Hey guys. Today i was checking compression before i pull my engine out. Did the first bank. 90psi on all 3. Then went to turn it over again and nothing happened. Key just clicks over. Connected everything back up normally wont turn over at all. I can only push start the car now. Any simple thing im missing? Might just pull the engine and finish checking the compression when its out. the car is a 1986 rx7 gxl 13b

 

Could be a bad battery or cable connection..or something more.

IF you just want to test compression Without yanking the engine out(which really is unnecessary without info) then hook the tester up as usual but Bypass the whole wiring harness and put 12 volts directly to the starter.
That should by rights get the engine to roll over and give you a "half assed" reading as to give you some numbers.
I say this as you should rightfully do a test when the engine is warm.

Oh,you should need 2 people to do this.
One to read the tester and one to hit the starter with juice.
Be Safe too..

 

possibly that the wire from the starter solenoid to motor burned through from excessive cranking. happen to me when i was deflooding the engine :P

 

Next time you have access to the underside of the car, try pulling the S terminal wire off the starter and checking for power with the key in START. It's the small 0.250" female quick disconnect/spade tab connector near the top of the solenoid. When you turn the key to START, it's a straight line from the ignition switch. After 30 years of cranking, ignition switches do give out, especially when run direct like this. I modified mine to trigger a relay and take the load off of the switch, it solved the infamous "click-click-start" issue I was experiencing as well. Now it just sticks on, so I gotta swap out the switch sometime.

In the meantime, a quick & dirty way of triggering the starter is to run a length of wire down from the battery positive terminal to the Starter's S terminal. As soon as it makes contact, the starter will spin.