FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

hey there guys i need your help big time,

so i went to school in a hurry to take my trig exam and left my running lights on while i had the turbo time set for 2min the the running lights were left on from 8am-4pm so of course when i tried to start it it only made a TICK sound (my battery was drained) and asked the campus security to give me a jump with one of their portable jump starters. sure enough it started with no problems. i drove it for 10 miles to my friends house i turned it off and made sure all the lights were off.

well after a few hours of playing Black Ops 2 it was time to go home and this time

i tried to turn it on it sounded like it wanted to turn over but didn't want to fire up it just turned and turned and turned and turned but nothing. so my friend told me that we should push start it, we had one of our buddies jump in put it in 2nd and clutch pressed all the way down while we pushed as fast as we could, letting go of the clutch slowly it started like nothing.

well i drove it home and everything was working fine got home turned it off and it started to do the same thing again when i was at my friends house. and the miles that i had accumulated from the drive (9miles) went back to back to (0miles)

i soon began to think that the battery might be dead for sure. so i the following morning (yesterday) i took the battery to Kragen (Oreilly) Auto Parts to check it out and the guy told me that the battery was good holding 12.45V @ 75% of life left. either way i asked if he could give it a deep charge. 1 hour later i got it back went back home plugged it back into my FD and still it did the same thing when i was at my friends house but this time faster.

TROUBLESHOOTING

i thought it might be the "BATTERY, ALTERNATOR, STARTER OR SOMETHING ELSE"

1)so to rule out the battery i took the one from my friends camry and plugged into my FD still did the same thing.

2)so i push started it again and worked like a charm went around the block and then left it on for 5 min idling with the turbo timer. when i tried to start it again from inside it still did the same thing and the accumulated (0.4mile) that i had went back to (0miles)

3)so i push started it again this time to check if the alternator was done for. sure after the push start it started again like nothing, left it running for a few min and took off the negative wire from the battery covered it with a rag, then i took off the positive wire from the battery and covered that with a rag, and surprise surprise the car was still running purely with the alternator only. so i ruled out the alternator as a possible problem.

4)so i borrowed my friends battery charger and multimeter, i charged my battery for a good long while, then when i plugged it back into my car and its still doing the same thing and after a few more tries still the same thing. i looked at it with the multimeter and its reading 12.93V

so here are a few things that i noticed differently about the FD

a) before if i would turn off the car with the running lights on it was make a beeping sound when i opened the door to give me a heads up to turn it off. it doesn't make that sound anymore.

b) before with the car turned off (key out) and turning the switch for the running lights on, you can see the running lights turned on. but now they wont turned on unless you have the key in and in the on position.

c) before when i would lock my door by pushing down on the lock button and you can hear the alarm (BEEP) and lock the passenger door. but now it doesn't make that sound anymore.

with even though the car doesn't start with the charged battery in, but with the key in the on position, the lights from inside the cabin work, JVC head unite work, headlights work, the running lights work, the cluster lights work, the Defi boost gauge works.

i havent checked the starter and i dont know how but what else can it be??

i have a multimeter at my disposal
any help will be greatly appreciated especially since this is my daily driver

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

update post.

so i tried to do a mickey mouse trick with a very long copper wire to see if it would start.

what i did was was by connecting the very long coper wire to the starter and with the other end touching the positive terminal of the battery. and sure enough the car started. so the culprit to my original problem is a short somewhere in the car.

so with that in mind for a short cheap fix i installed a push start button and starts every time.

but on the down side the stock alarm still doesn't work so when i push down on the lock button it wont make the cool BEEP sound nor will it lock the other side either, the running lights still wont turn on without the key in the on position, all the miles that i do on a trip go back to zero. and very oddly my head unit will always turn on playing the first song on the cd.

where should i look???

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

Please Help Get This Beauty Running Properly

jayscoobs

iTrader: (8)

I can't help you with your problem but the stock alarm has a cool beep? My doors just lock with no sounds lol.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

check the harness above the LF wheel. commonly when rubbed through it causes all sort of mysterious **** to happen.

