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1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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spaz
Novice
Jun 1, 2012, 9:11 AM
Post #1 of 19
(5694 views)
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1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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 I own a 1988 mazda rx7 convertible with 86,000 mile on it. I recently replaced the master cylinder for my clutch and also my slave cylinder too. my problem is that after I replaced the items, the car would not start. I bled the slave cylinder and the clutch is working fine now, but now my starter is making a slow grinding noise and it is barely turn from the sound of it. I took it to my work Oreilly's auto parts and tested it on the machine four times, it passed every time. I brought it home and installed it, but the problem hasnt gone away.So I checked the battery and made sure it was fully charged, but it still making a slow grinding noise when I attempt to start and the positive terminal on my battery was starting to smoke while doing so. I drive this car every day and it runs great, please someone help me!! Im running out of ideas.Any help would be greatly appreciated. maybe a ground or something? Im lost.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 1, 2012, 9:37 AM
Post #2 of 19
(5684 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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Your problem is there staring you right in the face. The smoking battery terminal. You have a bad connection causing high resistance. Clean the battery terminal and post, then see how it works out.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Jun 1, 2012, 9:37 AM)
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spaz
Novice
Jun 1, 2012, 10:57 AM
Post #3 of 19
(5667 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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I just tried what you suggested and its still doing the same thing all I did was change the master & slave cylinder. I didnt even mess with the starter. why would it be acting up like this? Ill put new posts on it tonight and try it again.thanks for your help and if you can think of anything else,please let me know
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 1, 2012, 11:53 AM
Post #4 of 19
(5655 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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Have the battery tested.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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spaz
Novice
Jun 1, 2012, 8:26 PM
Post #5 of 19
(5628 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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will do, thanks for the help. Ill let you know if it is the problem. very much appreciated.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 2, 2012, 5:38 AM
Post #6 of 19
(5607 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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Just a thought: Is there a hood light that stayed on for the duration of fixing the master and slave cylinder? If so, it doesn't take long surprisingly for that to matter and an old battery could croak from that last nudge of being to low on charge,
T
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spaz
Novice
Jun 3, 2012, 6:39 PM
Post #7 of 19
(5580 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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had the battery tested and said it was good,brought it home and still the same thing! I think the battery moght be the problem cause, I kept checking the charge on it and it kept steadily droping. It might not be able to hold a charge, getting a new one. old one still under warranty, will let you know.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 3, 2012, 6:41 PM
Post #8 of 19
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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That's what a "conductance" battery test is supposed to tell you.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 3, 2012, 6:53 PM
Post #9 of 19
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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The smoking battery terminal is telling you that you have high resistance in that connection. You need to voltage drop the cables to confirm a poor connection or high resistance.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 4, 2012, 4:27 AM
Post #10 of 19
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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If even in 1988 this is likely the thinner metal band cable end clamp(s) at battery I've found they don't age well nor tolerate batteries that can spit acid. Used to be able to get superior end splices but even recently couldn't find them with all the help from a dependable parts store I've dealt with for decades.
It's smoking or did - totally a problem spot. That can be tested but probably will take a new quality cable no matter how good a battery is. Testing one should include how well it can take a hard load (amps available) which a starter is is highly dependant on.
Why did this happen with unrelated work? Who knows? Stuff happens like that sometimes,
T
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nickwarner
Veteran
/ Moderator
Jun 5, 2012, 4:33 PM
Post #11 of 19
(5535 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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With DS on this one. Voltage drop your power and ground. If you aren't sure what that is, I'll explain.
Place the red lead of your multimeter on the B+ terminal and the black on the starter end of the same cable. Have someone crank over the motor and watch the reading on the meter. It will show the difference between the two connections, which is how much voltage you have dropped. General rule is .1v per connection drop. You start seeing a .8 or better its a sure thing you have a bad cable. It has to be done under load. Do the same with the ground side.
Just to be the one to ask a dumb question, have you tried barring over the motor by hand yet to be sure nothing crazy happened and the motor locked up? As, Tom said, stuff happens like that sometimes. Murphy's Law has yet to be repealed.
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spaz
Novice
Jun 6, 2012, 6:01 AM
Post #12 of 19
(5523 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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thanks for the explanation on how to do that voltage drop,I'll do that this weekend. I'm begining to suspect that it the starter again,so just to be ahead of the game I went ahead and ordered a new starter seeing as I am trying to get everything straight. everything else is new why not? willlet you all know the outcome. thanks for the help,its very much apprecaited
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nickwarner
Veteran
/ Moderator
Jun 6, 2012, 4:44 PM
Post #13 of 19
(5509 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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Slow down my man. Don't throw parts at it. We don't do that or our customers would be at the door with a shotgun. You can diagnose this with a little testing and save a lot of grief. When I approach a problem like this I first check the battery and connections at it. If it tests properly I ensure the connections at the starter and the engine/body grounds are all clean and tight. If not luck then I VD the cables after first making sure I can bar the engine over with a breaker bar. If the engine is bad nothing electrical will help. Then I put an amp clamp on the cable for the startter and see if its drawing excessive voltage. If it cranks slow but is a power hog thats an obvious sign of a bad one. Once you install it you can't return it and are out the money. Diagnose this and be confident that you spent your money the right way.
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spaz
Novice
Jun 10, 2012, 4:19 PM
Post #14 of 19
(5484 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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how exactly would one go about turning the motor by hand? I know it sounds stupid of me to ask but I dont want to do something wrong. Can you turn it like any other motor? I just put the starter in with new battery and all cables are as they should be, motor wont turn.I can hear the starter doing its job yet nothing. The motor was running perfect, would it just sieze up over night? I hope not.please let me know anything you can think.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 10, 2012, 4:27 PM
Post #15 of 19
(5479 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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You put a socket on the front crankshaft bolt and turn it with a ratchet.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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spaz
Novice
Jun 11, 2012, 6:59 PM
Post #16 of 19
(5461 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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  call me crazy, but now everything is as it was but now acting as if its flooded or isnt getting a spark. Getting plenty of gas. can smell it, fuses and wires? I think its not getting a spark.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 12, 2012, 8:43 AM
Post #17 of 19
(5452 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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Is the starter motor situation fixed yet? If now cranking at a normal crank speed then if fuel pressure is right do check for spark with a tester. Fuel odor is not helpful as that could be a leak so do tend to ruling that out ASAP,
T
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flownaksala
New User
Feb 2, 2016, 1:12 PM
Post #18 of 19
(2474 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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I have a 1988 RX-7 Turbo with 149K on it. One of the wiring harnesses went bad on it and I had a similar problem. It would cause the car to flood also because it wasn't getting enough spark.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 2, 2016, 2:07 PM
Post #19 of 19
(2468 views)
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Re: 1988 mazda rx7 starter problems
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This thread is over 3 years old. Please start a new one of your own if you have a question.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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