RotaryBeast

I have searched the forum and no posts I have found have the same problem that i am having.
When I go to start my car there is a click but the starter does not engage so the motor does not turn over. i have checked the voltage of the battery and a strong 13 volts is present. I have even tried jumping it. So i have ruled out the battery being the problem. I searched in the book and it said to test the voltage at the starter. well the battery voltage is present at the starter. i havent been able to check if the s terminal is getting the power with the ignition switch to start.
I was wondering if anyone knows what else i should do to see what exactly has gone bad. any help is appreciated. thanks

'93 SSM base

Joker

how about amperage? need cranking amps to turn the starter over?

you have a dead battery. buy a new one.

FormerPorscheGuy

It could be the solenoid on the starter.

RotaryBeast

amperage on my battery shows 3.11 amps. Checked my firends lexus and it was showing 3.06 amps. so i dont think it is an amperage problem. so i dont think my battery is dead.
How do i check the strater solenoid. i hear it click when i got to start the car.
Any other possibilities?

Shawn

Joker

bad alternator, bad starter? if you have 5-speed, try push starting it and see if it runs?

skunks

It could be the clutch switch, I have experienced this in 2 of the fd's I own. If you don't drive your car for a long time, the clutch switch sometimes gets sticky in which you have to kick it a couple of times and try again. My record is about 40 tries to try to get her to start. I was stuck there for like 10-15 mins trying to get her to start up but all i got was the stupid click. This was when I would only drive like once a month. Since I have been driving more and more, it has totally gone away. Last time it happened to me was about 6 months ago I think.

Good luck

Joker

push start it and see.

RotaryBeast

I have already disabled the clutch switch with a jumper wire. so the clutch switch has been ruled out.
I am going to try to push start it tomarrow. lack of man power right now. if it does start does that rule out the alternator and the starter is the culprit or vice versa. If it is the starter i can take it to a NAPA or discount auto store for them to check it out right? how hard is it to pull the starter?
thanks again for all the posts.

Shawn

bajaman

Turn the key several times. My car has done this same thing forever. The first (or second or third or fourth....) time you turn the key, it just makes a click or a clunk. I just keep trying it and it always eventually engages and starts. There have been various threads about this phenomenon.....it is fairly common.

RotaryBeast

I have had the same problem that you describe, but this isnt the same thing. i have read many of the posts that you have replied to and none are the same as my problem. I have tried to turn the key probably 50-60 times and nothing changes. thanks for the reply

Shawn

RotaryBeast

Well i tried to push start the car and it wont turn over. what does that mean? i had the starter tested several times and it works perfect. the battery has been checked and it is fine as well. tried to jump it again but to no avail. the car will not turn over. is the motor frozen? what else can i check.please help

Shawn

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

That sounds very bad What are the oil levels like and have you can from very hot to very cold in some way. Basically if the engine won't turn over when pushed I would guess the rotors are seized do the wheels lock up when the clutch is released?

RotaryBeast

the wheels do lock up. the oil level is fine. The engine has not gone from very hot to very cold. the last time it was ran was to get put back into the garage after a nice bath. I am going to pull the spark plugs and try to turn the motor by hand by rotating the pulley. Someone told me it might hydraulic lock (i.e gas has filled the combustion chamber and will not compress). has anyone ever heard of this happeneing? wish me luck and if anyone has any more suggestions i should do please let me know.

Shawn

BOOSTD FD

Check alternator, maybe thats the problem

Oracle

Are you sure the motor is not turning over?? It could be just not firing. It's very possible you could have flooded it. You could have done this while trying to start it so many times. Also its not advisable to start an RX7 then shut it off immediately. This can flood the motor.
Test for 12v at the starter you could have a loose connection or battery terminals.
If your starter tests fine, yet doesn't turn over on the car it must by default be an electrical issue on your car. Pull your plugs and it will be very easy to tell if your motor will turn. It is extremely unlikely it is locked up. PM me if you have any questions.

skunks

do the normal check for spark and then check fuel, finnaly check try the atf fluid trick

if none of those work, its compression test time!

here is the generic write up on how to do the above...

turn the engine is to floor the accelerator (this cuts the gas at start up but it has to be all the way to the floor) and to crank the engine like 15-30 seconds (give a period of rest between cranking so you dont burn out your starter).