Gearhead

iTrader: (1)

Have you tried this? https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...-relay-872841/

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

Gearhead that was an awesome write up and very interesting as well, but i dont have a "CLICK CLICK START PROBLEM"
before this huge mess happened i never had a "CLICK CLICK START" it always started like it was new without any hesitation.

and RotaryEvolution i checked and it looks all good and in-tacked nothing rubbed through.

and jayscoobs yeah dude it make a light BEEP noise to indicate the alarm is set and had locked the other side also.

so on another update

over the weekend my push start button kinda failed on me it was working fine saturday morning when i went to my friends house but when i tired to turn on my car with the push start button it acted like it was about to crank over but next thing you know it just turned off. i tried to push the button over and over and over and nothing no cranking sounds from the engine bay or nada. (had to literally push start my car to get home)

now on the push start wiring i installed a super basic "WIRE FUSE" that i found laying around, it literally looks like a piece of regular wire but with a fuse built in it, the fuse was a just incase for a random overload. i haven't opened it up to check it if blew, but im thinking thats where the current problem with the push start button is at.

Back to the original problem
but since getting back home
i took out my battery to to see if it was dead or something else, to to find out i connected it to a charger that a friend of mine let me borrow and it indicated that it was fully charged and ready to rock and roll.

so i got a "TEST LIGHT" cost about $10 and it looks like an ice pick with a see threw handle and a built in light and a long wire with an small alligator clamp.



well with this test light i tried to check it there was a short somewhere in the system
what i did was take off the negative terminal wire from the battery and connected the small clamp from the TEST LIGHt to it. and with ice pick part of the TEST LIGHT i touched the negative terminal of the battery and with surprise there was not light turning on. so with that being said i think i can rule out that i do not have a short in my car.

youtube video below is exactly what i did but without any indication of a short.

and i also check with the multimeter every lil fuse and they all checked out ok. (well all the blue red and yellow ones)

so anymore ideas what it could be.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

well, if you're having starting issues and your security system is wigging-out at the same time, i'd start with going through the security system. you said the car started fine when you basically bypassed it.

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

@ diabolica1 my oem alarm system never wigged out on me before, but im thinking it might be the reason why my car wont start, its acting like it has some kind of kill switch and with that being said,

1) does the oem alarm system have some sort of ignition kill that can be tripped if by something like a battery jump or disconnecting the battery??

and if it does

2) is it possible to reset it to get rid of the problem??

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

well, having never owned a Gen III, I will tread very carefully here because I simply don't know the details of the factory system. however, as a general comment, my MR2 Turbo had a fairly primitive security system from the factory and it included and "immobilizer". it is my understanding that many of the sports cars of the 90s had them in one form or another as well.

just an aside ... before I get crucified for implying a possible similarity between a Gen III and an Impala, just hear me out. my wife's Impala does this "thing" where it doesn't want to start every so often and it's because the security system won't allow it. my research narrowed it down to a circuit activated by the ignition switch. a resistor (or some other electrical component) basically goes out of spec over time and when the system gets "bad" communication from the switch it kills the ignition system for 10 minutes.

perhaps the FD system has a similar circuit in it's system and perhaps it got damaged or FUBAR'd by the initial jumpstart event that seemed to have started all of this. just maybe an avenue you can explore in your troubleshooting?

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

UPDATE

so for the reason my Push Start Button didn't work was because of the "FUSELINK" i had installed on the wire blew, it was small so i think i need to get a LEGIT wire fuse like the one they use when adding a audio/amp system (pic below). but im a lil clueless on what amp load i should get for the fuse. so what i did to fix it on a ASAP status was get rid of it and ran the wire straight through to the positive terminal and it starts everytime with the push start button now. but still need to find a fuse for a just in case scenario.

the current wire # gauge i have with the PUSH START set up is a 12g.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

the start circuit should draw no more than 20 amps, if it keeps blowing fuses then it's probably pointing you to the old wiring, relay or faulty clutch switch. the starter switch was originally intended for use as a low amperage circuit but over time it tends to build up resistance due to age and corrosion which leads to the "click click vroom" scenario most people wind up with.

some people wire in an additional relay at the starter to again turn it into a low amperage trigger circuit to aid in the failing start circuit.

