foppert

Hey everybody .. bone stock 1993 rx7 automatic

So here is what Iam up against.

Problem 1: During the drive home the check engine light came on on the freeway at about 80mph. Once i got back to the driveway i turned off the car and restarted it and it was gone. I dont have a code reader, but I will take it to a friend that does once I fix problems 2 and 3....

Problem 2: There is a hose that has been hitting the fan intermittently. It has one end somewhere near the intercooler, and the other end is loose. I have the airbox out to look, but I dont see anything obvious where it is supposed to go.

Problem 3: The little tank next to the intercooler with a silver cap and yellow sticker had coolant pooling around it possibly from the cap. My aunt said it had a coolant leak on it somewhere but was never able to find it. Im guessing problem 3 or problem or problem 2 might solve this.

Problem 4??? Apparently this car has a hot start problem. On hot days when the car has been driven and was sitting in the sun the key will not start it. My aunt says the solution that has worked every time is to cool the key/ignition area with ice or something else cold then it starts right up.... I have never heard of anything like this on any car and was more entertained by the story. I have not had the car long enough to make it replicate these symptoms.


Anyways any help is much appreciated, i am new to rx-7's in general so any tips you guys have would be great.

Thanks, Mike

foppert

Update, after a lot of digging, cursing, and looking around this site, i decided that the hose went to the top of the AST where there was no hose. I pulled it up through and now connected it with a hose clamp. I am going to go get more coolant for it and refill the overflow tank and top off the lost coolant. That just leaves me with the check engine light.

Sorry to post about something as stupid as that but when i found the end of it near the passenger side fan it wasn't obvious to me. Honestly im shocked the hose isn't more torn up than it was.

TrackRabbit

Im curious in problem 4, it sounds really interesting lol

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Re: Check Engine Light, you can pull your own code.... ---> Check Engine Light Codes

Re: The lack of starter engagement when hot, I would suspect an ignition switch issue, bad ground or (not familiar with autos) some lock-out for the automatic so you can't start it in gear.

At your first opportunity go to the 3rd Gen. Section and start reading through the stickys to learn about the car. Loads of info there.

hangpilot

I agree with Trackrabbit, #4 is an especially interesting temp fix. Would like to hear what the eventual fix there is!

Juangvb

I also agree with track rabbit!

Akagis_white_comet

iTrader: (4)

The proper method to deal with Problem #4 is to begin at the starter and work your way back, adding one component into the system at a time and testing for the same results. The goal is to isolate each part individually against known working parts to obtain a Go/No-go determination of fault.

(Note: Do this in Park or Neutral with the handbrake ON)
Start off by disconnecting the Ignition Switch terminal from the starter. It is the small 0.250" Quick Disconnect style connector. With the fuel injectors disabled (remove the EGI Fuse), run a new wire between this terminal and the battery positive. You will see the engine crank. This establishes your baseline of a working starter.

Now reconnect the ignition switch wire as it should be, but disconnect the opposite end of it (not sure where it is, check the diagrams at Sgt.Fox's site here: Foxed.ca - Mazda RX-7 Manuals). From this, run your jumper wire back to the battery positive terminal. It should crank over again, telling you that the wiring is good.

The switch Sgtblue is referring to is called the Inhibitor Switch and is mounted on the transmission. In short, all it does is allows power to pass when the car is in Park or Neutral only. This is tested with a multimeter (cheap digital one from Harbor Freight is fine for this). Set it to 200 ohms and connect it to the Inhibitor switch's terminals. Move the shift lever while watching the meter. Park & Neutral should report ~0.07 ohms while all others should show infinite ohms of resistance. This is a quick & easy Continuity Test. If the switch shows more than 1 ohm of resistance, it is suspect. I may be incorrect about this specification, check the Factory Service Manual (linked above) for the exact number.

Now that you know the condition of the inhibitor switch, repeat the continuity test for the ignition switch. In "Start" it will pass power to the starter terminal from the first test. In all other positions, it won't. Check for continuity per the FSM & Wiring Diagram.

If your issue is intermittent, I would wager on a ground being the culprit. Follow this guide to clean them properly: Proper RX-7 Grounding Procedures

Bryan Davenport

Ice never heard of using that

foppert

Alright sorry guys to revive this, but im back and working with the FD again.

Found that the car is throwing code 16 at me which with a search on this site tells me that something is messed up with the EGR. This is a California car so i am trying to figure out how to proceed. Should i pull the EGR and attempt to clean it? Replace it? Id rather not bypass it because they are only making smog harder and harder here.

Also the car was driven for about 45 min on the highway hard (i know it doesn't get out much) but when i got out of the car there was oil smoke bellowing out of the hood. I checked the oil to find that it really hadn't lost much if any. I think that it may be possible that this is oil that accumulates over time and the car doesnt get hot enough.

I've also noticed that the tachometer cuts out periodicity.

Lastly and most interestingly i've finally managed to have it do the non start. However i managed to get it started in a few minutes just trying the key a few times. I don't know what triggers the no start symptoms so i havent tried any of Akagis_white_comet's methods but when i can figure out how to make it i will keep this posted.
Thanks for all the posts/suggestions so far

Rusty 13B

and I would check that the fuel thermo sensor is plugged in on the secondary rail. Its a green plug. One of its purposes is to assist hot restarts (must have done to much reading of the FSM...). Rusty.