New to the rotary life
 

hey guys, I recently picked up an 88 Rx7 gxl really cheap, good engine, rebuilt. Its an auto :-(, soon to change though. I got this car for something to drive around, because my friend totaled my e34 bmw. I was going to sell it after I got money together from parting out the bimmer and get another e34, but I have since changed my mind, Its a good car. I think It will be a secondary track/drift car when I get another bmw. Anyway guys, just saying hey and wondering about a few problems with the car.

-Alternator and battery are good, but when i turn up the stereo up too loud or turn on my lights, it turns off.

-none of the lights on the instrument cluster come on, when the lights are turned on.

-Speedometer wasnt working, and during that time a weird constant beep came on and steering became more difficult (power steering). I popped out the instrument cluster and slid the spedo cable on tighter, that stuff stopped for a while, and at high speeds, steering was nice and light, I could throw the wheel around, it was nice. Then speedometer got erratic and the beep and steering came back. I replaced the speedometer cable, speedometer works, power steering works and beeping has stopped, also noticed at slower speeds it is easier to throw the steering wheel around then it is at higher speeds,

does the power steering pump normally adjust depending on how fast you are going???

also is there anything to do to make the steering that easy at higher speeds, so i can throw the wheel around?


any advice on how to fix these small quirks would be greatly appreciated.

I'm pretty sure that the power steering is speed sensitive. It assists more when the speed is lower.

depends which kind of power steering you have.

i believe the 88 gxl was speed sensitive though, don't quote me on that.

Your GXL isn't vehicle speed sensitive. Its engine speed sensitive. Only turbo models had vehicle speed sensing power steering.

I'm not sure if you can swap in the vehicle speed sensing stuff...

any way to fix the electrical problems above, short of re wiring?

(1) Probably a weak alternator or battery, or a loose alternator belt. Could also be a short in one of the components mentioned. Most car shops will test the alternator and battery for free. Both are extremely easy to pull, I'd do it right outside the car shop. Unless this is your 1st time pulling an alt, then I might do it at home the 1st time. You need a mallet to get the alternator off the spacer, a hammer to put the spacer back in later, and a pry bar to pry the alternator so you can re-tighten the belt. The long part of a properly tightened alternator belt should deflect roughly 1/2" when you push the center with your finger, no more no less. To check for shorts, measure the resistance across the (removed) battery terminals with an ohmmeter. If you get a reading, pull fuses until the reading goes away. Once you find the right fuse, look at what component it goes to.

(2) Substandard, failure-prone soldering job from the factory. You can replace the circuit boards or re-solder the joints yourself. See Haynes manual or FSM (in the FAQ) to find the boards. Search forum or google for more info on what to solder, or just re-solder everything.

(3) The forum FAQ contains info on the beeping. Also check the spot where the speedo cable connects to the tranny. Beyond that I don't know what's going on. I think it's only $50 (less if old speedo cable is good) to get a mechanic to fix it, if you can't figure it out.

(4 & 5) Mazda makes their power assist steering heavy at low speeds and light at high speeds. This is to increase steering feel at higher speeds without straining your arms when you parallel park. BMW, OTOH, has been criticized for doing a lousy job on their (overdone) power steering compared to Mazda :fawk:. I don't think you can change it to BMW style, just enjoy the benefit of feeling the road through your hands.

Try the FAQ and forum search tool for more info on any other issues.

battery and alternator were tested, and both came up fine on the tests.

Dash lights COULD be a fuse, but is more than likely a bad headlight switch or wiring harness.