Car is an 86 Streetported NA.
Rtek 2.0
Header and catback
K&N Intake


This has happened twice so far.

The car starts and runs normally. I will be driving around for at least 10 minutes and it will just die. Not stutter and die, but die like you turned off the key. Then car will not start. Everything works, the starter turns. but it just will not fire.

I wait 10 -15 minutes and the car starts again and drives normally. I had to get towed home the first time this happened. The car started right up when it was taken off the tow truck. It happened again today, and I was a mile from home, so just drove it home and parked it.


Any advice?

 

Sounds like ignition to me. I had this happen on an ex-gf's Honda. I know its not a rex but it sounds like the exact same thing I had happen to her car.

 

The only thing I could think, is the cas. Check to see if that is in working order.

 

I'll check it out.. do they have intermittent failure whne they are going bad?

 

I don't know on intermittent failure, but just taking a guess.

When the cas heats up, the electronics in it go out of spec.

 

Could it be a fuel pump resistor or relay?

 

No, if it was related to fuel the car would sputter or give a different symptom. This instantly dies. On top of that, he has to wait for it to cool down to start again.

Have you check any codes? I know s4 can still check them, but I forget how.

 

I havent yet.. I have the little LED thing to check them.

You are right, The symptoms lead more toward ignition that fuel.

 

i know exactly what the prob is......the main relay right next to the trailing coils. i had the same prob. i would start it, it would run for a little bit, then just die and then not start when i cranked on it. i changed it, boom! runs perfect. take a look at that, i bet that is the problem...

 

^^ I sounds like it. Replaced the main relay first.

 

i have the same problem.. but now its getting worse and worse.. When I hit abump on the freeway it shuts on/off ... where can i get the main relay??

 

well, i would try junk yards, that would be the cheapest way to go if you can find one. other than that, hit up ebay and type in rx7 main relay.

 

Also look in the rx7 parts for sale. I just skim through and find someone parting out the car. This usually leads to a wealth of parts.

 

Guys, thank for the help. I will be investigating this tomorrow morning. Feel free to throw up any more ideas.

 

I just bought a main relay on Ebay.

 

Ok, so I replaced the main relay, and still seem to have the same issue.

When I swapped the relay, I started the car and it started normally. I drove it in front of my garage (a 500 foot drive) and swapped in the new relay. When I went to start the car with the new main relay, the car did not start. I put back on the old relay and the car still did not start. I waited a couple minutes, and then the car started. I swapped back to the new relay and the car started. I now have the new relay in the car.

Now, sometimes the car does not want to start when cold. After minutes of trying to start, it starts and runs.

After all this cranking over, the car never seems to flood. Could I have a fuel pump relay issue? I do have an RTEK 2.0 and I dont remember if it cuts off the fuel pump while starting the car.

Any more ideas would be great. Every time I go to troubleshoot the issue, the car starts up.

 

I had a similar problem a couple years ago and found that the Tps was sticking.

 

Did you replace it, or clean it out? Thanks for the hint. I am fairly certain it is something simple at this point.

 

TPS seems to be fine.

I started the car this morning and drove it around the block. It seemed to run fine. I washed it, and not it is not starting again. It backfired out the exhaust when I tried to start it. I tried a couple more times and it coughed once and that was it.

 

Went back outside after posting and it fired right up... Drove it around the block twice and it shut off again. This time it shut off in gear while I was giving it gas. 45 minutes later it started back up notrmally.


Any ideas?

 

there is a relay for the fuel pump underneath the driverside of the dash. it has a yellow bottom on it with a white/clear electrical connector. i found that those go out as well and make the car do the same thing yours is doing. you just have to be patient, rx7's are one of those cars that takes the trial and error method to find the problem. check that relay and also check the fuel injector main relay in the engine bay right behind the passenger headlight. it will either be a square looking box with a big yellow electrical connector(86-88) or it will be an aluminum box screwed to the frame with 2 bolts(89-91).

 

bump

have you yet to replace the fuel pump?

 

befor you start replacing relays i would get a big wire and bypass the relay (the bigger wires) this is just for testing thing not a lifetime fix lol
so once cuts out remove the fuel pump relay and jump it see if it fires up if it dose then plug it back in if notthing... well u get the picture... can you hear the fuel pump when you cycle the key once it shut off on you.. i dont know how loud a second gen fuel pump is as im running an after market one for my FB

 

I have just replaced the fuel pump, it is new. the problem seems to be getting worse as the car wont start now some of the time.

When it dies, the car does not cough or sputter, it just shuts off.

Sometimes when trying to start it back up, it will cough or pop once, which makes me think it is not getting fuel. I could splice in a fuel pressure gauge to see what is going on, and wire the pump directly to 12 volts for testing.

 

Yea that is my next step. I just have to get it moved