyre doing to check it out for me. Im not to shy to say Im a mechanical dum dum and still learning. I wouldnt mind having someone to double check me every now and then.

That being said, any of the NC guys on the forum know of a good shop in the western part of the state, Cleveland County specificly?

 

If the oils been in there for that long it will get thnicker not thinner

 

Hmmm... Point taken. I was thinking it would be thinner, higher up on the dipstick, as the oil settled. Now Im wondering if it could have been flooded. That would leave fuel in there to dilute the oil, even if it doesnt smell like it, wouldnt it?

 

naaaa man.....my car doesn flood, the engine runs great, and my oil reeks of gas, lol

 

update: After replacing the battery terminals and fuses, only one thing has really changed. I now have turn signals with an interesting issue lol

The right turn signal flashes on the instrument pannel (thats the only light on the instrument pannel that works btw) but not on the outside lights of the car

The left turn signal works on the outside of the car, but doesnt show up in the instrument pannel.

As soon as possible ill be re soldering my cpu, just to be sure from that angle too.

Does it still sound like thats where the problem is?

 

3-31-06: Finaly got in the other fuse that the part store had to order. Now my headlights flip up and turn on, and the lights in the gague cluster work

As it stands now, the only things that dont work are:
right turn signal (gonna get a new bulb and see if thats the problem)
no horn (gonna resolder cpu)

The guages themselves still dont read anything. Could this be because Im only turning on the switch, not fully cranking the car?

 

get ernst at RX7 world to check you car out. he is in rock hill. where in NC are you? im in greenville SC.

 

Rock Hill is about an hour and a half from here. Im up in the Shelby area. Greenville isnt to far away. After I get this thing tuned and running good, I might haveta ride down there. I hear you guys have a couple of meets.

 

Got another question for anyone who might know the answer: None of my guages work. Are any of them supposed to work when you just turn the key? By turn the key I mean put the switch in the on position so you can work the sunroof, lights, ect. but not fully crank the car. Or will those begin to work when I first crank it up?

 

Well, let's do a rundown: Without cranking the car, you have: +12V on the battery gauge, whatever level of fuel on the tank (that should go the appropriate level), no tach signal no speed signal, no temperature, and no oil pressure.. so 4 nothings and 2 levels... Look for those