My name is Robert. im from killeen Tx. i have a gen 2 86 RX-7

I bought this '86 gen 2 RX-7 for $100. it ran when i bought it but i left it in the garage for a few years and now it wont start. ive tried unflooding it, testing the fuses, wiggling wires, and im still not getting any fire. so i pulled the spark plugs and they looked pretty good so i cleaned them up and put them back in. still no fire. i tried bypassing the ignition by running a wire straight from the battery to the coils and still nothing. it turns over just fine. all the lights are on but no body is home. i am open to any and every suggestion possible. please help! all i want to do is drive this machine!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!

 

Well, for a measly $100, things can only go up. I'm a 1stgen guy, so let's see what the 2ndgen guru's have got to say.

Mario III

 

Start by visually confirming that the spark plugs are sparking, then go from there.








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It's time to get a volt meter and check the plug wires, coils, the ecu, and also to check to see if everything is hooked up right.

 

How exactly did you bypass to the coils? Doing this wrong, you can burn out the ignitor.

Have you going through the basic troubleshooting steps? As in, do you have:

-fuel?
-spark?
-compression?

 

remember a motor needs spark,fuel , compression, and timing. but with my rotary knowledge this is step by step what i would do if i had a rotary sitting around for a few years (but if i left a 24 year old rotary sitting around for a few years i wouldnt expect it to start the motor could have a damaged seal. the longest ive ever left my rx7 sitting without starting is 3 months)...

1st: you may want to clean out your gas tank(its probably filled with gunk) change your fuel filter and maybe even your fuel lines and test your fuel pump. if you think that the motor is getting enough fuel pressure then i guess dont go through the trouble of doing step one even though anyone with mechanical knowledge would really recommend it.
2nd: test your ignition coils to make sure you are getting spark. the easiest way to do this is to take out the plugs but leave them connected to the plug wire and put the plugs somewhere the spark can visibly ark. if the ark then you have spark.
3rd: do a compression test on both rotors to make sure you dont have a damaged seal

And as for timing i doubt the motor is out of timing if your car doesnt start its most likely one of the issues above.

 

and do not mess with any wiring!!!! there is no need if the car was running when you bought it and hasnt moved from the garage and you didnt mess with anything before the chances are none of the wiring magically moved around and got disconnected put everything back where it was and test everything stated above!!!! you can use a volt meter how gryffin said and test to see if the is power to everything (fuel pump, ecu, coils etc.) but nothing needs to be disconnected and messed with and rewired unless its not getting power

 

well ive tested just about everything and the only thing that im not getting is spark. i took the spark plugs out and theres no spark at all on any of them. i put a tester light to the coils and they're not getting any juice either. its getting fuel and plenty of compression and i havnt messed with the insides of the motor at all so the timing should be fine. the way i bypassed the ignition was run a wire from the battery to the negative on one of the leading coils just to see if it would have any significance but it did not. a friend of mine who has a gen 3 rx-7 suggested it just to see if the coils were working.

 

and really the only wire wiggling i did was taking the connections loose, checking them with a tester lgiht and put them back together again.

 

The leading coil has a white connector plugged to it that has two wires where one of these is a Black/Yellow wire. With the key to on, the B/Y wire should have battery voltage. What does your's have?

 

You may have burned out the leading coil by running your wire.

 

The no spark condition can be a symptom of the ECU getting no signal from one or both of the crank angle sensor circuits. This can be as simple as a bit of corrosion on the connector terminals, a real possibility given how long the car sat.

First things first: make a two-LED code checker (google '86 88 trouble codes'), for about $3, and check for codes with the ignition on, but not cranking. If there are none, check again *while* cranking. If you get a single flash, (code 1) it is the CAS.

If you get a code 1 (and maybe even if you dont)...

Disconnnect the connector to the CAS, clean both ends with electronic contact cleaner, and reassemble. Check the resistance of both coils in the CAS, per the FSM procedure; each should be about 160 ohms, + or - 50. If either is out of range, you will need a new (or used) replacement CAS.

If you clean the contacts and get good resistance readings, go to the ECU, disconnect the connector there, and check the resistances of each circuit from the connector at the ECU (NOT while connected to the ECU). Same values means the wiring is ok. Also check each circuit for resistance to ground (should be infinity).

If you do all that, and you still get a code 1 while cranking, it likely is the ECU--but that would be rare.

 

could be the ecu or the wire you ran are you earthing out the plug before checing for spark?