93 rx7 car wont start. newbie question
 

i bought a 93 rx7 that has been sitting for about 5 years. i got a battery for it and tried cranking it over. it cranked over with the check engine light on. i cranked it a total of 4 times for about 5 seconds each time. the fith time i cranked it the starter engagued than stopped. now the starter will not work. no clicking or anything. is it posssible that the starter just took a shit or is there a fuse specific to the starter signal? what about chassie grounds? maybe one is lossing contact from sitting? can anyone give me locations of grounds that might have something to do with the starting system. thanks for any help

It's possible. You could check continuity to the starter. But your description also suggests the engine could be seized. Do you know why it sat so long?

If it turned over then your motor is not seized. Take a test light and make sure that you get voltage to the starter when you turn the key. If so then it is probably your starter. Disconnect your battery then disconnect the wires going to the starter. (might want to take a few pics before so you know where the wires go back). Remove 2 bolts and remove the starter. Take it to your auto parts store and they will test it for you. New ones run about $100.
Good luck
Gary

Probably is something different...a starter or connectivity issue. And I probably jumped a little too much. But this doesn't mean it's still not stuck or an internal issue. Especially since we don't know 'how' it turned over initially, or why it was parked in the first place.

All the lights and everything still work? Could be that your new battery ran out of juice. Have you tried jumping it? Unless the starter was already on its way out (which is possible), it sounds odd that it would just stop working on you.

What all is done to the car? Also, have you done anything to relube the apex seals? Or did you just get a battery and try to start it? I gotta think that having a rotary engine sit for so long (5 years) would dry them up something fierce.

If it cranked the first four times, then crapped out halfway through the fifth attempt, your engine is probably not seized up. But just to cover all bases, try turning it over by hand with a ratchet.

As for a starter mysteriously crapping out, I've never personally seen it happen all of a sudden. Sure, they can get sticky as my 20B's starter did. The cause for this was my ignition switch being original circa 1985 :lol:

To test the starter on the car, unplug the S terminal (the small 1/4" spade tab style connector) and run a jumper wire straight from the battery to the terminal on the starter. It will INSTANTLY crank. If it doesn't, your starter is dying or dead.

Last, I want to make this clear. DO NOT PURCHASE ELECTRICAL PARTS FROM THE PARTS STORE! I did a back to back test between my OE Mazda starter and two from Autozone & Advance Auto Parts. My OE one with shitty cables did 170rpm while cranking, while the AZ/AAP ones cranked at 70rpm. Yes, Seventy RPM.

If your starting is dying or kaput, I'd recommend one of Banzai Racing's upgraded 2.0KW ones.