Hello. First of all, i'm new to the boards and very new to the RX-7 life. I am in the United States Air Force stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. I just purchased a 1992 Mazda RX-7 for $3,000. I've got insurane, the JCI isn't due for 2 years, and i'm having some issues.

First of all, i did make an effort to check the FAQ before making this post and most of the questions seemed to only apply to 91's or less.

Here are my issues:

1. I've noticed that when i start my car, and it begins to idle, after about 30 seconds to a minute the idling will start to feel bumpy. It feels like it's "chugging", or skipping. I feel a very slight jerk when this happens, and it's usually on and off. The guy i bought the car from said he talked to previous RX-7 owners and they told him it has something to do with the way the fuel is injected to the motor, and that it is common among RX-7s. However, i'm firmly sure that this isn't the case, and i'm interested to know what could be wrong and what i need to do to fix it.

2. When i accelerate to about 50 KPH, i start to feel alot of vibration in the car. It's pretty smooth vibration, but very hard feeling. It doesn't fluctuate too much, but i hear it more when i accelerate faster. The previous owner again said it was the way the suspension rode. That it was set very rigid. I'm wondering again what some other causes of this could be.

3. The stereo seems to have been interconnected/wired with the starter on the car, and occasionally the car won't start with the radio on. As soon as i pull off the face, the car will start, but if the face is on while the car is running, the power to the deck fluctuates between on and off, and often stops working completely. Also, when the car is idling, and the stereo isn't working, it always takes a little bit of me pumping the gas peddle to get it working. Some other things in the car seem to be affecting the stereo as well, such as me turning on headlights or rolling down my window. This past day it has been good, as i have been able to start the car with the stereo on and the stereo hasn't cut out while driving, but i know it is going to be a recurring problem unless i fix it. What is the quickest way to go about rewiring and fixing this situation.

Also, some people are telling me that although the car is a 1992, it has the 3rd Generation body style. I'm curious as to what the truth is. The car was manufactured here in Japan, and is a right side(of course) drive twin turbo. It has about 88,000 Kilometers on it, and aside of those problems listed above runs fine otherwise.

Any help, analysis or input would be much appreciated.

 

I don't know exactly about the Japanese specs, but if you have a twin turbo setup, you have a 3rd gen RX-7. You'll probably have better luck finding answers in the 3rd Gen section of the forum.

 

if that's the case then I need to move to japan...3,000 for a running 3rd gen.

 

For your electrical issues, it sounds like either your alternator is dying, and/or your stereo is pulling too much power (did the PO put in amps and such?), and/or it was wired very poorly.

A properly installed stereo will turn off when you're cranking the car. You want to pull the stereo out and ensure that it's wired up properly.. my guess is that your alternator isn't charging your battery fully, and the PO installed the stereo so that way it was not using the ACC 12V, and is constantly on, as soon as you power up the car. Pair a powerful stereo and a low-charged battery, and you have a no-start condition.

Good luck




EDIT: They moved the section on me, cause the twin turbo part kinda gives away the Gen