Hey, name's Zach. I have an '84 GSL-SE RX-7, with the fuel injected 13B rotary engine, and I've been having some intermittent problems that have made me temporarily retire my car, and I would really love to be able to drive it again... So if anyone has any comments or ideas, please PLEASE let me know. I'm getting desperate.

About six months ago I was driving it through town, and i came to a stop sign, stopped, and the engine cut out and died. It was immediate, as if i had turned the key. It fired right back up and i drove it home with no more problems and thought nothing of it. over the next week and a half it got progressively worse and eventually cut out and would not start back up. Luckily I was only a few blocks from home and pushed it the rest of the way. Since then, It's been sitting beside my house, and every so often I would go out and try to start it. Sometimes it would start, usually immediately. The rest of the time it would just turn over with no fire at all, and I would give up. The other day I went out and started it up, and it ran for a couple minutes and died, so i pulled the spark plug wires off and turned it over, then put them back on and it started right up and ran for half an hour before it died.
When it is running, it seems to be running pretty well, but i can hear it missing quite consistently. It is getting fuel, the pump is working. I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to electronics though, so I couldn't really check any of that other than the obvious things.
It has new spark plugs and wires, and i tested the old ones too, they're all working just fine.

any ideas, questions, comments, are welcome. Thank you.

 

Just read up on flooding, and I don't think that's my problem, but I definitely think that it has been flooding the past few times I've tried to start it. I've been told that my trailing coil might be bad and collecting enough current to run for a bit and then die until it collects enough to run again. does this sound right or hoaxy? I'm at a complete loss, and I would really like some input on this... Anything, please.

 

You need to do the basic checks.
Test for spark on all of the spark plugs and for a while to see if they always have spark or only sometimes.
Check for rust on the coil's grounding area, and if they are correctly tightened.
Check the MAF, if it's working with the correct values and see if the injectors are leaking or not.
That's all I think of at the moment.

Also check this topic:
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/1st-gen-rx-7-faq-page-237777/

and this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/
maybe you'll find someone who has had similar problems.

Good luck.

 

if your maf does test bad,i just aquired a gsl-se maf thats been in storage for last 12 yrs,looks nice, i was going to test it and put it up for sale,contact me first if you need steve

 

A few questions... First, what is an MAF and how would i test it? Second, How do i check the injectors? Sorry, i'm pretty daft when it comes to newer engines, but i guess that's why i'm on the beginners forum.

I drive a '68 beetle, and have virtually zero experience with vacuum lines, advanced electronics, emissions, fuel injection, etc... But if you handed me an air-cooled two-stroke dirtbike engine, i could tell you exactly how to fix it. Ha!

 

Well, we all have our specializations


The MAF is the device that measures the amount of air that enters the intake, hence the name MAF:
Mass
Air
Flow

this information is used by the ECU to determine the amount of fuel it should inject into the engine so it can make the best combustion possible. Without it the engine doesn't run correctly.

This device is usually tested by reading the resistance with a multimeter, and can be found next to the air filter box and usually has a size more or less the size of an open hand.
It looks sort of something like this (please ignore the conic air filter):


The injectors, if you don't know what to do with them, then the best choice maybe is to take them to a specialized shop (one that specializes in injectors) to have them cleaned and checked for leaks.

The spark in the plugs I believe you would know how to do it because you seem to have experience with other engines.

Also check the 1st gen specific thread, specially on the FAQ section for more information.

Good luck!

 

Fuel pump... my guess.

Had the same symptoms on my 87.

 

I think I may have found the problem... My coils are full of water. And TRex, I believe my fuel pump is going out too, so i'll probably replace that for the hell of it, even if it's not the problem.

 

Nevermind, I was just informed that the coils are filled with oil. Interesting. Well, tomorrow I'm going to borrow a pressure gauge to check fuel pressure at the pump, and i guess i'll go from there. I really appreciate the help guys, thank you.

 

For anyone who is still interested, this past week I checked spark on all my plugs, coils, and wires, and found that one of my ignition modules was malfunctioning. I replaced it, and the car runs like brand new again. Thank you all for your input, and i hope this thread will help someone else like you all helped me.

 

Very helpful! Thanks!