1987 RX7 Starting Problem (Novice)

I recently bought a 1987 RX7 with 96K miles. Everything worked fine until I let it sit for about five days. The temperature did get into the 20's at night. I went to start it and the starter is turning, the fan blade is turning, but it almost sounds as though it is free wheeling with no engine compression. The battery is fine. Is it possible for the starter not to be engaging the flywheel? That's what it sounds like. But the fan is turning so I'm confused.This is my first rotary and I am unfamiliar with this sound. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.Thanks.John

You should do a compresion check to be sure if you have compresion since the fan blade is turning.

You should do a compresion check to be sure if you have compresion since the fan blade is turning.

I hope that is not the problem. It did start at different times. It's just that after sitting for some days, it started doing this. Thanks for the advice.John

do what he says, it cant hurt.

hey i live in AZ too. if you decide to sell your car ill buy it. i need a parts car :)

Do you see lots of black smoke coming out of the exhaust? if you see black smoke its flooded!!
so try this
open the hood disconect the injector fuse, crank the engine for a few seconds, if the car feals like its going to turn on stop cranking and connect the injector fuse then try to turn it on and it should :)
and if it dosent turn on, another thing it could be is the spark plugs replace them. an RX7 has 4 plugs 2 leading and 2 trailing :sunglasse

Do you see lots of black smoke coming out of the exhaust? if you see black smoke its flooded!!
so try this
open the hood disconect the injector fuse, crank the engine for a few seconds, if the car feals like its going to turn on stop cranking and connect the injector fuse then try to turn it on and it should :)
and if it dosent turn on, another thing it could be is the spark plugs replace them. an RX7 has 4 plugs 2 leading and 2 trailing :sunglasse


Thanks. I'll try that. I called my friend (previous owner) and he said that it happened one other time and he had it towed to a shop. They couldn't find a problem and sprayed some starter fluid in and it started but pumped lots of smoke out the tailpipe. He said he thought it had something to do with the colder weather. Thanks again.John

hey you should try this site (azrx7.com) its full of AZ RX7 owners you could get lots of help and if you need some parts you could save some $$$ on shipping

hey you should try this site (azrx7.com) its full of AZ RX7 owners you could get lots of help and if you need some parts you could save some $$$ on shipping


Thanks!!! That is right here in AZ. Appreciate it.John

haha k its not the cold i live in canada and it dropped to -30 last night.... i dont have a block heater and i leave it outside, so dont blame the weather mine started so... i get the not starting everynow and then but it has to be electrical and thats gay possibly the plugs like that guy said or the distributor plates are ugly. BUT DONT BLAME THE COLD!!!!!! cause you dont know cold

That car is FLOODED!!!

He he..... AZ is taking over the AF / RX7 forum!!!!

But it does sound like the car is flooded. so try what 89tracer is advising you!!

After a week of trying the fuse removal procedure,I did the ATF procedure. It finally started, but only after quite a few tries. The thing that worked was that once it started rapid firing with no start, I decided to floor it and keep it floored. That did the trick. It belched blue for quite a while but it starts and I'm happy. I had the oil changed but I have a question. I couldn't drive the car up onto the ramps because the car is too low. How do you get it up to change the oil? Incidentally, thanks to all who responded with suggestions. John

Just jack it up or pull it over a ditch or put a 2x6 board infront of the ramps to give it less of a grade.

Thanks, I'll try that.

He he..... AZ is taking over the AF / RX7 forum!!!!

WERD!!

Ok, I'm having the exact same problem with my 88 RX7. I went on vacation for 6 days, when I came back it wouldn't start. The engine rotates, fan moves, but doesn't start. The plugs are getting a spark, and I just changed them yesterday, they were old anyway.

The car is flooding.

I know very little about injection cars, and even less about rotarys. Where are the injection fuses?

What was that ATF method?

I need to get it started, I just moved and need transportation to get a job soon.

Thanks in advance.

Ok, I'm having the exact same problem with my 88 RX7. I went on vacation for 6 days, when I came back it wouldn't start. The engine rotates, fan moves, but doesn't start. The plugs are getting a spark, and I just changed them yesterday, they were old anyway.

The car is flooding.

I know very little about injection cars, and even less about rotarys. Where are the injection fuses?

What was that ATF method?

I need to get it started, I just moved and need transportation to get a job soon.

Thanks in advance.

I know what that is about. I am off to the doctor's but I will give you a speedy answer. I you can't find it, get back to me and I'll be more specific. Go to google.com and search for "Unflooding RX7". Scroll down a bit and examine the articles. One will focus on your model and will detail both procedures and is very professional. Let me know how you do finding it or other. John

Thanks but so far neither of methods detailed has worked.

I've done the fuse removal thing at least 20 times, and tried the ATF adding thing twice.

I've used a straw and my finger to add the fluid to the two leading plug holes. Is there something better I could use?

It doesn't even sound like it's trying to turn over.

Any more suggestions?

Thanks but so far neither of methods detailed has worked.

I've done the fuse removal thing at least 20 times, and tried the ATF adding thing twice.

I've used a straw and my finger to add the fluid to the two leading plug holes. Is there something better I could use?

It doesn't even sound like it's trying to turn over.

Any more suggestions?
I used a rubber ball syringe and a plastic tube. Charge the battery. I put two batteries in tandem for full power. For me when it sounded like it was firing rapidly I floored it and kept it there. It finally started. This is about all I know. Incidentally, the fuse I pulled was the one on the furthest inside. The fellow who owned this car before me said that the one time this happened to him the shop he took it to sprayed some starter fluid into the intake and that did the trick. I personally don't know if that is good or not. Did you clean and dry the plugs when tryng the ATF procedure? John

It doesn't even sound like it's trying to turn over.

Any more suggestions?


This might be a point here... IS the motor turning over? Because if its not, you can put a gallon of ATF in there (and for future reference, I would caution AGAINST the use of ATF, and I would use Marvel Mystery Oil), and your not going to get ANY results...

I used a rubber ball syringe and a plastic tube. Charge the battery. I put two batteries in tandem for full power. For me when it sounded like it was firing rapidly I floored it and kept it there. It finally started. This is about all I know. Incidentally, the fuse I pulled was the one on the furthest inside. The fellow who owned this car before me said that the one time this happened to him the shop he took it to sprayed some starter fluid into the intake and that did the trick. I personally don't know if that is good or not. Did you clean and dry the plugs when tryng the ATF procedure? John


If when you try to start it, is the fan in front of the motor turning. If it is then it is turning over. If it is turning over and the engine just seems to be free spinning, then it is probably flooded again.

Yeah, the engine rotates just fine, the fan is moving. It make no noise like it's trying to start.

I've seen two articles about unflooding, the 1st one only said to remove the top fuse, the 2nd one said to remove the top two fuses. The rest of the steps were basicly the same. It doesn't seem to make a difference which I try.

I would probably do the ATF or mystery oil thing again. Remove furthest fuse. Remove, clean and dry plugs.Place a rag over the plug holes. Floor accelerator and turn over engine for 20 sec. Inject 1 oz of ATF into each bottom plug hole. Wipe out entrance to plug holes to keep ATF from wetting tips of plugs when reinstalled. Install Plugs and wires. Install fuse. Don't touch accelerator pedal and attempt to start for 15 sec at a time. The engine should sound like it wants to start. If after a few tries, it doesn't start, let it rest for a while. Try starting it again without touching the accelerator. If it gets to the point where it sounds like the engine is firing rapidly but won't start, keep it going and try keeping the accelerator floored till it starts. If that doesn't work, try again. If that fails, then something else might be wrong.John

After trying all of these things numerous times, it still doesn't sound like it's trying to start. I tried spraying starting fluid down the intake after I did the unflodding method; nothing.

I'm completly lost on what to do and I don't have the money to have someone 'fix' it, even if there was someone in my area that knew jack about them.

After trying all of these things numerous times, it still doesn't sound like it's trying to start. I tried spraying starting fluid down the intake after I did the unflodding method; nothing.

I'm completly lost on what to do and I don't have the money to have someone 'fix' it, even if there was someone in my area that knew jack about them.


I would start a new inquiry at some of the other Rx7 sites as well. See if your state has a club. Maybe somebody lives nearby who would help a buddy. I wish I could help more.John

Does the Exhaust smell like fuel? Have you checked for spark?

I've checked for spark a few times, all good.

I'm not entirely sure if the exhaust smells like fuel, haven't checked, but it's always ran fairly rich and you could smell fuel. I know you can smell it from under the hood.

Some mechanic guy agreed to come and help get it started the other day, he said it wasn't getting compression, because it was spinning so fast and that it was the timing belt. I didnt' think rotary motors had timing belts o_O? He said he'd put a new one on for under 200.

The mechanic that's currently working on my supra said that it sounds like a temparture sensor. Of course he's spent roughly 3 months putting a head gasket on my supra, but he hasn't actually started on it.

I don't know what to do on with the car, I need to get a job, and for that I need transportation and I don't have the money really to get it fixed.

I have had plenty of RX-7s and this sounds familiar. First of all, your mechanic doesn't sound too reliable. Second, borrow a cheap compression tester and check it yourself (to eliminate a bad apex seal). If both chambers (front and rear) are showing even pulses, then I would almost be positive it is just flooded. Try pulling out all 4 plugs, remove the EFI fuse, and floor the gas pedal and crank it over (I will crank it over for 10 seconds 3 or 4 times) to clear out the chambers. Then I would clean and dry the plugs, put the fuse back in, hook the car up jumpstart style with another running car (to eliminate draining the battery) and try again. Sometimes it has taken 15 minutes of continuous cranking over and pulling the fuse before it fires up, but it has always worked.
Also, if you have any tools, the BHG on your Supra is a fairly easy job. My girlfriend and I can get it done in about 9 hours labor. The head can get decked at O'Reilleys for about $45 and a headgasket can be bought from GasketPro.com for $42 or so. In 3 days you could get it done yourself.
Good Luck

awww he know he's rotarys!!