Stuttering acceleration and back fire

[KOAD]

My 1st Gen Rx 7 is causing me some grief at the moment.

At around 4-5000 revs in 4th it has a tendency to splutter and retard in acceleration . This is often followed by a backfire.

Last night I was driving home in the rain and in 2nd at low revs the same started to happen. Only this time there was no acceleration at all. The car then stalled.

I started it again and then seemed to be fine. Someone has suggested that this may be a fuel filter problem. I have not gotten around to replacing this yet (where\'s the best place to get one from?).

In addition to this I had to get a cat 1 alarm fitted. When I went to pick it up the car woudl not start. We narrowed it to the fuel pump which was getting power but appeared lifeless. I resigned myself to a costly replacement but low and behold after 1 hour it came back to life(unable to explain this one).

Any way since then the car has days when it is running without a hitch and then days when it complains horribly.

Advice please?!?

[Brett]

You could be suffering from an earth fault.  Try checking out all the underbonnet and chassis earthing points for loose wires.

[Cycaduk]

Hi,
 I have found similar problems  (ie fuel pump not allways working) on my 1st gen. The problem appears to be due to the contacts and wiring corroding. This shows up as correct voltage, when measured with a multimeter, but very low/no current flow when you put a load on (eg use a 12Volt /15Watt lamp) The main culprit for the fuel pump in my case was the connector behind the fuse box on the drivers side. This connects the rear wiring loom to the rest of the car, and now has several new wires doing a by-pass.

[KOAD]

This sounds interesting as it appeared to be worse when it was wet which could point an electrical issue

[MikeLMR]

it sounds fuel related ... but get the fuel filter changed ASAP as they get neglected because they are stuck under the back of the car and it won\'t help things if its restricting the flow. You wouldn\'t believe the difference it made to my car when I first got it !

Mike

[KOAD]

Is it likely the  fuel pump  is on it\'s way out?

Also where is the best place to get the fuel filter.

As you might of guessed I am new to all this and just starting to learn.

[MikeLMR]

Mazda is a good bet for a filter ... its an off the shelf standard jobbie so they should have one in stock. Failing that Hlafords might have one

Can\'t remember what other cars it fits but its very similar to the one on my carb\'ed 323 appart from the inlet/outlet angles.

Mike

[KOAD]

Thanks for the advice.

I will change the fuel filter and cross my fingers.

Any other advice will be gratefully recieved:D

[dturpin]

This sounds just like the problem I am having with my FD, is it possible that it could be the fuel filter, or the fuel pump on its way out, or even a dodgy earth somewhere.  
The only difference in the problem is that my car sometime won\'t start after it has cut out, and sometimes it won\'t start after it hasd been sat all night.

[KOAD]

have you done anything about yours yet? Any luck in fixing it or tracking it down?

I think it could be the earth as it seems to be worse if it is wet or damp(does that make sense?). That said I am unsure why it happens at higher revs once the car has warmed up. Maybe they are unconnected?

Could it also be due to moisture the fuel tank? I say this cause I have a temporary fuel cap at the moment and it does not have a perfect seal.

[dturpin]

no haven\'t done anythinh bout mine yet, im gonna order a new fuel filter though and see if that helps, failing that I will be booking it into a specalist somwhere.  I will let you know if I solve the problem.