Mazda Rotary Club

Hi folks,

Lookin for some free advice! Tried to start my 94 RX this morning and got a high pitched squeeling noise and then loads of smoke coming from engine (smelt like burning runnber). Left and went to work in girlfriends car. Tried to start the RX again 4 hrs later and the engine struggled to turn over and did not start. Tried it 4 more times and the engine got weaker and weaker every time. The battery looked like it may have some fluid next to one of the cells, but then again, I have vents on the bonnet and could just be a bit of rain water - both terminals are protected.

I can\'t tow it anywhere as it has a full C-West bodykit and it obviously can\'t be driven. RAC are coming round at 9pm tonight to play, but I hold little hope with such a rare car.

Has anyone had this before or can offer advice??

Please help - I can\'t stand driving an apple green Nissan Micra for much longer!!

Tailz

dont sound too pleasant & i no schweeet FA any way it kud be a belt or sumin as that\'d surely squeak like a kinky hampster & burn rubber?
Si (& ignorant guesswork/clutching at straws...........)

Cheers mate.

The belt is new only about a thousand miles ago, which is what I assumed it was, but I couldn\'t weigh up why the engine has gone.

Thanks for your thoughts anyway!

maybe worth checking how tight it is still then as (Si engages BS guessmaster mode again) it could of bedded in or sumin & need tightening up again or such like......Which belt we talking bout BTW? (http://mindscraps.com/s/ups/DeNiro/idiot.gif)
Si (still hoping it\'s sumin minor, seems strange to my dumb eye unless yer tips are made of rubber or sumin)

sounds like it could be alternator belt worn in as Si says, now loose, slipping and not charging your battery properly. It is very easy to tighten with the adjuster.

Use your girls car and try a jump start after you\'ve checked the alternator belt etc.

When was it last running?

Is the engine actually turning over?  sounds like the starter motor can\'t turn it - hence the burning rubber/plastic being an electrical overload???

If this is the case - it could be carbon lock.

See if you can turn the engine over by hand, if it won\'t budge then get back to me - either way let us know.

is that just a case of yanking on the belts, pulleys etc till they turn (hopefully)?
Si (getting paranoid now having been out of action for 3 months....)

I agree with Glenn,
The motor could be carbon locked or even what we call a rolled over tip, ie: an apex seal has rolled out of it\'s groove and jammed the engine, which after a while you may have freed up the engine and now there are a few broken parts inside.
Let us know how you get on.
Kind regards
Carl

Hi all!

Thanks to all of you who have had a bash at working out my problem. It is now sorted, but it\'s only fair that I share with you what it was (embarrassing though it is!!).

The screeching noise was the v-belt just \'taking hold\' (as it sometimes does) and was not related to the smoke. With all the excess amounts of rain over the weekend and me not using my RX on Sunday, I have had a lot of water hit my bonnet and travel down through my air vents, which are incidentally just above my twin induction kit......see where this is going??!! The water sat in my induction filter and that is what the smoke was when it was started.

The battery was a different problem again as I have a leaking cell.

I have to say the RAC were superb - excellent customer services and the chap who came out to me even knew about Rex\'s! He tried to start it and got nothing, so pumped the accelerator pedal quite a lot (I had flooded the engine!) whilst trying the ignition and when he got the smoke, he identified that it was coming from the induction filter, so let it smoke away until it was dried out.

He was superb and didn\'t even laugh at me! As you can see I know very little about Rex\'s, other than how to drive them and skid round corners!

All I need to do is to buy a new battery and to try to make something to shepherd the water that comes in through the bonnet, so it doesn\'t hit my filter.

Thanks again folks - that was my first post - what a friendly lot you are!

Excellent stuff!

I shouldn\'t always think the worst!  :rollin

Glad it was nothing important.
Happy rotoring!!!!
Kind regards
Carl