First off a little of who I am and what I have.
Names Daniel and I am from New Zealand, recently moved to the UK for a bit of an OE. Decided to buy a car as I hate public transport. And also so I could get out of London on occasion.
So I brought a extreamly cheap Series 3 RX7.
It is a 1986 Series 3 13b NA Manual
It has been in storage for over 1 year and not run.
Needs alot of work to get it up to scratch.
Had been running fine prior to storage
But now the first of my problems. She wont start.
After a bit of mucking around and cleaning contacts and the plugs up she turns over perfectly but would not fire up.
So I came accross this very helpful site. I have done big searchs and have tried many of the unflooding techniques as that seems to be what the car is doing. I presume from its age and sitting so long that it was just initially low on compression to start.
I have tried pooring a little oil into the housings to create some extra compression aswell. I have also made sure it is getting good spark which it is.
Now it seems like it wants to start. With a fully charged battery the car will turn over normally. With the added help of a little engine start it turns over very quickly but still will not fire up.
It made a couple of HUGE backfires as I think I hooked the leeds up the wrong way around :eek . But have since tried again and still have the same probs.
Does anybody have any ideas that I can try. And can someone tell me the correct way to hook the leeds up just so I can make sure.
Thanks for any help. And I cant wait to get it going.
Cheers
Dan
Hi mate, welcome to the site.
Cant really help with your probs but im sure someone will come along soon who is more helpfull than me (wont be hard! ;) )
Cheers
Donato
Haha cheers. Just hanging out to get this car going. I know it will be something simple. Or something expensive. Ahhh the way of the Rotor.
you may have to let it turn over for a while before it will fire if it is flooded. Best bet is to get another car running and some jump leads. But don\'t run the starter for too long each time and let it cool ... then it should eventually fire up if you have a spark, compression and fuel (IF) No doubt a nice new set of plugs wouldn\'t go amiss either.
I\'m not sure about the engine start spray either ... I seem to remember that its a bit harsh and can damage any engine ... let alone one with apex seals like a rotary.
good luck and no doubt someone else will come up with some more ideas.
Cheers mate. I have been doing just that. And it has actually gotten better since I first started trying. The plugs look new but I think I will go and buy some new ones anyway. Plugs are deceiving little things.
Ok first thing, mix some two stroke oil in with the fuel, about 1 pint to a full tank, this should help out the engines sealing and prevent wear until the oil pump is on the ball.
2 check the plugs are in A1 condition. Blue Wires are Trailing I believe, you can check on the coils, the rubber lead caps will have T and L on them. Leading plugs are at the bottom, trailing at the top.
Check the fuel filter, change it if you can, do the same with the air filter if its knackered.
If all else fails, try a rolling start :)
Welcome to the club :wave
the engine should also be marked T & L and so is the standard 12a dizzy cap so its just a case of matching the T\'s and the L\'s :)
Oh awesome thanks guys. I will go and try it all now while it isn\'t raining. I have actually already mixed in some 2 stroke oil and it made a good difference. Fingers Xd\'
Ok. I have tried a few more things. I am thinking that it is the plugs that need replacing. I went to the local Halfords who I thought would stock the plugs but no luck there.
Where can I purchase replacement plugs for a factory 12a NA in the UK???
Also. Need to know which plugs the leeds go to.
Is T1 and L1 the housing close to the firewall or close to the front of the car??
try one of the links above ... most should have them in stock.
T1 & L1 are the plugs for the front rotor
Awesome thanks Mike. I have just gone and ordered some from sparkplugs.co.uk.
Ok I am still not having any luck. I have got new plugs now aswell.
Just to confirm. The T1 and L1 leeds go on the front rotor housing (closest to the radiator)?
I dont have another car to do a tow start on her ether which I think may help a little. If anyone has any other ideas or could help in any way let me know.
Cheers
Dan
Quote from: DriftitOk I am still not having any luck. I have got new plugs now aswell.
Just to confirm. The T1 and L1 leeds go on the front rotor housing (closest to the radiator)?