BTW: Have your battery charged up or have multipul batteries ready to switch out (this makes it go by much more quickly)

what were you doing the last time your car was running? if you were taking it easy, you probally did not pop your engine. Also, you can't really put too much atf fluid in, it will just spit it out after a couple of turns.

ok now for what my problem was when my car did not start, my fd would not start one time and i though it was flooded, i did everthing above and still a no go, then i pulled the fuel line in the engine bay and it was bone dry. turns out the fuel pump came off the fuel line and no fuel was getting thru so check that you are getting fuel pressure by pulling the front fuelline and jumping the diagonostic connector, make sure to have your key in the ignition to the on position or it wont jump the fuel pump and youll just get confussed (sp?) like i did for a while.

check spark by grounding the plug and have someone cranking it.
NOTE: you dont have to hold the plug, just grab a wire and ground that to the body and wrap the other end to the sparkplug threads, this way you dont get shocked (Thanks for the tip dragon!)

be prepared for the smoke cloud that will come out of your tailpipe after you put in the atf fluid (dont be parked in a garaged/enclosed garage) heres how it will look and it will look like this for about 5-10 mins
http://silverfd.efiunlimited.com/Smoking.AVI

BTW: my way for getting atf fluid in to the engine is via taping a 3-5 foot long hose to a 1/4 inch plastic tube to a funnel and pouring it in. i put like 4oz. of fluid in to each rotor and it was fine. You could probally pour in 1/2 a quart of atf fluid and it would just spit it out. In anycase, I'm pretty sure you can't hydro lock a rotary engine. Dont be afraid of this step!

you should also clean your sparkplugs via using a toothbrush and water and make sure they are nice and dry via flamming the tip with a propane torch. personnaly i found that i got a stronger spark with a little bit of atf fluid on the sparkplug after I tried cranking her with the atf fluid but that is just me, it could have just been a fluke

Compression test should be the last of the test that you do (since it will cost the most; you having to tow the car to someone that has a rotary compression tester and all). double check all the vaccum lines too while your at it.

Good luck


P.S. Most of this is a repost from https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=125729

gotorx7

Sounds like a Carbon Lock to me... not good...

BigAl65

Try taking the belt off and cranking it over....it may be a frozen power steering or air pump pulley...my power steering pump bearing went out and stalled the car once....worth a try
Allen

Asphyxia02

I'm not having the clicking problem but mine wont start right now either. Ran good before (besides needing a tune up) it was flooded so i cleared that up and tried again but still no luck. ordered some new plugs which wont get here till friday. and when i put the plugs back in a turned it over i could smell gas so now i'm wonderin if i definatley have a spark problem...

Asphyxia02

i just went out and checked compression and its good all around.

BigAl65

Asphyxia02

Be sure the plug wires are on correctly.....and check for spark before reinstalling plugs.
my .02

Asphyxia02

out of curiosity i went and pulled the plugs again. the both trailing chamber literlly dripped a drop or two of gas while the leading came out as they should have. i'll try clearing the chambers again and let it sit with the plugs out for about 24 hours.

RotaryBeast

I talked to my mechanic and asked what to do about carbon lock. he said to put some atf in the engine via spark plug holes and let it sit for a while. then put the car in 5th gear and push it backward. this will turn the engine in the opposite direction and hopefully un-seize the engine.
i am gonna let the atf sit until tomarrow to loosen all the carbon. i am crossing my fingers that it will work.
thanks again for all the replies.

Shawn

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

I may be wrong but I don't think your engine/rotors will spin in the opposite direction when put in reverse Remove the plugs put in atf let it sit a bit (don't put the plugs back in) and have some bodies give you a little push release the clutch in second gear and if the wheels lock again go see your rotary professional. It may be possible that the oil metering pump was not working properly how often to you put oil in between changes. Most people use atleast 1 quart between 3k changes. I personally have never expierienced anything like this but common sense tells me that if the rear wheels lock when rolling at a decent speed in second gear and the clutch is released the rotors must be siezed up.

RotaryBeast

well i put my car up on some ramps and pushed the car backwards in fifth gear. it didn't want to go at first but it finally gave and the motor actually turned backwards. i put the spark plugs back in and it turned over and started but only for a second. the biggest white cloud came out exactly like skunk said but then it died. i think i flooded it. but thanks to all that replied.

Shawn