I have started working on 1988 GXL that has been sitting for a while. Apparently an animal made it's home in the engine compartment while it was sitting and started chewing on some of the engine wiring. After cleaning the engine compartment out best I could. The only wiring that I saw that was totally gone was to what it looks to be the TPS. I bought a new battery and tried to get the engine to start, but of course it just turns and doesn't start. I do notice a gas smell in the engine compartment which would lead me to believe that it is getting fuel. So I am guessing that it is either flooded badly or that perhaps the critters damaged something in the ignition. Everything electrical inside of the car works except for the power windows. And I can hear the fuel pump prime when I turn on the ignition. I guess I am at loss at where to go from here. Since there is right at 200k on the engine, which from what I understand is past the life expectancy of a rotary, should I just work on rebuilding it? I just hate to focus on that without first getting it running to see what other problems there may be. Would the TPS cause the engine to not start at all? Is there any easy way to check if the spark plugs are firing? Any help would be appreciated as I am lost at this point.

 

DO NOT attempt to start it!
Those Fuzzy Critters also LOVE the Air Filter as a home.
Check everything..Filter.afm.plug wires,.fuel lines..Belts.
The TPS wiring can be fixed..the Factory service manual should have the wiring colors.

 

If you are smelling gas in the engine bay then you should probably look around to see where it is coming from, because you should never smell gas around there. If it is flooded then gas fumes will come out the exhaust and you will smell them everywhere, hopefully that is all it is.

I don't know much about the pre-startup stuff, I think Aaron Cake has a really good article on that and I can't add much to it, but once you have finished that stuff, if it is just turning and turning without starting it may have flooded while it sat and you may just need to pull the ignition fuse and crank it to clear it, or do the whole procedure including oil or atf.

You can check for spark the same way as any other engine, either with an inline spark tester or a tester that requires you to unhook one of the spark plugs (i.e. an actual gap tester or just another spark plug laying on a metal part of the engine)

 

You are right, the fumes are probably coming from the exhaust, I will double check the line to make certain. I might try pulling the ignition fuse just to see if that clears any flooding. I did take out of of the trailing plugs to take a look and it appeared to be a little coated with oil. I might try replacing those, as they appear to be very corroded. Thank you both for your help!

 

I have attached a picture of the area where it looks like the most damage occurred. I think the TPS is the piece where the wires have been chewed. I am not sure if there is enough slack to repair the wiring, and I have seen online that a replacement is $150+ I removed the vacuum hose from what I believe is the pressure regulator? I am working on replacing that now. My question is, could a non-working TPS or pressure regulator cause the engine not to start? The pressure regulator should be easy to change, would replacing it possibly cause the engine to start?

Thanks again for your help!

 

Added a second overall view of the engine.

 

what part of SC are you in? I'm in Goose creek and rebuild harness professionally. PM me

 

Yea the TPS will cause the car not to start. Replace it and try doing a full tune up and compression test to see what kind of shape the engine is in. It might need a rebuild but a compression test will let you know for sure. 200 thousand miles doesnt mean that its blown but it is probably ready for a rebuild anyway. Look in the air filter box for the animals, its probably mice or rats and you dont want to suck that **** into the engine.