I dont have another car to do a tow start on her ether which I think may help a little. If anyone has any other ideas or could help in any way let me know.
Cheers
Dan
Have you tried the rotor arm inside the dizzy (rotor button-depends where your from lingo wise!!!) try cleaning it with a bit of fine emory (I cant remember how thats spealt!!!) paper or use ya missus\'s nail file set and clean the brass arm/s etc.
Are you getting fuel to your Carb/injection, you can disconnect your main fuel line and turn ignition on to see if pump is working. If yes check to see if it feeding into your carb etc, if no check your fuel pump, may have a blown fuse or a knackered pump.
I\'m sure its something really simple as from what your saying she wants to fire up.
You\'ve probably tried these anyway, but if not you\'ve got nothing to lose.
Kind regards
Jase :wave
I had the same model as you, and it would never bloody start, after checking all the usual stuff and confirming the plugs where firing, i found that the car was continually flooding, and if your getting a backfire, it may be the same thing.
I eventually solved the problem by tapping the wire that runs through the cabin that controls the fuel pump and putting in a switch that i then mounted on the dash.
To start the car i would turn on the ignition,let the pump prime, then switch it off, then turn the ignition key all the way until the car fired up, then quickly turn the pump back on.
When i stopped the car i would just leave it running and switch the pump off, and let the engine stop itself.
After i did this little mod, i never had problems again.
Its worth checking this out first by disconnecting the pump (find the fuse) and see what happens.
HTH
Nick
Right, here\'s what I would do.
First, make sure there is a spark. Disconnect the plug lead from the plug,(preferrably a leading one L) get a spare plug, and plug the lead onto that. Rest the body of the plug on a definite good earth point, like the engine.
Now turn the engine over, and you should see a spark.
Ok, so we have spark.
Next, get a spray bottle, put petrol in, and mix in maybe a little 2 stroke. Remove the top of the air filter. Open the throttle completely ( primary and Secondary), and pour some oil down all 4 chambers.
Connect another battery with jump leads. Now turn the key, hold the primary throttle wide open for about a second, just keep that key on, keep that engine turning , and turning, and turning.
If it sounds like its just starting to catch, just keep that key turned. The starter motors on these things are really really strong, just keep it turning. Now spray some fuel in and see if it sounds like it wants to start. Remember, keep that key turned. Now let off the throttle some, then let it off all together, try spray some more fuel. Try half throttle.
And over and over and over, and sooner or later, you will hit the right combination of oil/fuel/air mix.
If there is enough compression, it should start sooner or later.
Pour some more oil in and try again, etc, etc, etc. The extra battery is to hopefully prevent damage to the first battery, and keep a good strong spark going all the time.
Post back and let us know how you get on.
Great thanks for all the help guys. I have spent all yesterday and today trying your suggestions. I have still had no luck getting her to fire up.
I wanted to try cutting the fuel to the motor as suggested but there is no fuse so I would need to put in a switch. My major problem is that I have no tools and have nowhere to work on the car away from the weather.
Now another problem has been introduced. I found out that in London you need to pay to have your car parked on the street. And also that I have to have tax or they will tow it away!
Can you get Tax without an MOT?? And where do you get it from?
Will continue to try I dont want to give up.
Cheers
Dan
Oh my goodness!
No tools, no tax , and nowhere to park!
Can you rent a garage near you somewhere? Pick up a "loot" and find one quick, or else they will start ticketing you.
You need an MOT to get the tax, I dont know if you can get an MOT without it running - probably not, how they measure the emissions?
If you get it to Walton-on Thames. I would have a look at it for you.
Yeah I think I will do that.
Oh just to add something stupid that I did.
Had the leeds on backwards yesterday for half the day. Had the housings mixed up :rolleyes:
Funny thing was is with them setup like that it actually sounded like it was trying to start. But man was there some massive backfires! Like bombs going off. And now that I have corrected that it sounds like its not trying to start at all. :reallymad
To get a tax disc, you need
The v5, thats the registration document I hope you got form the previous owner.
