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Starter S terminal isn't getting any power when turning the key. I did the jumper wire between the positive battery post and the black/white wire socket of the starter interrupt relay / blue connector with jumper and the starter spun freely.
I checked the ignition switch next for continuity issues per the FSM (Ch 5: Engine Electrical System [pg. 5-30]). I didn't get any continuity between K1 and K2 and none between any of L or E, that whole white connector got me nothing. The FSM says if the continuity isn't as specified, to replace the ignition switch.
I'm going to order the Atkins Rotary Ignition Switch, Column Lock & Key Set (Part No. FB01-76-290) for $286 plus $17 in shipping. Meanwhile that comes, I'm planning to do the fuel cut off switch mod and the starter cut relay mod too
I'm really thinking of having these re-upholstered back to their original glory. But here they are in their current state, before and after a simple vacuuming. I have a buddy who has one of those wet vacs for interiors. I'm going to use that to bring back whatever life I can to the seats in the meantime.
Before the vacuuming ... bruh I'm sorry y'all have to see this
After the vacuuming ... things are looking up. Gotta do the wet vac and plastic cleaning next to bring out whatever shine is left of the interior.
The engine bay as it was before we cleaned it. It was such a nightmare to work on so one of the first things we did was clean up the engine bay and undercarriage. That's why the starter picture I posted earlier isn't as dirty as it originally was.
My buddy has this airplane like grade Simple Green, it's like $80 for 5 gallons, isn't flammable and is safe for plastics, rubbers, clear coats, paints! It's insane man. Here's the engine bay after spraying it with that, you can just see all the grime of 35 years being swept away.
It's been nice digging into the engine bay to find the ground points per Aaron Cake's guide and cleaning up the contacts. I was having starting issues as no voltage was getting to the starter. After checking, found out the issue was with the ignition switch as it was never getting any constant 12v yet the wiring from the car was showing just fine, issue was a white four pin square connector in the ignition switch. By then we had already cleaned up the ground contacts and the starting system electrical contacts.
While the ignition switch from Atkins Rotary arrives, I'm going to finish cleaning the engine bay and interior, including getting my rear hatch to open. Not sure what the issue is but the key won't open the hatch.
After testing each part of the starting and charging system, we found two things wrong:
- my mechanic buddy found a random green wire that seems to be some kind of theft deterrent to make up for the fact that this FC didn't have the theft deterrent system (also doesn't have a starter cut relay, instead I have that blue connector)
- no continuity on K1 and K2 of the white 4 pin connector of the ignition switch
- I noticed the coolant temperature sensor near the thermostat is a 2 wire connector per the FSM, Mine is broken but thankfully I saw the other end of the wire so I'm going to strip each end back a bit, solder in fresh wire, and link them. Hopefully that solves the coolant buzzer issue I've had since I got the car.
Ordered the Atkins Rotary ignition switch set. Same mechanic buddy replaced it and now it's cranking with the key in as normal. Now the engine's flooded so I'm about to start de-flooding it, pour a little oil in the spark plug holes per Aaron Cake's suggestion over using ATF fluid, and hopefully going to get it started again. Fingers crossed it idles without that coolant buzzer going off
the original ignition switch (those round top screws were a pita to get out. had to be hit to twist them out using a flat head and a rubber mallet as I read on here)
Got a lot done over the summer and finally got it running. I learned a ton this time around. I'm more patient these days lol I found out that the mechanic who worked on it had one of trailing and leading spark plugs mixed up. He had replaced the spark plugs and was to replace the belts but it didn't work out as he just didn't know rotaries and really wasn't open to any suggestions and the car sat since then. Here's what I got done since replacing the ignition switch with my mechanic buddy.
