i paid 500 for this car so i expected to have to do some work to it. but some of this i've never run into on my personal car so ive never had to fix it. any and all help is appreciated. its an 88 and its n/a, beyond that i couldnt tell you much more until i do a little more research. on the options and packages available for these cars.

1. fuel gauge doesnt work
2. coolant temp gauge doesnt work
3. alarm (that i didnt know it had until a couple days ago) randomly goes off if both doors are locked, and when it does the drivers side lock doesnt work.
4. car randomly doesnt start. it will crank till the battery dies. (only happened a couple times, but an inconvience none the less)
5. wipers only work on 1 setting (probably the switch)
6. had to jerryrig the speedo to read the right speed so far it seems to work but i always have that thought in my head of how fast am i really going.

 

1. Fuel level sender in the tank is dead, or the gauge itself

2. Wire disconnected from water temp sensor (below oil filter on rear iron), or the gauge is dead

3. The sensors in the doors may be corroded, which could cause a poor connection between them and the alarm control box. The rear hatch and hood will also have sensors. I've never gone looking for them, but the FSM should have info.

4. Probably flooding. This typically happens when trying to restart the car when warm. Remove EGI fuses, crank the engine, replace fuses, start.

5. Yes, the wiper switches have relays that burn out.

6. Not sure what you mean here. It's a mechanical gauge, so you just need the cable fastened in the transmission and the back of the cluster.

 

what i mean for the speedo is someone put some 18's with mismatched tires on it and when i first bought it it hadnt been driven much in a while, and the speedo read 40 no matter how fast or slow you were going, but when you stopped it never completely went to 0. then one day while driving in traffic on the highway the speedo flipped a couple times and read 110 when i was only goin around 70. noticed it was consistant at certain rpms so got a gps and set it up to read 70 at 70. so far so good. we could change it because there is no lense on the cluster.

what is it that causes it to flood? is it fixable?

is there a way to test the fuel level sender, or the gauge?

can the alarm be removed without causing other problems? like the car not starting because the security system has been compromised?

 

Yes and no. Older rotary engines have a habit of getting lower compression during their lifespan. Also the injectors tend to leak some fuel after shutting the engine. You could do a very pricy rebuild but if that's not an option you could get the injectors sonicly cleaned, make sure you have a descent battery and don't drive very short distances because the engine won't heat up properly and this also could cause flooding.

What i tended to do with my ex FC (135.000 kilometer no rebuild) if i had to move it i would drive a while and then shut it down otherwise it would flood.

About your second question, i think someone tinkered with the cluster and maybe forgot to hook up some connectors? Maybe it's best to replace it, good chance everything works again.

Marc

 

be carefull with that, a lot of wires and probably integrated with the wires in the car.

 

You can disconnect the alarm and it won't hinder you from starting the car.

At the fuel tank there is a four wire plug that connects to the wires which run in to the tank itself. One of these wires is Green/White. Ground this wire w/key to on and the gauge needle should rise to the top of the range. This would prove that the gauge is still good. Ground the wire long enough to test and then remove ground so as not to damage the gauge.

The FSM describes how to test the sender but you need to remove it from the tank.

 

For the speedo issue, this may help: https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/speedo-reads-%7E3-5x-speed-941733/. I added it to the FAQ awhile back.

For flooding, it can be caused by leaky injectors, but that's not always the case. It is more typically just a function of the stock ECU's extra rich start map + reduced compression due to age. Some info here: https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/looking-car-has-hot-start-problems-499744/

 

so i got 1 yes and 1 no on the alarm. i asked because i know on some makes (GM) it is tied into the computer via the vats system (older models, dont know if they still use it) but i seen a computer for the alarm either on here or on ebay and thought if its a stand alone system i could just disconnect it or remove it.

as for the rest of the responses, i thank you. your input has been very helpful and i will see about using it this weekend when i get a chance to work on the car.

oh and what is FSM? i've seen it a couple times but dont know what it is.

 

Factory Service Manual

 

Disengaging an S4 alarm is rather simple so just unplug the single plug connectd to the alarm unit near the passenger speaker/amplifier and the car will start fine w/o it. If the car does not start then it is not the fault of the alarm being disconnected. The S4 alarm is rather simple in its ability to prevent the car from being started as it sends a ground signal to the starter cut relay which prevents the car from being started w/the alarm on. No ground signal and the disconnected alarm "CANNOT" interfere w/the operation of the car. Period!

 

to test the fuel level sender you said it needs to come out of the tank thats cool, but do you have to drop the tank or is there an inspection plate you can open?

 

You dont have to drop the tank. Take the rear carpeting up and you will see silver (if not rusted) plates held on with 4 screws. Take the plate off. Theres many people in Near you that could be of great help. call/txt if you have any ? s 4406548015

 

thanks everyone, you've been a great help.