The "Other" clutch switch?
 

Our clutch switch is fairly new and seems to be working correctly, plunger to rubber bumper.

What about the "other" clutch switch -- the one higher up and back?
Ours has a bolt and nut in the non-plunger side, was this always that way or did someone replace the bumper along the way?

We have the have to push the clutch multiple times to start issue and I'm wondering if the bolt to plunger setup is part of the problem.

Thanks for any insight.

One is for the starter. The other is for the cruise control. One (I forget which it is) will affect idle.

The switch higher up on the pedal and larger in size is for the ECU. It enables the idle circuit to trigger (in conjunction with the neutral switch), as well as the cruise control.

The lower switch is for the starter relay. It disables it if the clutch is not pressed.

As far as your issue, try placing a jumper wire in the lower switches plug. This will bypass it and let you know if it is the problem.

Thanks,
so did the top one (ECU) always have a bolt and nut or did it have a rubber type bumper originally?

Rubber bumper. I'm not a big fan of the bolt and nut for the rubber bumper, that's hard on the plastic plunger over time. You can get stick-on rubber chair feet cheap from the hardware store that work great.

Dale

I tried the stick on chair feet for the starter bumper... the adhesive on the back melted during a summer auto-x and the foot slid off leaving me stuck in grid!

I came up with these little guys as a replacement. I'll just leave this here :) : https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...hipped-921625/

Your first question:

FDs come with a rubber plug in the hole from the factory, however after many years of sun and heat the plugs crack and fall out. Many people replace the rubber plug with a Bolt and nut.

The stick on rubber feet mentioned above sounds like a good alternative to the bolt.

Your other question:

I just spent the last week researching this topic for my tranny swap. There is an engineer in another post that doesn't excellent job of explaining the specifics behind this question, But I'll give you the Laymens version.

The upper switch on the left side of the clutch pedal assembly that is colored white is called the Starter interlock switch. This Switch make it necessary to Depress the clutch in order to engage the starter to start the vehicle. This is a mechanical switch, There's also an electromagnetic switch under the Foot rest/driver side kick panel. The electro magnetic switch is housed inside a black vertical plastic box called CPU #2. This switch disables the starter to prevent someone from stealing your car as part of the security system. However the circuitry on this goes bad and Causes the car to have difficulties starting on the first couple of tries.

The recommendation is to remove one of the two lower plugs on the CPU and bridge the two largest pins (disabling the Problematic electromagnetic magnetic switch). I believe the plug you're looking for is blue, it definitely has four Wires going into the plug, two are very small wires and two are 12 gauge wires which are bigger. To make a jumper use approximately 3" of 12 gauge wire and attach a 12 gauge female spade connector (yellow) to each end if the wire. Then connect the two large pins on the plug together.

The last question was regarding the clutch switch which is on the front side of the Clutch pedal assembly. This switch is connected to the ECU and let's the cruise control know when to disengage by sensing you press the clutch. It also helps the car adjust for idle speed when sitting at a stop light to prevent the car from dying.

Having The Exact Issue But With an FC3S
 

First and foremost, it pays to research the question you wish to ask before starting a new thread. Case in point I found this thread which pertains to my exact problem :nod:.

Is what you are advising applies to the FC3S chassis too? I replaced my clucth slave cylinder, clutch master cylinder, new clutch kit, and I tired adjusting the clutch pedal. But still I have to press the clutch pedal all the to the floor a few times before the starter engages :scratch:.

in concept, that white switch is for the starter, and ONLY on the US models. i'd recommend bypassing it. just keep in mind it'll start without having to push the clutch.

the alarm relay on the FC's is actually a relay under the hood, and if you don't have the alarm, there is a jumper wire in its place

Thank you for the advise. I do have a US model and I do have the factory alarm system and it actually still works.

Do I have to alter the factory alarm unit too?

And by bypassing do you mean connect the wires directly together rather then to the starter switch?

By bypassing the starter switch does it affect the alarm in any way?

Mine works great now.
Originally had a bolt and nut there to replace the lost plastic nipple.
Seems like the matchup wasn't that good and you'd have to push the clutch a couple of times to get it to start.

I bought a "cap" for the end of the bolt from Ace Hardware, snapped it on and now the switch works great, car starts first time every time -- it was just that the starter clutch switch wasn't being depressed evenly.

maybe 50 cents for the part.

that switch is a normally open switch, it closes when you push the clutch, so you can apply power to the starter. i usually remove the switch, cut the wires, solder em together and have a plug in bypass. flyinmiata offers a little metal tab that just holds the switch down as well.

the alarm controls a normally closed relay, when the alarm goes off, it opens the relay so you can't start it.

the clutch switch and the alarm relay have nothing to do with each other except that they both live on the same wire, which is the "start" wire. the click click start is because the original circuit does not have either of these things in it, its just from the start pin on the ignition to the starter, so when they added the switches its ok, but when they get old/dirty resistance goes up, and you don't get enough voltage at the starter, click click.

Ah! good hear, I will try that first and hopefully it will work for me too.

Thank you for more insite and information, I will try replacing the contact rubber first and if it does not work, then I will do your prefered method.

Thanks forum!!

My blue switch gave me starting problems as well. 5mins later, with wires laying around.

Starts!


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