NEED HELP ASAP! My friends rx7 has problems!
 

Please read EVERYTHING below. Me and my friend arent sure what the problem is exactly. We are tired of trying to figure it out. If the car ran we would take it to autozone to get the alt and connections checked, but it wont run.


First off the car has been sitting for about 4 months. He thought it was a bad alt. that was causing everything and also the battery couldnt hold a charge anymore. After I looked at the alt. I noticed a wire was accidently cut in two(previous owner had is soldered and tape around it, but it came out). SO we crimped it back together this morning and it didn't fix it(the battery had NO juice). SO we connected the jumper cables to my car and let the battery recharge for a few minutes and tried starting it. The car tried to turn over, but just wouldn't. SO we waited about 20 minutes before trying again. This time is started up fine and we disconnected the jumper cables. We let the car sit there and idle for about 20-30 minutes. And then we turned the car off to see if it would restart. NOPE... car wouldnt even try to turn over and battery was dead. We tried jumping it again and it wouldnt work. SO we went to autozone and they tested the battery. It was dead so he bought another battery. A new battery didn't fix the problem. The rx7's lights turn on and the car seems to have full juice, but it wouldnt attempt to turn over.

WE gave up around 8pm. Took us all day to do such a simple job. I am guessing maybe the starter wire needs to be replaced, but I have no idea. Car won't even jumpstart. Brand new battery(optima gold).

Any ideas???

hhmm sounds like a bad ground wire

Ya, also sitting for 4 months might have gotten sum buildup inside tha motor too.

..................We tried jumping it again and it wouldnt work.
When you say "it did'nt work". Do you mean it cranked but no start or no crank at all? If it's no crank at all, check the starter cable. If it looks o.k, hit it with a hammer a couple times and try again. Make sure the fix on the altenator you did was a good one.

Alternator and Batteries can and often do fail at the same time. Alternator may be bad. Take it out and get it checked-it is a pretty simple removal.

"SO we connected the jumper cables to my car and let the battery recharge for a few minutes and tried starting it. The car tried to turn over, but just wouldn't. SO we waited about 20 minutes before trying again. This time is started up fine and we disconnected the jumper cables. We let the car sit there and idle for about 20-30 minutes"

You obviousily done something right in order to get it running. So you need to concentrate on the connections is my recommendation. As I read into your post I get the feeling that somewhere there is a loose or corroded connection. Check your cables all the way to the starter and to Ground. Loosen them, clean them up, and retighten.

tom

ok

the car doesnt even try to turn over now. The power works fine because of the new battery, but it wont attempt to turn over.

When we bought the new battery we bought new connectors also(they were corroded previously), but this didnt help. Fuses are all fine.

I am going to try and pickup a voltmeter. What reading should I be getting on the starter wire right before the starter???

Is there a way to just run a separate start wire straight to the battery?? This would save a lot of time on chasing the starter wire.



He just wants to drop it off at a shop, but I told him we need to check the starter wire first.


Since the car started up before it is confusing me on why it wont now. The alt wasnt bad one of its wires was cut. The battery went bad because it sat so long. We fixed the two problems that we thought were the only problems.

also, how could we findout if it was a bad ground??

You say nothing about my recommendation above - did you take apart every connection and clean them ? You say it just won't start - concentrate on what you did differently other than just keep turing the key. Take the battery terminals, black negative to ground, positive to the starter and disconnet and clean the terminals and mounting points spotless on each. These need to be very clean for a good current path. Do this and report back - preferably with pictures if you want help. Otherwise open up your wallet for the mechanic.

tom