My FD has been skips beats when the cars cold for first 10 min. It started a few days ago. I also noticed the oil pressure goes beyong the usual 60 mark when the poping/skipping happens. More noticeable at 2500 RPMS or higher.

Its also been backfiring more than usual.

Air leak somewhere? Any ideas?

Thanks

Sebastian

 

mine will skip a beat here and there when it's idling between ~1200-1400rpm (between cold and warm)

 

The popping is traditionally the car running richer. Since it's getting colder, the car will run richer in the morning.

The ECU looks at the water temp and richens the mixture up the colder the water temp is. A cold engine doesn't atomize fuel well, and if you didn't have the richer mixture the car would stall out.

Sometimes you can dial out the popping by playing with the thermowax adjustment screw - this is what gives you the 1500 RPM idle that slowly comes down as the car warms up. Some RPM's at certain temps idle better than others.

Dale

 

so in my case the "blub" and shake from the motor every 5-10 seconds (which is very minimal) when it's idling at ~1200rpm is normal?

 

so this is all normal?

Can it damage the engine?

 

Depending on your temps this time of year, the warm-up mode may vary in duration. Nevertheless, when first started, the accelerated warm-up system (AWS) holds the idle between 1200 and 1500 rpms for about a minute. Then a second system, the double throttle control, keeps you from doing anykind of hard acceleration for the next 5 minutes. Between the AWS and the double-throttle control, the car tends to run abit irregular for the first 5 to 6 minutes. Some one on here can probably tell you the engine temperatures necessary to trip off these systems, but my experience is that do not expect a nice smooth, hiccup-free engine for the first 5 to 6 minutes.

 

I'm fine with that. I was just worried that there was something wrong cause it didn't sound too healthy.

Thanks for the help.

 

Dale's probably right, BUT it can also be a sign that your ignition coils are going bad, and it's actually a slight misfire. If it is a misfire, it'll progressively get worse. It shouldn't cause any damage, but the excessively rich and unburnt fuel can destory your cat real quickly.

 

Say the problem goes away once the car warms up, then it shouldn't be the coils right?

 

When was the last time you changed your plugs?

 

Well, my plugs were changed about 2000 miles ago, new ngk plugs and wires and my car still does it when warming up

 

I meant the thread starter, sorry.

 

I shoulda mentioned changing your plugs too! lol. That's an easy thing to do to check.

 

what if it doesn't stop after you change your plugs?

 

Plugs. I just got it 2 months ago. I should ask the last owner or maybe I'll just get it done. Is it expensive for new plugs?

Cause my Radiator is not working I think. It takes 10-15 to warm up (as engine warms up) I'm guessing I'm just getting heat from the engine but who knows. This is my first winter.

How long should it take to warm up usually?


Thanks

Seb

 

 

Really depends on how cold Maryland is. In Cali my fd cools down to about 11-15 C and takes about 5 min to get to 55 C ( when it stops missing)

 

Your car seems to be warming up fine to me. Mine takes a while to warm up. Don't boost until you get to around 180 F. Plugs aren't hard to do yourself from underneath the car. Just don't mix up your leading and trailing.

 

Something i use as a warmed up engine indicator is my "oil pressure" gauge. So far I have been unable to make it go over 60 psi at 3k rpm when it warmed up. I usually keep it at or below 3k untill the pressure stays below 60. I live in Fla so it doesn't take that long to do but in the winter time it seems to be aprox 8 to 10 min, and I disable my AWS when I first start my car. You really don't want to push the car when it's cold any way.

 

I dunno what you guys are talking about. I'm in Northern VA, only about 40 miles from Baltimore. For all intensive purposes, the exact same weather. And even when it's freezing out, it only takes about a minute for the t-stat to open up, and my water temps to start rising. Within 2 minutes EASY, I'm up into the operational temp range, and that's w/ easy driving, no boost, shifting before 4K. If your car is taking FIFTEEN minutes to warm up fully, I suggest you drive over to PFS and get it checked out. Car shouldn't take that long to warm up. Period. Especially a rotary.

 

Damn Ramy,
That's one hot motor ! ! ! ! If I don't wait till my oil pressure stays below 60 psi and keep it below 3k (no boost) I'll see pressure's of 90 to 120 psi on the oil pressure gauge. I don't push the car or boost till it'll stay below 60 psi. Jack

 

Jack,

Just to clarify, that's 2 minutes of DRIVING. Not idling. There's absolutely no reason for the car to take more than 2 - 3 minutes to be fully warmed when you're driving. If anything, ppl are often VERY surprised to see how quickly FD's warm up. It's cuz they run so hot.

Granted, when it's REALLY cold around here (20s and below etc), it may take a few more min to reach 180, but still...it'll reach 140+ very quickly.

 

A faulty or old o2 sensor could also cause your car to run a bit rich.

I suspect it's just the cold weather though.

 

Hey Ramy,
My car doesn't seem to warm that quickly. I know the stock ECU (even a rechipped one) doesn't want to run smoothly till it see's 170 to 160 on the temp sensor. The stock water temp gauge registers mid range at around 140 but my oil pressure doesn't seem to think the car is warmed up till it see's 180. I personelly drive my car right away (doesn't need to reach op temp before I pull away) but I do keep it below 3k till my oil pressure will stay below 60 psi above 3500 rpm. I have dissabled the AWS and double throttle so I make it a point to watch my oil pressure as an indicator. My car hates to be driven reasonably, I have a rechipped ECU and it will stumble and buck if I press the issue if it's not warmed up. Jack

 

Jack,

I didn't mean to give you the idea that I'm getting on her when she's still cold. I too drive my FD once I crank her over. But I stay below 4K rpms until I see about 140 on the water temp guage - which you're right, is about the midpoint of the stock temp guage. And I never push her hard until she's in normal operating temp range. But point is, it takes about 2 min tops to get from zero to 140. Yes, it can take a bit longer to go from 140 to 180 or so on very cold nights, but I'm saying if it's taking him TEN MINUTES, something's definitely up.

~Ramy