TII continuously cuts out and restarts while driving
 

So, I get in my car this morning and start it up just fine. Then I put it in gear and start driving, and that's when my car starts acting like it's cutting out and then restarting. It'll accelerate for a second, and then cut out for a second, and then accelerate again, and then cut out again, etc. So, I parked it and took it out of gear, where it continued to do the same thing for the next ten seconds or so before it corrected itself and idled normally. Since it seemed normal, I put it into gear and drove to work just fine.

When I got in my car to go to lunch, it started up fine, and then I put it into gear and started to drive off when it started doing the same thing again. So, again, I parked it and after about 10 seconds of being in neutral, it started acting normal again, so I started to drive, and it started cutting out and back on again. So, this time it didn't correct itself. So, I jerked my way over to Chick-Fil-A, let the car idle while I got my food, got back in, it was idling fine, and then started to drive, it kept cutting out and what not, so I jerked on back over to work.

Just to clarify, the car never cuts out so that I have to actually restart it, even when it's messing up while idling. Also, when it's idling normally, it revs up just fine, as if nothing were wrong.

Seems to be a bit of an electrical problem, but I wanted to see if anyone else has experience this problem and would know what's causing it, before I spend hours checking all my electrical stuff. Any suggestions would also be helpful. Let me know, thanks.

Mine did something very similar recently. I felt it lose power on the interstate, and when I got off it didn't even have enough power to go up a moderate hill in first gear. When I finally got home, I let it idle (it would barely do so) thinking I would wiggle the wires under the hood and see what happened. Amazingly, the very first thing I touched--the two wire connector for the leading coil--corrected the problem.

I cleaned the contacts, and used a zip tie to hold the two halves of the connector tightly together. It ran so well afterward that I ended up doing the same for the trailing coil connectors.

tighten the battery connectors?

buttsjim - i'll make sure to check it out, but i'm not sure if that's it. right after start up, and about ten seconds of idling after driving, the car idles and revs perfectly normally (sitting still)

rx7jocke - every once in a while i'll have problems starting the car up. i'll get in, turn the key, and nothing happens, or it will click like it's about start and then everything goes dead. usually, after messing with the battery connectors i can eventually get the car to start and then the problem goes away for another couple of weeks. i have replaced the connectors, but that didn't relieve the problem. the last time it happened was two days ago when i went to look at FC3SpitsFire's 7 for sale. also, once the car is on, doesn't it pretty much run off the alternator?

Yeah, I saw what you said about the ten seconds, but I was thinking the off/on nature of your problem was due to wiring making intermittent contact.

The problem you just described with the battery could be a broken battery post, if messing with the connectors makes it go away, yet new connectors didn't make any difference. I agree with you that the battery problem shouldn't cause the symptoms you described in this thread, though.

I've had a number of problems with the underhood wiring, especially in the area of the main fuses. Usually it's the connectors, but once the wiring itself was broken where I couldn't see it. That particular incident shut down my car at a stoplight, and created a 1-mile traffic back-up (that's embarrassing). My present troubleshooting method for electrical gremlins is just to leave the engine (or accessory) running (or turned on), and then wiggle away, starting with the most likely/cheapest/easiest-to-fix suspect. I usually identify the problems pretty quickly, and I only drag out the multi-meter and schematics after that method has failed.

By the way, my RX is completely stock, and in wonderful condition. It's just that high underhood temperatures and age cause bad things to happen.

Good luck!

Check intake ductwork for loose clamps or cracks. FYI-The car will run without a battery, although you'll possibly fry the regulator, so a loose battery connection would be remote, esp. if it starts right up.

i think he just said sometimes it doesn't start right up, my turbo II had a very similar problem, i used a wire brush and cleaned my battery posts and the inside of the terminals, then i cleaned the alternator positive charging wire with the wire brush, im pretty sure the problem was with the battery connection though, i know that is the problem if it clicks when you try to start it then the power goes out.

therotaryrocket - yeah, that problem is with the battery connection. i've never had any problems with my alternator, but my battery connections seem to suck.

i replaced my terminals about 2 months ago, but it still will have problems sometimes. with the new terminals, i had to put the positive terminal on the post at a weird angle and cut my battery box a little so i could get a socket on nut to tighten them, which i think may have caused all my problems. when i left work yesterday, i was getting quite miffed, so i just put the terminal on straight and beat it down with my handy bludgeoning tool (socket wrench), and then just hand tightened the nut. the car started up fine and drove fine... no more intermittent cutting off and on again. so, it seemed to be just a bad battery connection. at least, i hope that's the only problem.

in any event, problem solved (as far as i know), and thanks everyone for your suggestions and help.