New import wont start and a few other probs :-(
 

Kia Ora from New Zealand

So I've finally decided to get an FD, White, 1995, Efini - ricer version with a 3 foot high wing on the back:nod:
I've imported it from Japan and it arrived yesterday however there are some problems and I thought I'd seek the RX7club gurus for advice :-)

Before it was on the ship it passed a NZ (VTNZ) inspection check and was driven onto the ship. It was in a container for 2 months and now it is in NZ, here are the issues.

The problems:
-It wont start - cranks fine and can smell fuel
-There is a loud buzzing coming from the dash - sounds like the lights are left on (they're not)
-Headlights don't work - one is stuck closed the other stuck open - no lights either



What I've done so far:
-I've replaced the plugs - still no spark
-Bought a new battery
-Checked all the fuses - every fuse both in the engine bay and inside the footwell are fine
-Tried to run a diagnostic by bridging ten & GND but nothing lit up on the dash... maybe I need to do the LED with a resistor instead?

My theories:
-It has had an alarm installed in the past (I was told that it's not working) but there was no key fob attached with the car so that may explain the no spark...? but that goes against what the importer has told me.
-It has been damaged somehow in transport causing the lights to stuff out and stay up and it has also drained the battery in the process and somehow stopped spark getting to coils?

Does anyone else have any ideas or theories for me to look into?

Cheers
-

There may be an ignition cut off switch. I've seen people install them under the steering wheel. Have a look.

Cheers will do, I've had a brief look but it's in the compliance yard and the gravel was hurting my knees lol:blush: I'm heading back there tomorrow with knee pads and overalls!

Is it true that the buzzer in the dash can sound from lack of coolant and or oil??

Yes the low coolant buzzer. Don't run it without checking the fluid levels. You could be in for a treat of tracking all this stuff down. I suggest looking over the electrical manual. There is a free PDF of it online. Just do some google searches until you find it.

the JDM cars do not have a check engine light until much later, so you will need to use the LED method to get codes, which is a good idea. if there are a bunch of them, it might tell you that something isn't plugged in, or the like

Just spent 2 hrs down at the compliance yard in Henderson, Auckland (Western Compliance- awesome people there) and yip I topped up the fluid - needed about a litre - buzzer has stopped so that is all good. One small win!

Car still wont start though - no horn, no spark, no head lights or headlight motors working. Main relays seem to be fine - clicking with 12v at least.
Tempted to rip out all the wiring and go carb setup just so I'm confident that the problem ends up being 97% mechanical and 3% wiring, and and not the other way around!

It has had a Comtec SS300 Japanese alarm installed so I think that means that the Mazda factory security system is not the culprit. Other threads suggest the CPU 2... but I cannot even find the CPU2 on my model. I realise that I know crap all about wiring so we've got the autosparky looking at it tomorrow. Feels dumb when you cant fix your own car!

Will keep posted on the outcome.

OK So we had the auto sparky look over it yesterday and his conclusion is that someone has stuffed with the vehicle during transport. Here's what he found:

-Missing 2 key engine fuses (I didn't even notice this because pics of other vehicles also weren't showing fuses in these spots)...Weird
-Blown ignitor coil unit. Worked fine driving onto the ship though
-Headlight relay damaged (replaced) but the motors to flip them up and down are still not working and require extra attention.

Super weird this whole thing. But we'll be claiming insurance to recoup costs.

Thanks to those that offered advice anyways :-)

When my car blew an ignitor, it was because I allowed someone else to pick up a battery and bolt it in (I was busy working on another car in the workshop) the guy put the battery in the wrong way around and touched the positive terminal to the negative and the negative to the positive (basically hooked the battery up in reverse because he didn't know what he was doing)

This blew a lot of fuses and also fried the igniter. So it may have been someone during transport has done this to your car as well and not owned up to it..

Ahhaa yes that makes sense - would probably explain the headlight problem too. Thanks for the insight. We're getting the insurance guy to look it over so hopefully we get some money out of them for it arriving damaged.

Managed to get $550 out of insurance company after numerous emails and rejections of their 'no identifiable proof of tampering claim' :-D :-D

Case closed - car now does the mean skids!

Awesome! Videos of said 'mean skids' please :D :rofl: