I was told before I bought it that rotaries are finicky and unreliable, but this is rediculous :P

I took my new(ish) FD on a road-trip last week, and on 3 seperate occasions, the car died during a thunderstorm.

Basically, it just stalled. I was freaking out, thinking I blew a seal or something, but after troubleshooting in the pouring rain and getting nowhere, I just let the car sit for a while. Just before calling a tow truck, I tried again and she ran fine.

This happened twice more, and I'm assuming it had something to do with water splashing up inside the engine bay and getting in someplace it shouldn't.

It's obviously an ignition problem, as it causes my tach to read off for a bit as well. So, I was wondering what the sensitive parts of the ignition system is on the car, so I can check it out and either replace it or seal it.

I feel like an idiot not knowing more about the car, but I just got it, and I am in the process of absorbing as much knowledge as I can.

Thanks!

-Devan

 

To me it seem like you have a vacuum leak somewhere. Therefore when rain drops get it, causing it to stop have "less" air going into the engine, while the ECU was previously adding excessive fuel to compensate for this matter causing you car to have (1, an idle issue. 2, vehicle stalling).

Do the 'water bottle ' spraying test. Have the vehicle running, use a misty bottle and spray slowly, and listen and feel the engine. Once the engine smoothens out at a certain spot with water spray on it. you've found the cause and the leak.

good luck with it.

-AzEknightz

 

I would be very surprised if you were getting enough water into the engine bay to stall out the engine through a vacuum leak. I think you're on the right track with an electrical problem. I've heard of several people having funny problems when moisture gets into their relays. Might be worth checking to see if there's any obvious damage in the relay boxes. Good luck.

 

Thats an interesting idea even though its probably not the problem here.

 

Does the "check engine" light flash prior to dying?

 

i know. However I still believe on "duplicating' the problem with a spraying bottle of water.

Once you are able to determine the proximity or the location where "moister" were trapped causing this irregular idle (tach problem) and engine stalling.

I am not saying it is 100% that's the cause but that would be a good way to reproduce the problem and trace it backward yea? Weather or not it is a vacuum problem or moisture trapped within a relay.

-AzEKnightz

 

Oh, good question on this one. If it is running too rich or ignition problem causing a misfire and leading to engine stalling. A very high possible problem. =D

-AzEKnightz

 

Thanks for the idea guys!

No, there is no CEL at all when it dies. I've got Power FC, if that helps you any.

Also, I have the power FC display set to knock sensor, and it was completely normal both before and after the car died.

After I got it started again, it ran fine. No temp problems anywhere, no stuttering, pulled hard as it normally does, and no extra or less knocking....

The only other issue was that the last time it did it, the tach would bounce around quite a bit, jumping from whatever RPM I was at to zero. The engine seemed to be running fine (I was on the highway and couldn't really hear that well, but it still pulled and felt right), and as the car dried out, the tach stopped bouncing less and less until it eventually worked fine.

Where does the tach get it's signal from on an FD?

Thanks again!

-Devan

 

Sounds like an electrical problem at the coils or plugs. Check all of your ignition wires for cracks, etc..

 

Could actually be something so simple as bad electrical grounds. check all of them.

 

I think the tach gets the signal from the coil(s) (trailing coil?). I know a 2nd gen gets it from the trailing coil pack...

 

Sounds like something is getting wet and shorting out. Then once it dries, everything is fine. I had a similar issue with my FC eons ago which would happen any time I washed the car. I would start by seeing if you can pour water on the hood and drown the front windshield while the car is idling to see if that causes the problem. If not, then it's probably water entering from under the car or from the front opening when you can then see what's in those areas.

 

Here`s one you might try. I know that the igniter unit is over on the fender wall on the drivers side of the engine bay. You might try the other posters suggestion of the spray bottle trick. Spray around the igniter with the car running & see if it dies. Another thing you might do is, with the hood closed, take a water hose & spray water over the hood seam where the igniter is & see if the car dies. If it does, then you have found your problem. Seems like I read somewhere of another guy having an issue same as yours. Turns out that the connector to the igniter was corroded up where water had gotten into the connector over time. Might be worth a look see.

ETA: Looks like Mahjik got in his response a minute before I posted mine! LOL! Looks like he has the same idea I did.

 

previous owner hackjob installation

 

had that problem with my fc but it would happen on the freeway. so i added another ground to the engine and didnt have a problem after that

 

Are you running an undertray?

What mods do you have?

My tach bounces around on occasion also. I believe it is a known problem with the gauge itself rather than a symptom of something else. At least in my case.

Check grounds, check CAS, check TPS wiring