A valid MOT ( roadworthy test)
Proof of Insurance - have you priced this yet? Being new in the country, they are gonna sting you big time! You can get insurance without an MOT.
Quote from: DriftitYeah I think I will do that.
Oh just to add something stupid that I did.
Had the leeds on backwards yesterday for half the day. Had the housings mixed up :rolleyes:
Funny thing was is with them setup like that it actually sounded like it was trying to start. But man was there some massive backfires! Like bombs going off. And now that I have corrected that it sounds like its not trying to start at all. :reallymad
Good, at least we found something wrong!
What I would do next is:
Remove all the sparkplugs and clean them up real good, ( dry them out, if theyre full of oil and petrol now).
You should find a fuse for the fuel pump, in the driver\'s footwell, or under the dash by the steering wheel, remove that, ( so we can be sure its not flooding).
Then do my method again ( in my previous post/s) and let us know how it goes.
I assume you\'re not using year-old fuel?
It cracks with age, so if it\'s over a year old it\'ll probably be about 50 RON!
Well. After a bit more mucking around it fired up!
What I think has happened is that the fuel gauge must not work. I thought it was empty and added fresh fuel and oil. But I dont think it was empty at all. As Goose said. It prob has year old fuel.
But once it is going it will idle and rev out ok. But if you push the accel to fast from idle it will die. Im guessing this is because of really bad fuel.
Im thinking now rather than run that fuel through I will pump it all out by using the cars fuel pump to do so. Just pulling the fuel line off the carb and putting it into a container. The reason why I think it is the fuel is that it needs a little Engine start to start up. The fuel doesn\'t have enough octain.
But I would really like to thank everyone that has helped me. I cant wait to get to a meet, to see all the other awesome Rotors out there.
And cheers for the info on the MOT, Tax and insurence. Will sort this out straight away. Just waiting on two new rear lights.
Wow,
This is fantastic news! Sounds like the carb might be a bit bunged up. At least it idles.
I would let it idle now till it warms up. See if it will rev with some throttle once its warm.
When you accelerate quickly, there is a little spray of extra fuel called the accelerator pump. Maybe this is blocked.
Yes put new fuel in and see if runs better, but at least you have a running RX7 for £80 ! There is one down the road from me, been standing for years. Would love to get hold of it and get it going, but my wife says "no more cars!", (see my signature!)
There are probably loads of places near you.
If you fancy a run in the car, I recommend Thames Valley MOT in Reading. ( About 70 miles form London ) Dave is a top bloke, friendly, good advice, and he owns an RX7!
You will need insurance to drive it there. You can legally drive the car on the day its MOT is booked, without the Tax disc and Mot certificate.
When you get your MOT, go to a Post office, take your V5 and MOT, and Insurance certificate. then you can buy your Tax disc.
I think theres a drainage bolt on the bottom of the fuel tank, that should save you some time, rather pump it all through!
Cheers guys,
OK. I found a switch in the car. Im not sure what it does. When the ignition is on I can hear the solanoid clicking at the back of the car. Im thinking this is a switch for the fuel pump or something. I was playing with it and then tried starting the car. It nearly started without the enging start!
But the swtich looks factory and has no writing on it. It is in the center console beside the rear wiper switch. Anyone know what it is??
Going to get some carb cleaner aswell. Hope that sorts her out a bit. Going to go and look for the Drainage bung for the petrol tank when it stops raining. Getting so close.
Need those rear lights now. Just waiting for them in the post.
I cant remember, but it might be the rear hatch. It wont be for the fuel pump if it looks factory.
The rear hatch release is to the right of the steering wheel near the power mirror buttons. UK S3\'s have 3 switches on the centre console 2 off window switches and then a dealer fit (so most will have it + its a genuine mazda switch) one for the radio aerial which is probably the noise you can hear at the back of the car.
edit ... can\'t remember where the wash wipe switch is on mine ... possibly near the window switches too ... not used it in a long time LoL
Oh ok. It sounds a bit different than a ariel switch. Mine has 4 switchs there. 2 for the windows and 1 for the rear wiper and sprayer. This one is on its own. With no writing on it at all. Very strange.