rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

Just got this '86 RX7 for $600.00. Has a little bit of body work to be done. The person who was selling it stated that it did not start.....however, the first time we hooked the battery back up, it cranked right up. We have not had a lot of time to look it over good yet, that will be this weekend, but we think that we have some grounding issues. Also, possible starter problems. We are going to go through the car piece by piece cleaning it up and replacing items (belts, hoses, spark plugs/wires, etc). Looks like the previous owner did not know much about cars. The old battery corroded all down the battery housing and will start there with cleaning as well as the engine being cleaned.

When we tried to crank it today, it beeped when turned the key on, not the engine. Then nothing. When we tried to crank it again, it did nothing at all, no beeping or anything. Then the 3rd attempt, there was a weak sounding beeping (which is why we think there might be a grounding issue).

This car will be my son's car when he begins driving in 2 years, but I wanted to learn about cars and be able to work on them, so this is going to be my toy for a while.

Any tips or suggestions for me would be greatly appreciated.


Laura

kendark2light

iTrader: (1)

sounds like a dead short if its killing your battery whats the condition of the wiring that goes from the battery to the starter?

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

No it was not killing the battery. I found the battery cable terminals were only put on hand tight. Tightend the cable terminals and the car started just fine last night. I hope that will solve all the issues with starting. Changing belts and inspecting brakes today. Hopefully take it out for a ride today.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

This information may help:

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/unstore.htm
http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/newowner.htm

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the links, they were helpful. We changed all of the belts today, they were all worn out. Brakes have a little life left in them, but will be changed out soon. Took it for a little spin around the neighborhood and it drove fine, the clutch is worn and will need to be the next thing that is changed out. For the money, this was a great deal. We are having a blast checking out everything and learning about the car.

We are going to change out the bushings on the shifter as it is very sloppy, they are ordered and just waiting on them to arrive. We are now researching some of the lights that are not working. Fuses have been checked and are all good, so thinking a short in the wiring somewhere......just need to find where. The tail lights and license plate light doesn't work, but the brake lights work, turn signals work. Also, the clock and interior lights by the mirror are out. We have a lot of research to do and a lot of work, but are not rushing, want to fix her up slowly and have fun in the process.

Thanks,
Laura

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Your tail lights don't work due to a bad headlight switch. The contacts get worn out, and the relay fails. Also, the little harness from the main dash harness to the switch burns up. It's quite a common failure.

Cordt

sounds exactly like my car lol. bought it for 700$ and have sunk at least 2500 into it so far with plenty of work to go :P

the beep is normal (or at least doesnt mean anything bad as far as i know?) and yes it will randomly beep weakly, or not at all. this is in fact like you stated, because of bad grounds.

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

Pulled out the headlight switch assembly today. Disassembled the entire switch and resolder everything back to gether all lights worked twice then nothing. Pulled the cover off to see where it had failed and could not find anything wrong so I plugged it back in and lights worked, but I could the connector on the switch assembly glowing and then the circuit board started smoking. Going to buy a switch soon. Found a 88 0r 90 rx 7 converible in the junk yard today headlight switch already gone, but got the connector just in case.

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=Cordt;10092362]sounds exactly like my car lol. bought it for 700$ and have sunk at least 2500 into it so far with plenty of work to go :P

We have planed on a few thousand for the car. We tell everyone we bought it for 600 and not tell how much more we have spent fixing it up. Takes away from the story.

xaznmackx02

i bought my fc s4 for $600 also.
first thing i had to go to pick n pull for was the starter.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

i got my s4 for $300 and it has a ton of work needed to be done. sounds like yous have just as much to do as i do on my fc. goodluck, rx7s are a really fun car to drive.

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

So far we have replaced all of the belts, ordered new bushing (upper and lower)and boots for the shifter and need a new clutch. Car runs great other than that. I figure we have or will have about 750 into it with all of the stuff that needs to be done. We will eventually paint it and change out the interior to make it look like it did in '86.

ThatGuyWithTheRx

sounds like a great project. I just got an 88 and im already in love with it.

Maxstyle

iTrader: (3)

Great reference. I just acquired a vehicle and this is a great help.

LIONEL88RX7

wow that post by aaron cake helped out alot a fiend and i just bought 3 rx7's 86 targa, 91 convert, and 88 gxl,

DrunkenSin

I am also experiencing this problem. I bought a 87 GXL for $600 and it's pretty much not starting at all. It's weird because the lheadlights, blinkers, AC and everything would turn on but when I try to start the car everything just turns off. When I try to turn anything back on it's on a really bad weakened state. I'll be working on my car tomorrow and I guess I'll be checking the battery connection, starter and other stuff. Thanks to Aaron for those links, I'll definitely check them out since the car was sitting on a grass lot for a couple of months.

