Hey,

I just bought my first rotary today, a 1987 (non-turbo, for now). Already I have a pretty big problem, though. The story: I drove it last week; all seemed well. I went to get it today and it was hell just to get started. The previous owner had taken off the cone-style air filter, which was half attached (letting who knows what into the intake) when I drove it last week, and replaced it with the original air cleaner and a new filter element. That, or something else unknown, started all the trouble. Suddenly the car didn’t want to start. All her (prev.owner) friends (‘mechanic types’) tried to get it going—pumping the gas pedal like it was carbureted, and other stuff. In comes me today. I tow it home and start it up… five seconds of rough idling between 200 and 1200 RPMs (the idle is set at @ 1500, someone hoped this would help) then it shot up to 4500, and died. A cloud of smoke billowed from the exhaust. I repeated this two more times with simultaneous results. Then, lo and behold, miracle of miracles… smoke no more, she started right up (despite my certainly now ailing battery) and idled smoothly right at 1500. I knew this was touchy, so I let it go a minute or so, then I put it in gear, slowly let out the clutch, didn’t touch the gas, just let it roll into gear a bit on its own… beautiful. Stopped, repeated in reverse, still beautiful. Then I tried to give it just the tiniest little bit of gas. All dreams end, right? She died, and quickly, as if I’d turned her off. I repeated this a number of times, always with the same result. The car will start and idle now, but any gas at all, a lot or a little, and she just says forget it. I thought fuel injectors, crapped up from the open air, but then it would be having a hard time idling too, right? The quick shutoff has me thinking electrical (and I do have one straggler of a wire that should probably be plugged in somewhere) like the throttle positioning sensor, but really I’m clueless. So before I screw anything else up, I’d greatly appreciate any advice that’s not “take it to a mechanic.”

Thanks,

Joel

peace to the rotation revolution!

:bigok:

 

check your AFM make sure its plugged in

 

If you are as you admit yourself--"clueless" and you don't want a mechanic to do the work, then you must "get a clue". Run, don't walk, to the auto parts store and buy the Haynes manual. You can also get the factory manual from Mazdatrix. Flip through them and try to find sections that pertain to your problem. Read. Put the book under your pillow when you sleep. Some of the knowledge will seep into your brain.



Air Flow Meter makes sense, (also Throttle Position Sensor--TPS) because when you step on the gas, the engine is getting lots of air, but the ECU doesn't know to inject more fuel, and it dies.



Good luck!

 

I tried the book under the pillow thing may times...It never did work... :notify:

 

The rate of information absorption is inversely proportional to the thickness of the pillow. Try a thinner pillow! :lachuh:

 

I have found banging my head on the book to be very effective.... what was I saying again?

 

you need feather pillows.....they seem to conduct knowledge better than any other kinds....

 

so i see yet another topic has shot off on a random tangent, thanks to one simple quip.



but yes, the pillow thing. it really doesnt work. information wont really propagate thru the pillow and enter your mind. it is not possible. please stop getting peoples hopes up with all these dirty lies. wut one may do, is simply read the material one wishes to know.

 

Awww, come on it wouldn't be any fun if we couldn't go off topic would it?

 

Acutally I discovered that if I just stare at 13BAce's toliet sig long enough I start to get all sorts of information!



I'm also going to try staring at Vosko's pic that he left. Maybe crossing my eyes....