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

@ RotaryEvolution thanks for your input on this, and by the "Additional Relay" do you mean something like Pettit's Starter Booster?

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

yep, exactly what i am referring to. although i have copied their design in the past, since it's just a basic relay and wiring you can get at any auto parts store for under $10.

He's On Toroids

iTrader: (2)

Hi Ricky,

Please, do me this favor if you haven't already. Buy yourself a proper fuse or circuit breaker for your push button starter. I can not stress to you enough about how important this is. I have heard of cars being totaled in fires for want of a properly fused electrical system. You can usually get what you need at a local auto shop (or my preference a boating shop like West Marine) or anywhere online.

Alright now that that's out of the way, it seems like you have managed to get the car starting reliably with the push button starter. This is a good step because you can now drive the car while trying to fix the rest of it (welcome to Rx-7 ownership ). As I understand it from your writeup, other then the starting issue, you are still having these problems:

a) Car is no longer indicating that the lights were left on with ignition at off

b) Lights also do not illuminate without key

c) Security system no longer engages when doors are locked (no audible beep)

Also, with the key in the on position, the lights from inside the cabin work, JVC head unite work, headlights work, the running lights work, the cluster lights work, the Defi boost gauge works.


My first question for you, how did you "check" the fuses? Did you look at the tops? Did you pull out all the fuses and look at them? or did you check the continuity between the two posts? From experience, one of the most irritating things is when a fuse breaks contact before burning up completely, they can be really hard to see. so I usually use the multimeter to check just in case. Once you know that they all are still good, then you can start trouble shooting.

Some electrical parts of a car working while others are not, is usually a fuse issue. But, it is also very easy to damage the electrical system of a car if it is not jumped properly.

So, do me a favor. Double check all the fuses with the multimeter and report back. if none are blown I can start stepping you through diagnosing the circuit.


This is a very real possibility and my guess as well. Sometimes jump starts can be damaging to the electrical system of a car if improperly executed. I am still hoping that it is just a fuse though. If not, then there will be a lot of troubleshooting ahead

-Rocky

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

Update

so today i took it upon myself to go and buy myself a legit Terminal Kit, a FUSE HOLDER, some HEAT SHRINK, and a 20A FUSE so that i can do the PUSH START set up properly.

my materials
[IMG][/IMG]


before without fuse holder
[IMG][/IMG]


before with excess wire and without terminal rings
[IMG][/IMG]


after with fuse holder and heat shrink over butt connection
[IMG][/IMG]


after with shorter wires, terminal rings, and heat shrink
[IMG][/IMG]

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

on the push start
[IMG][/IMG]

my not so lil secret since its on here
[IMG][/IMG]

FD7KiD

iTrader: (8)

@ROCKY

A) correct
B) correct (only the running lights don't turn on without the key, but the head lights will pop up and illuminate)
C) correct (while the key is in the on position or when the car is turned on if i lock the door it will make the audio beep and lock the passenger door, yet once the key is out it doesn't work)

1st question) i visually inspected all the bigger fuses (none of them were popped) as for the smaller fuses (red, blue, yellow), i pulled them out and checked them with a multimeter in the ohm position and they were all 0.

He's On Toroids

iTrader: (2)

Since your fuses are ok, The next easiest step is to swap out your CPU No.2 There is a high probability that it fried when your car was jumped. If you can borrow one to swap in and verify the old one is dead, you can save some money if it isn't the actual culprit. Even if you do find yours is bad, they usually aren't too hard to fix unless you burned up some traces.

So I think it is worth a shot before I have you wasting a bunch of time checking relays, harnesses, pin-outs, etc. Let me know if the swap doesn't fix anything and I'll step you through that process.

-Rocky