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86 Rx-7 gsl 1st gen problems?

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Old 02-10-13, 01:38 PM
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Angry 86 Rx-7 gsl 1st gen problems?

Okay so I bought this rx-7 drove it about 25 miles if that it upchucked a bit and stalled me from getting home when I was like 3 minutes from the house... Was able to clean the carburetor good enough to start and got me home thankfully. But when I went outside to start it after i got home to see if it'll at least run it wouldn't really do much but turnover for a second and die. So I got tired of it went inside to rest came out the next morning and I was able to start it after all that BUT when i went into reverse it instantly cut out on me and from there it would whine like it was flooded? But I pulled the spark plugs let it upchuck its fuel out and tried to turn it over to see if i'd catch spark from the plugs which I don't?

Also replaced the starter just to see, but found this wire that plugs to the little prong on the starter followed it but i couldn't find what it was connected to? But I found out if i put it on the positive the car turns over and on negative the car wants to start but wont? Oh and I catch spark from the plugs when that wire is on the negative part of the battery?

Personally have no clue what this is about, I've read the manual it came with, I've read almost all of the 1st gen information... I'M GOING WANKEL!!!
Old 02-10-13, 04:27 PM
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Okay I am starting to believe my ignition coils are the problem..
Old 02-10-13, 04:41 PM
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Take some picture and post them so we can see what you are working with .
If the car is a 86 it is a second gen 13b na unless the engine has been swapped out

Last edited by gerald m; 02-10-13 at 04:45 PM.
Old 02-10-13, 05:11 PM
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it may have been stripped but i don't know why someone would take out a 13b and put in a 12a? *i honestly don't know the better of the two*


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Old 02-10-13, 05:37 PM
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I mean it's clearly a 12A no doubt about that. I just am I not ground right or are my ignition coils done for that's what I need to find out and i believe it's an 85 but the later year model and the guy just called it a 86? i don't think it works like that though. It's not a honda...
Old 02-10-13, 07:00 PM
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1. welcome.

2. the guy you bought the car from is either dishonest, an idiot ... or both! if it's the car in the photos you posted, it's a Gen I for sure. an '86 Rx-7 looks different - look at the red car at the top of the forum's page.

Originally Posted by RX7Comet
Okay so I bought this rx-7 drove it about 25 miles if that it upchucked a bit and stalled me from getting home when I was like 3 minutes from the house... Was able to clean the carburetor good enough to start and got me home thankfully. But when I went outside to start it after i got home to see if it'll at least run it wouldn't really do much but turnover for a second and die. So I got tired of it went inside to rest came out the next morning and I was able to start it after all that BUT when i went into reverse it instantly cut out on me and from there it would whine like it was flooded? But I pulled the spark plugs let it upchuck its fuel out and tried to turn it over to see if i'd catch spark from the plugs which I don't?
you just bought the car, so before you start ripping things apart, start simple.
1) get a service manual of some kind (download a Mazda one or buy a Haynes or both like i did)
2) give it a full tuneup
3) make sure your electrical system (battery and alternator) is up to par
4) adjust the carburetor per the service manual

see if that solves your problems. if it does, great. if it does not, then at least you're a leg up on a starting point for your troubleshooting.
Old 02-10-13, 07:28 PM
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Yea I would be having a little chat with the dude that sold the car to you . I thought something was a little off . Welcome by the way , I hope things work out for you .if you need help there are lots of guys here to give you some guidance . Good Luck ! Gerald m.
Old 02-10-13, 07:36 PM
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Thanks guys, Yeah it's all good whenever I go get the rest of the paperwork (that is if i can get that too..) But hey I planned on a new tune up any how..
Old 02-10-13, 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by RX7Comet
What in the world is up with the front supension?!?!?!
Old 02-10-13, 10:12 PM
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Jack stank XD sorry good eye though
Old 02-10-13, 10:15 PM
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I need to lower it

Last edited by RX7Comet; 02-10-13 at 10:17 PM.
Old 02-11-13, 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by RX7Comet
Jack stank XD sorry good eye though
Thanks... I was worried there would be a first gen out there with 44" spinners and a piece of me died inside.
Old 02-11-13, 01:49 PM
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Yeah sorry I'd never put wheels like that on a car, let alone spend the five grand for a pair just to have them.... I'd roll steels overs that
Old 02-11-13, 02:15 PM
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if the car is starting then you have spark. my suggestion would be fuel.

