Ok, I've been doing some troubleshooting but still no dice.

When I go to start my car, I turn the key and get nothing. I try and try again and nothing. It started taking me maybe 2 or 3 tries to get it to start. Now it takes 20-30 tries.

I checked my batt voltage, it's good, in the high 12's.
I replaced the ignition switch, just in case it was this, no help.
I checked my clutch sensor/switch it's fine too.
My starter is new from Ray, only about 5k on it.

Funny thing is, when it's warmed up, it seems to start just fine, maybe occasionally it won't but 9 times out of 10 it will.

Then 1 day last week, it started up fine, no issues all day.

I was really hoping that it was ignition switch, but it wasn't.

any ideas, would appreciate help!

 

nobody?

 

OK, I'll venture a guess.

Bad ground or corroded battery terminal contacts?

 

I'll check the ground. The terminals are brand new and battery is in bin.

 

My car seems to do this now too. It doesn't happen when it's hot though, only from a cold start. Anybody got a clue?

 

after some talks with Jonathan I found out Mark White's car did this too... hmm any experts out there with any ideas?

 

mine too does the same thing when hot... does any have a clue what could be...

 

POS FD i tell ya.

 

There are countless threads on this if you search...seriously. This is a known issue with FDs. There are a dozen solutions and fixes of various sorts.
Look here:
https://www.rx7club.com/search.php?searchid=3796074
and you will see dozens of posts about the issue. Look under the 'starter problem solved' threads especially.
Search is your friend, and SO easy.

 

Thanks! I'll go check this out. Some of us are search impared. Don't make fun!

 

Ok, I've read alot of threads.

This is where things stand.

New Battery
New connections
New Ignition switch
New Starter (another one)

Car fails to start (starter will not activate) i.e. no power
1 in 200 starts it will crank as if nothing is wrong.

Car wouldn't start for almost 2 weeks then miraculously it starts about 7 or 8 times in a row with no issue.

We have checked the clutch switch, even jumped it out and it still fails to start.

We have checked the relay in the drivers footwell (R1 is here Touring is up in the fuse box according to Ray)

We used a power probe and checked all wires going and coming from ignition switch. All seem ok.

Just to try it, we used the power probe directly to the starter and it works perfectly. Every time.

So that leads me to believe I have a short somewhere between the ignition switch and the starter. Somehow it's not getting the juice to activate.

I do not know the routing of these wires but I am at a loss. Not sure what to do.

Ideas please. and yes I've read threads.

 

Check your spark plug wires.

My friend had a small slit/opening in one of his wires on his evo and he had the same problem as you.

 

Maybe I'm not being clear. If you get power to the starter, the engine starts just fine. fires right up. cranks like once and it stays running.

And if that were the case, why would it start 100% of the time when you apply power (via power probe) directly to the starter.????

 

Try the clutch switch. I've had a problem where it wasn't making good contact and not feeding power to the starter solinoid.

After driving (or when the car is hot) the clutch pedel was moved around and the switch worked fine.

Worth I look....

 

I'm not sure if your problem is similar to mine, but my situation was identical. The starter was recent (not new) from Mazda. It was remanufactured for Mazda, as I don't think you can get new ones anymore. I took it to a rebuilder and he said the solenoid was bad. He put a new solenoid and the problem was still there. Yet another solenoid was put on the following day and it was still doing that. I took the starter apart and determined that the motor had a short in it. The circuit needs to be completed even for the solenoid to work, so the motor was my culprit. I had the whole starter completely rebuilt with new parts and things are perfect now. This happened last week and I was going nuts for a few days. It just so happened that the motor was in a good spot every time I took it to the rebuilder, he would test it and things 'seemed' OK. Hope this helps you.

 

It says it's working (on the pfc) and to be sure I jumped it out and still no go.

I'm beginning to think it could be that the starter cut relay (H302) is bad. It makes noise (clicks when you try it but maybe it's just not making contact.

 

thanks rd.

It is possible... just in case I had ray send me another one... teh first was only a couple months old.

I'm gonna try this relay and see what happens.

 

ok, I got the new relay... .and no luck still nothing....

anyone?

 

This is going to be of little help, but, since you've seemed to have tried everything else, I'd guess that you have a bad contact/broken wire somewhere in the circuit from the ignition switch to the starter relay, or in the clutch switch circuit.

When the car is warm this expansion of the wire (or whatever) allows it to make contact. When cold, the copper wire contracts, and continuity is lost.

So, my suggestion is: Test all of the relevant wires/circuits with an ohmmeter while the car is cold.

Good luck. I absolutely hate this sort of problem!

 

Thanks Dave! will do.