Xcaliver16

Hey this is my first time posting about my issues after months of digging and diving down rabbit holes. I have a 3rd gen rx7 with 30k miles that I bought from a buddy who had it sitting for a year after importing it, it didn't start when I first bought the car and redid most of the ignition system and also new fuel and fuel filter, to find out it was the clip to the crank angle sensor. The car ran perfectly after that aside from a high idle(which I've figured out was an open vacuum line) then maybe a week later i was going through the engine bay cleaning up grounds and little stuff and would periodically turn the car on. After turning it on probably 3 different times, the 4th time it wouldn't start and still wont start about a month later. In between the 3rd and 4th startup i didn't change anything wire wise or anything at all i went inside for a drink and wanted to hear the car again. I have since done new plugs, new wires, ignition switch and new coils because I pulled the old plugs out, which maybe had 20 miles on them, and they were completely black and wet(so i immediately thought spark) and nothing seems to be doing the trick. There is also white smoke coming from the engine bay by the turbo that reeks of fuel when cranking and the same from the tailpipe. After cranking for about 5 seconds it seems to barely start firing and you'll hear an occasional pop of combustion then it'll build up and kind of hold at like 200 rpms it sounds like and trying to almost start but very rough. I've also poured oil in the lower intake manifold and it turned over extremely fast but just the same symptoms just faster and the car got to like 1k rpms and as soon as i stopped cranking the car will die. The weird thing is my fuel air ratio gauge says im running very lean but my engine mounted fuel pressure gauge reads 37 when ignition is on, and ive tried cleaning injectors and they all activate off a 12v outside of the car. Mods on the car to my knowledge are, a brand new Honeywell 70mm single turbo which I just installed, looks like a kind of secondary fuel pump sitting in the trunk(i can hear the stock pump in the tank whirring when i disconnect the one in the trunk and then the one in the trunk is incredibly loud when i connect it haha), 4 3/4 inch straight pipe from the turbo back, and a power fc ecu, and probably some more I'm forgetting. I apologize for the long description i just didn't really know how else to describe it. I will happily specify and go into more details or send pictures if anyone asks thank you for any help you can give!

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

You most likely just flooded your engine.

You NEVER start a rotary engine then immediately shut it off. Once is many times enough to do it, and you did it multiple times.

Here's what you need to do -

- Pull the plugs
- Pull the EGI fuse under the hood to disable fuel injection
- Make sure you have a strong, healthy battery
- Crank the engine over for 10 seconds with the gas pedal to the floor. You will probably see clouds of fuel vapor coming out of the plug holes. This is normal, we're getting all that gas out of the combustion chamber.
- Get some oil in both leading plug holes. You don't need much, like a tablespoon or so. You can use a syringe of some kind, that's probably easiest.

- Reinstall plugs. Leading is Lower, Trailing is Top. Plugs will be marked with an L or T.
- Re-install plug wires. TRIPLE TRIPLE TRIPLE check plug wires. The coils are marked L1, L2, T1, T2. Leading is L Lower, Trailing is T Top. 1 is the front of the engine (front of car) 2 is back of engine (closest to firewall). If plug wires are mixed up you will have all sorts of weirdness.
- Re-install EGI fuse.
- Start car as normal. It may be cranky to start up still, KEEP CRANKING and pump the gas pedal. If it starts, KEEP IT RUNNING. It may be rough at first then it will even out.
- Go drive the car around and get it up to temperature, that will get the plugs happy.

Don't feel bad, I just flooded the HELL out of my RX-8 daily driver 2 weeks ago. Had to buy a new battery and replace plugs with 3000 miles with new plugs at $20 a crack (RX-8 plugs are iridium and EXPENSIVE). I started the car cold, drove around the block, then parked in front of my house in the morning. That evening I started it and just pulled into the driveway and shut it off. That's all it needed. The battery was going out so that contributed as well.

Good luck!
Dale

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

If that doesn’t work, get someone with a truck and tow-strap and jump start it. Seems like sometimes that’s the only way to get it done. Second gear is probably what I’d pick. If it was flooded badly check the oil for fuel smell. Might be due for a change now.
Since it sat that long, once started it wouldn’t hurt to make sure the gas is fresh and run some good fuel system/injector cleaner thru it, especially before you get into much boost.

Xcaliver16

I followed what you said as closely as i could and cranked it alot to make sure there was no fuel. when i did go to start it it seemed closer to starting but didnt end up starting and i repeated this twice with still no result. Is there a chance im not getting all the fuel out? I cranked until i didnt see any mist coming from the spark plug holes

Xcaliver16

This is definitely an option i will be pursuing if i have no luck thank you!
(Couldnt quote it for some reason but this is for the towing idea!)

Xcaliver16

There is also a good amount of white smoke coming from hot side of turbo where it meets the exhaust which smells like fuel, not sure if this helps at all or is related

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Your plugs are probably crazy fouled at this point. Get a pair of new leading plugs, BUR7EQP. They may LOOK good but when they get badly fouled it's damn near impossible to start.

I think you are on the right track.

Smoke is probably oil and fuel burning off.

Dale

Xcaliver16

I will give that a try right now thank you!

Xcaliver16

Sadly no luck with the plugs i ended up tracing the ignition harness back to before and after the igniter and got 10.77 volts. Im not to sure what the specs are or if that is alright but thought it was worth mentioning. Also aftermarket fuel pump is getting about 9ish volts aswell. not too sure where to go from here):

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

You said you tried cleaning injectors - what did you do there?

MANY times with cleaned injectors they will stick closed. If so you have to hit them with 12v and ground and maybe a little PB Blaster on the tip to get them to open up and move again.

Dale

Xcaliver16

Thanks for the suggestion but i have done this 3 times i believe, I just bought some new leading plugs and im going to try the deflood one more time then give it a start with some new plugs

Xcaliver16

Well I am at the end of my knowledge and i think my abilities im going to start looking for someone who can diagnose this issue

Xcaliver16

Side thought, I just received my data logit tuner and was wondering if there was anything i can do with that to maybe find my issue?

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Yeah I think getting some professional help would be a good move at this point, I think you are over your head a bit.

Since you are in California there are quite a few good and trusted rotary shops. Find a good shop near you and have the car towed there. Definitely keep us posted with what they find!

Dale