Oh,and sorry for the thread jack. >_<''

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

DrunkenSin, did you get it started?

We have the transmission out waiting for pilot bearing removal tool and shifter spring. Left muffler fell off while we were removing it and found the both right and left completly rusted out. The catalytic converters heat sheilds are rusted but look good inside. We are ready to put everything back together and drive it.

So far
New clutch 140 dollars
Pilot bearing dust cover 3 dollars
New shifter bushings and boots 100 dollars
New shifter return spring 4 dollars
Battery tray 15 dollars
Headlight switch 40 dollars
Mufflers 100 dollars
Tail light 25 dollars

Keeps adding up but having a fun and learning alot.

DrunkenSin

Sadly I didn't get the car to start yet. So far I changed out the old rusty battery terminals for new ones and so far that got rid of the connection problems so now everything electrical (blinkers, lights, etc) works just fine. Now the motor is actually cranking but it doesn't really start at all. My friends asked me if it's making a slow or fast cranking noise and have given me various tips on what could be the problem (slow crank -> bad starter, fast crank -> not getting fuel). Today I'll be working on the car again and will record and upload a video and maybe perhaps other fellow rotary owners could chime in on what the REAL problem could be.

I know my FC will need alot of work (new paint, needs interior pieces, etc) but I'm just glad that I OWN another FC and for $600, I'm not complaining since the previous owner is also giving me tons of parts (new hatch, new headlight motors, bumpers, etc).

So far I've only spent/bought:

New battery $74
New battery terminals $2.78
Used but working fuse box FREE

Here's some pics that I took of the car but if you don't want the pics in your thread just post a reply and I'll have them removed.

DrunkenSin

After working on the car yesterday I can confirm that;

1. The car is getting fuel.
2. The car is getting an spark.
3. There is fresh fuel in the tank.
4. Changed out the oil.
5. The engine isn't seized (since it's obviously cranking).
6. The battery isn't the problem.

After checking out the car again today now NOTHING is working. No beeps, lights, etc is coming from the car itself and I'm wondering if there's something that caused my battery to die. I took the battery out and asked my neighbor if he could check it out and he said it's at below 8v. What could be draining the battery like that? Tomorrow I'll be changing out the ignition coils and I'll try to hook up the battery from my friends Miata to see if it'll crank again. I also need to change/test out the starter anyway so I'll have my hands full working on this car.

Thanks in advance to those that can help!

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

Update: Transmission is out and cleaned. Pilot bearing finally removed (correct tool helps a lot). Ready to put it all back together and get it running again. We have cleaned up the drive shaft as well. We will replace the clutch and shifter bushings as we go back together. We have replaced the headlight switch that was dead. Now we are researching the room fuse......there is no 7.5 amp fuse in that slot and are trying to figure out why it was removed. Going back to the LKQ auto salvage in the morning to get some relay switches. Will post some pics that we took after we gave the 7 a bath.

DrunkenSin

Wow that FC is super clean! I'm envious!

rnlec1969

iTrader: (1)

We were shocked at how it looked when we got it. The interior needs to be changed out, it is red and sun damaged, seats are cracked. We are very pleased at our purchase and will have her on the road again on Tuesday. Can't wait to drive her for the first time. I did not want to tempt my luck with a bad clutch, so I was waiting until it was replaced which will be on Monday and Tuesday.

Roto_Racing

iTrader: (1)

first let me say beutiful car and great job i would love to see the end result ,and by the way things are going its going to be a great build.

now drunken sin check your vaccume lines, shorts. and that the fuel pump is making the correct pressure. most say fuel pumps break and thats it(thats what i knew for a fact), but in my case ive been having the same issue as you all crank and no go. took out the pump and the whining that used to be loud was now muffles. in my case i cleaned up the sock put some fuel in the pump and with some compressed air blew it out, now it whines like a cat in a fight.
hope this helps

DrunkenSin

I actually recorded a video of trying to crank the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWwB6v0TtRk

Roto_Racing

iTrader: (1)

sin looks like you should check your compression. take out your plugs if they are wet thats your problem . on the first start did you have the pump on sounded like you didnt until the second start. im off topic check the compression lol
p.s start a thread helps alot