back story:
this past Fall my car was in the body shop for 1.5months, seriously
when I picked it up and drove it off the lot it was immediately in limp mode
I drove for a minute or two and it went back to normal, I had just assumed my spark plugs were really fouled.

last month I stopped to get gas after a short drive around. afterwards, when I was done filling and planning to leave, the car would not start back up, the engine would turn over but it would die. I waited a few minutes and it started up fine. again, I assumed it was bad spark plugs which I had planned to change.
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now this week, I drove around town for about 5mins and got on the freeway. was just cruising about 45-50 and suddenly the car went into limp mode. When I pulled off the side of the road the car died and I could not restart it for quite a while. Eventually, I had to drive home with my hand on the emergency brake to keep the RPMs from getting too low and the car dying.

So I got off my lazy butt and changed the spark plugs. I did not change the plug wires.
I started the car back up and it idles without dying but is still in limp mode. I pulled the codes and there are no codes. I unplugged the battery and stepped on the brake a few minutes, soon as I started the car it was already in limp mode.

So now I am thinking this might not be limp mode but could it be an injector issue? the day I drove on the highway, I did notice at low speeds my AFR seemed low. normally my AFR gauge jumps around and fluctuates, but this time it was at a steady constant while I was still in the parking garage.

I dont want to assume anything at this point, but if the injectors are bad it doesnt throw an engine code? So where should I start looking? Would bad coil packs cause a similar issue?

 

First off, the ECU only goes into limp mode if it's throwing a code. Has the Check Engine light ever come on when it's not running right?

I assume you have a stock ECU?

Changed the fuel filter?

Dale

 

check engine light has never come on
fuel filter has not been changed in about 3 years maybe?

 

Start there. I worked on a car a while back with a bad fuel filter. It would start off good, after driving a bit the filter would start dropping fuel pressure and it would run like crap.

Always a good idea with weird problems like this to make sure the maintenance things are taken care of.

You can also tap in a temporary fuel pressure gauge to make sure fuel pressure is kosher.

Dale

 

should also make sure the check engine light is not been removed, that's what happen to me that's why I never knew it had so many codes.

 

I've given it a little thought, but if the fuel filter was clogged wouldn't it still run on two rotors, just poorly? of course, Im just assuming it's on one rotor since it is very loud and shakes at idle. the AF/R is definitely in the red so there is some kind of fuel cut. If I had damaged an apex seal the AF/R should still be close to normal right? I'll have to wait till the weekend to get started and I may just bring it by the local rotary mechanic to take a look.

when I turn the car on the check engine light turns on and goes off; on your car did the light never come on when you had the key in?

 

It will do weird stuff. Again, that may not be the root cause, but it's worth eliminating.

Could also be a spark problem, like a coilpack going south or something.

Dale

 

Ok, I got the news today and the 2nd rotor has 0,0,0 compression
so that means I am royally screwed
The service technician is thinking the housing is probably damaged and will need to be replaced
he was telling me new housings are 1000$s now
I guess I will try to sell the car off as a roller before attempting a rebuild

anyway, there was no epic explosions or anything
car just lost power cruising around 3000 RPMs at about 50mph
so is it possible the seals were damaged a long time ago and just suddenly fell apart on that day?