I'm Outta Ideas
#26
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If a car won't start (any car) it comes down to only three things.
1. Spark
2. Mixture (air/fuel)
3. Compression
What have you checked so far?
Do you have GOOD spark on both rotors? If not, we can attack that problem first.
Do you have fuel? Wet plugs? Too much fuel?
Do you have GOOD compression on both rotors?
Tell us what you have checked/replaced so far.
hanman
1. Spark
2. Mixture (air/fuel)
3. Compression
What have you checked so far?
Do you have GOOD spark on both rotors? If not, we can attack that problem first.
Do you have fuel? Wet plugs? Too much fuel?
Do you have GOOD compression on both rotors?
Tell us what you have checked/replaced so far.
hanman
#28
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The plugs were wet when i checked em (with fuel) they all sparked (did the pull em out and check test) and i got the 3 pfft's from both rotors.
cheers'
cheers'
#29
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Do you still have the cat on your car? And, did you ever disconnect the exhaust in front of the cat and try starting the car?
The reason that I ask is because the hose that you found disconnected is the hose that supplies air to cool the cat. If you still have a cat you may have melted it pretty good. I would try starting the car with it disconnected.
hanman
The reason that I ask is because the hose that you found disconnected is the hose that supplies air to cool the cat. If you still have a cat you may have melted it pretty good. I would try starting the car with it disconnected.
hanman
#30
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Try cleaning off the plugs with some carb cleaner and blowing them dry with compressed air - or let them dry over night. Seems like you're getting fuel since they were wet. My RX-3 did that once and I was too lazy to buy a new set of plugs. I cranked the engine over without the top plugs a bunch of times, removed all the plugs, sprayed/cleaned them up and let everything dry over night. After that it started right up.
#31
I'm agreeing with hanman on this one. ten bucks says the cat is toast.
The reason that I ask is because the hose that you found disconnected is the hose that supplies air to cool the cat. If you still have a cat you may have melted it pretty good. I would try starting the car with it disconnected.
#32
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Another crazy idea: look for a 14gauge wire coming from the back of the engine block, right in front of the tranny. It goes up to the firewall, and attaches to a male connector bolted to the firewall. This is the ground for the spark plugs' spark. I fried mine, and it sounded a lot like your symptoms. Replace this, then try again.
#33
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ok, will try all the things as stated tomorrow morning, it's 4:11 am now and i really need to sleep, ugh, this rx-7 is gonna kill me, prolly about 22 hours in the past 3 days has been spent on it. This is what i do with my days off
heh
cheers'
heh
cheers'
#34
Driven a turbo FB lately?
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Yeah I had forgot that I had an 82 here once that belong to a friend, I had done some work to it. And he had it towed over one nite, and in the morning I looked t it all day long couldnt why the hell it wouldnt start. I mean I checked everything compression, plugs, spark, i mean everything and still wouldnt start. So as I last resort, I cut the cat off ... (it had already been replaced once, they removed all 3 and put a new big one in the middle) Cut the SOB off and it then ran fine
#36
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geikiganger,
Yea I agree.
I have been following this thread since the beginning. Mainly because I know how frustrating it is to have a car that won't run.
I have not seen where he has actually taken off the cat to see if it will run. Maybe he has forgotten that post ,or just didn't want to mess with it.
But, if the cat is totally plugged it would prevent him from starting. It's the old trick of jamming a potato in someones exhaust pipe. If the engine can't exhaust the air it can't run.
hanman
Yea I agree.
I have been following this thread since the beginning. Mainly because I know how frustrating it is to have a car that won't run.
I have not seen where he has actually taken off the cat to see if it will run. Maybe he has forgotten that post ,or just didn't want to mess with it.
But, if the cat is totally plugged it would prevent him from starting. It's the old trick of jamming a potato in someones exhaust pipe. If the engine can't exhaust the air it can't run.
hanman
#37
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welp, after braving the -20 degree weather, i have come to the conclusion that it is not a plugged catalytic converter.
any more ideas?
cheers'
any more ideas?
cheers'
#39
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4,
If you heard a "bang", I really think you need to do an honest to god compression test. The sounds ok, three Pffffts deal is only an indicator not the real deal.
Do you have access to a conventional compression tester?
hanman
If you heard a "bang", I really think you need to do an honest to god compression test. The sounds ok, three Pffffts deal is only an indicator not the real deal.
Do you have access to a conventional compression tester?
hanman
#41
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i have a conventional piston engine compression tester, but the book says that i can't use it, is there any way i can mod it so that it will work for the rotary?
cheers'
cheers'
#42
pull the needle out with some pliars. Or, it might have some switch where you can turn it off so it will bounce instead of holding a reading. This will give you a ballpark idea.
#43
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If you want a relatively accurate compression test you can use a conventional compression tester. Heres the process.
Disable the fuel system, pull the fusible link, plug the fuel lines whatever. You don't want fuel into the chambers when you are turning the engine over.
Pull all of the plug wires.
Pull the trailing (top) plugs from both rotors.
Screw in the compression tester in the top hole of the front rotor. Hold the release "pin" in on the tester, this will allow the pressure to immediately release on each compression "stroke".
Have someone hold the gas pedal to the floor and turn the car over while you watch the gauge. You should see the needle on the gauge start "bumping" up and down. After watching for a few cycles, you can see the three compression cycles. They should all be fairly consistent and not too low.
Repeat the process with the rear rotor.
Also, the car needs a fully charged battery and good starter. It needs to rotate around 250 rpm to get a decent reading.
hanman
Disable the fuel system, pull the fusible link, plug the fuel lines whatever. You don't want fuel into the chambers when you are turning the engine over.
Pull all of the plug wires.
Pull the trailing (top) plugs from both rotors.
Screw in the compression tester in the top hole of the front rotor. Hold the release "pin" in on the tester, this will allow the pressure to immediately release on each compression "stroke".
Have someone hold the gas pedal to the floor and turn the car over while you watch the gauge. You should see the needle on the gauge start "bumping" up and down. After watching for a few cycles, you can see the three compression cycles. They should all be fairly consistent and not too low.
Repeat the process with the rear rotor.
Also, the car needs a fully charged battery and good starter. It needs to rotate around 250 rpm to get a decent reading.
hanman
#44
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Ok, I would have been a lot prouder if I was right .
Anyway, what kind of 'bang' did you hear? Was it a backfire bang, blown seal bang, or maybe a hit something large in the road bang?
Anyway, what kind of 'bang' did you hear? Was it a backfire bang, blown seal bang, or maybe a hit something large in the road bang?
#45
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it was a bang that i felt right through my seat.
i cheked underneath and i can;t find anything that may indicate a collision with anything.
i will do the compression thing tomorrow.
results post asap
cheers'
i cheked underneath and i can;t find anything that may indicate a collision with anything.
i will do the compression thing tomorrow.
results post asap
cheers'
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