After replacing the #1 to #5, the car was finally cranking but wouldn't turn over. I confirmed I was getting sufficient power to the fuel pump and that the starting system was all working as it was supposed to. I started deflooding the car and when I went to charge the battery again, it wouldn't hold a charge for very long. I went to AutoZone and they confirmed the battery was no good. After replacing the battery, I felt pretty good about it would crank over as I had tested I was getting spark and fuel and all was good. So I decided to fix the broken wiring of the Water Thermo Sensor Connector by soldering in some fresh 14 gauge wiring to replace the rotting section of the wiring
After soldering in some fresh 14 gauge wire, she was trying her absolute best to turn over but wouldn't. I did the deflooding procedure 26 times before it finally cranked over. Here's the footage of that ugly idle. It stayed running and to my pleasant surprise, no ADD COOLANT buzzer this time around. We'll see if it actually solved things once I've serviced the cooling system and did a flush.
After that, I focused a bit on the cooling system and replaced the thermostat. The housing was super dirty so I cleaned with soap, water, and a wire brush on a power drill to get it clean again. From there, I pulled out the plugs and saw they were cooked. Put in new NGK spark plugs and spark plug wires. I was going to start deflooding it but decided to try to crank it. It started it up and it sounded smoother, without the engine shaking I had the first time during the fugly start up. Here's the coolant steaming issue coming from the radiator that I saw after this second start.
Since I needed to get a new radiator, I got some parts from Atkins Rotary then picked up some stuff from AutoZone (water pump, sealant, anti-freeze). Yesterday I put in an order with Lucky 7 Racing. The Atkins Rotary parts arrived yesterday.
Atkins Rotary = Thermostat / Thermostat Housing Gasket / Water Pump Housing to Engine Gasket / Rotary Keychain
Lucky 7 Racing = Koyo Radiator #HH060642 / Koyo Radiator Cap #SKC-13
So since I won't have the radiator until Monday or Tuesday, that gives me time to focus on other areas of the car. For now, I'm pretty happy that the car starts right up and idles without any need to give it gas. No more coolant buzzer. Things are looking up. Many thanks to everyone on here, the search function here and the FSM have led me back all the way to this point. Couldn't have done it without this forum.
Some pictures of the work done along the way. The spark plugs were at least 26 years old as the last registration was back in 1996! The spark plugs smelled like straight gas but not old gas so my guess is it's mostly just the 1/2 gallon to 3/4 gallon of gas I put in back in 2015 is all that was in the engine.
Here's a shot of the front of the engine. The weather hasn't been kind at all. I started with cleaning the thermostat housing as that was one of the worst parts. It looked like the alternator but with more general grime and oxidation. The bolts were real bad so meantime the Atkins Rotary thermostat and gasket came, I put in an AutoZone thermostat and cleaned up the housing and bolts to what it looks like here. It's so satisfying to feel the bolt thread back in smoothly after a good cleaning. The wire brush was real messy so instead I'm going to do that on parts I won't be taking off the engine and will clean parts that do some off in a two day bath in apple cider vinegar. That's my plan with the water pump housing, which looks bad as you can see in the second photo. I can't wait to see how it cleans up before the new water pump goes in.
Here's the first video showing a general walk around the car and looking at the current state of the car after 26 years of sitting, including 7 years I let it sit. I was happy to see things weren't as bad as I feared but then again I tend to go to the worst case scenarios. The hatch was stuck but now opens. I'll have to clean up and fix the hatch release parts as the release tabs aren't affected when pulling the hatch release even though the cable moves as it should now.
I got the water pump, gaskets, and the Koyo radiator. While the parts came in from Atkins Rotary and Lucky 7 Racing, I started taking parts off for cleaning. Here's the removal of the battery, intake duct, intake air box, MAF, clutch fan, fan shroud, belts, eccentric shaft pulley, and water pump pulley. I cleaned up the bolts, nuts, washers, eccentric shaft pulley, and water pump pulley in an eight hour bath of soap, water & degreaser to loosen up dirt & oil grime then a 36 hour bath in apple cider vinegar to loosen up the rust. To finish the cleaning, I used a wire brush. I'm super stoked to re-install the parts once the Koyo radiator and water pump go in this week. I'm going to have some free time from work tomorrow afternoon so I'll be able to put in the radiator and water pump in.
05-30-22, 05:02 AM