but that little blade connector that connects to the starters is actually for the ignition. if thats what your talking about without it it shouldn't crank then alone run connect it back and you should be fine,

Last edited by Rotor_Venom08; 02-11-13 at 02:18 PM.
Old 02-11-13, 02:19 PM
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yeah because it's clicking the starter over fine, so ignition is where that wire would end up hmm okay ill find this.
Old 02-11-13, 04:02 PM
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Well i've hooked it up to what i believe was the ignition, and its had less voltage then it did before all this. Remind you brand new battery I had to buy before I bought the car. It seems like whatever wire that was i happen to tug on an notice was loose *if not may been connected*... If anyone from houston area is willing to come out here and take a look at this for me i'll pay your gas and all.
Old 02-11-13, 06:00 PM
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Originally Posted by RX7Comet
Well i've hooked it up to what i believe was the ignition, and its had less voltage then it did before all this. Remind you brand new battery I had to buy before I bought the car. It seems like whatever wire that was i happen to tug on an notice was loose *if not may been connected*... If anyone from houston area is willing to come out here and take a look at this for me i'll pay your gas and all.
im from houston... whats the voltage reading? 12v is barley enough to start the car
Old 02-11-13, 08:10 PM
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It's below 12v do you think im not grounded right? or i've lost excessive amount of power? could you contact me via phone?
Old 02-11-13, 09:31 PM
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it needs to be higher, use a jumpstarter if you have to. i mean if it ran before hat changed from the other day. what exactly is it doing right now? does it start? spin? dies?
Old 02-11-13, 09:43 PM
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it'll click over the starter and spin it cut off and then whine an then spit out this "hoooonk" like super faint little honk? like the car is telling me "HELP!"
Old 02-12-13, 12:08 AM
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I've had a few issues with mine starting, but nothing major.

My biggest concern is on the age of the fuel: How old is it? If it was sitting for a long time, it might be stale and need to be drained or run out of the car to get it running properly.

I'm going to say I never had issues with mine staying running, but the basic principles hold true for rotaries just like any other car, you need fuel, spark, and compression to run.

Let's assume your compression is good since you were driving it and it did in fact work. Here's what I would check.

First, make sure your ignition system is good. Check your distributor cap and rotor, make sure there isn't a ton of corrosion or dirt or anything in there. Next check your spark plug wires, they should not be dry rotted or anything like that. Then, check the spark plugs. Make sure they are in good condition, but most importantly, make sure they're the correct NGK 4 prong ones, I can't remember the part number off the top of my head, but if your plugs look like run-of-the mill standard plugs, then you need to swap those out. Mine had that problem, ran like *** until I put the good plugs in. If you have a way to check the coils, do that, but you might be better off just replacing everything I listed so far just to be safe, especially if any of it looks sketchy. You may also check the timing if you have the ability.

After that, you need to check the fuel system. Check your fuel filter, make sure the carb is actually giving your engine fuel, and of course make sure the gas is fresh like I mentioned before.

If it still isn't working if none of that has issues, then there is probably something more serious at work beyond my scope.
Old 02-12-13, 01:37 AM
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Cleaned the dizzy out and rotor, have taken the starter out that i paid for since its the wrong one.. Took apart the old starter an believe the solenoid has gone out.. Going to the auto parts store to exchange for correct parts and recharge my battery since its dying some how?? Which is weird because everytime i leave it alone i take the connections off the battery so it shouldnt drain?? Might try to take the new solenoid from the new starter to see if i can make it work?? That is if its possible, but whenever i drove it the entire right side of the cluster was off i believebecause the odometer fuel and temp gauges wernt right at all so i pretty much drove it until it died the first time then i put some gas into it and it started give me hell...
Old 02-12-13, 01:38 AM
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And the fuel system seems to be working because anytime i mess with the car i can smell fuel like no ones business
Old 02-12-13, 04:20 AM
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Okay so i pulled out the new starter that i had bought an i took apart the old starter and cleaned it. Took the solenoid off the new starter to check something because i happen to notice that on the old one whenever i took it apart that the solenoid had that pin in it that pushes the starter sprocket forward had been pushed all the way forward and stayed because i noticed the new solenoid on the new starter was pushed in not out? but what i'm thinking is what if i take off my battery from my subaru and attach it to the other battery?! more voltage right? but i don't think that'd even do anything since the solenoid looks messed up?!
Old 02-12-13, 10:25 PM
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