Aireal

Okay so I have this Rx7, she's a manual 1991 non-turbo. I bought her with a couple of known problems and now she's tacked on some new ones. My most immediate issue is that she will not crank. It was running up until about a month ago when I had an oil line get cut, we have "fixed" the oil line, but she hasn't cranked since. I have tried the "hold the gas pedal down and crank" thing, I have also tried taking out the EGI fuse cranking and then replacing it and trying to get it to crank, with no success. I don't "think" it is the battery, its sitting a little over 12 volts when the key is in the on position and drops to ten when i'm trying to crank it. And also I don't know if this has any bearing on the problem but i'm also not getting an oil pressure reading and I can't remember if it did that before or not. This is my first post, hopefully I got it right and someone can help.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

You said that it won't crank, but then said the voltage drops when you do crank it.

So what is the problem? Does the engine crank, or does it not?

If it is not cranking, check the basics first. Make sure the battery connections are solid, and test the starter as per the instructions in the FSM.

trblsmeFC

You said the voltage drops no more than ten which is acceptable, it takes a minimum of 9.6 volts after the drop from turning the key to collapse the magnetic field that turns the starter/engine

But is the motor turning over, cuz if its not turning over then that could be as simple as checking the wires to and from the starter. Be sure to feel the wire ends to make sure the wire is solid, I had a FB that the wires looked fined but at one end it was the plastic outside of the wire but no wire on inside. You always wanna start out with the small simple things first before spending your money on replacing parts

mikem1959

iTrader: (2)

Is the
eng. turning over?If so check for spark if there is spark sniff ex.pipe if you smell gas it is probly flooded.Look in thread on flooded eng.

Lucky-7xl

hey bro i had this same problem with my first fc... i was told by a mazda master tech that these engines tend to flood... and its something i have read in other threads to so what i didt is i unplugged the connecter that is under the dash with a yellow plug, thats what sends signal to your fuel pump, and once you unplug it crank the engine, usually it will not turn once but try it till it does and it should turn on, then it will run for a couple seconds and then plug the yellow plug back on and it should turn on right away and keep going... try it and see what happens that worked for me before hehehe... = D

Aireal

Okay, maybe I should have beeen a bit more specific, the engine will turn over but it will not crank (sorry i'm a nOOB), symptoms of being flooded, yes. And I am going to try a couple more of the unflooding techniques that have been suggested, however I am also getting an engine code 51, which according to the link I followed off of another thread that is for the "fuel pump (resistor) relay". Going to get the Haynes manual, like right now. Will check back in a bit. Thanks for the sugestions that I have already gotten.

Aireal

Okay if there is anyone out there who is watching this thread, I tried unflooding the car a couple more times and killed the battery in the mean time, also checked spark plugs while I had them out(they're good) and she still wouldn't crank. Then I did the fuel pump operational check with the yellowcheck connector under the hood, which according to that, my fuel pump is not running ( I think I concur with that just because I used to be able to hear my fuel pump "gurgle" when I tried to turn it over). I checked the EGI fuse under the hood and its okay. I'm trying to get my hands on an ohmmeter to check the EGI main relay, is there another way to go about what i'm doing? I really feel like i'm about to be in way over my head, and i'm missing something.

Aireal

Okay epic failure. Tried to do the unflood again today, because a friend of mine insists that whats wrong. Step by step. I removed my EGI fuse under the hood. Went to Autozone and had the battery charged. I took out the spark plugs, smelled like gas. Shot MMO into lower plug holes, didn't know what I could clean the spark plugs with safely, so I just kinda wiped em off and got them as pretty as I could. Attempted cranking. It turned over and smoked a bit. Smelled like gasoline and the MMO, did this for about 5 minutes, until the battery started sounding like it was dying again(should this kill my battery that fast?). Replaced the plugs and wires, hooked the battery up to my other car since it sounded like it was dying and tried to crank the car. It turned over a couple of times then made a really nasty grrrr grrrr sound(to my noob ears it sounded like the engine struggling to rotate), and done. Now I turn the key and get NOTHING. So my conclusion to all of this is I think i'm an idiot, and I don't know what i'm doing, any suggestions where to go from here?

benrl

Aireal I am a new owner also and I have been in the exact situation you are in, deflooded and nothing, killed the battery trying to do that process, what worked for me was a push start. need atleast two people for it though unless your near a hill :P

Drive around the block several times, and problem went away, as people have told me dont start the car and drive for a bit and turn of, these cars need to heat up, every time it happened to me was when I didnt heed that advice and got lax with letting it warm up.

Tessai76086

iTrader: (3)

"Went to Autozone" well i found your first problem :P

"didn't know what I could clean the spark plugs with safely" carb/brake cleaner for the win

"should this kill my battery that fast?" if you have a cheap battery then yes. if Autozone didnt charge it all the way then that will of course cause it to die much faster.

"fuel pump (resistor) relay" get a factory service manual and test it. the haynes/chilton manuals suck for our cars. if its going out then you may be flooding the motor every time you use the fuel pump. at least if i remember right thats what it does...its been a long day though and i would be wrong.