Project car Mx5 cranks but won't start

Seanf999

I bought a 1997 Mazda mx5 with 175k miles on it recently.
It's in decent shape, but it was left sit for a year or so.. surprising no rust issues.

It needed HT leads, a negative battery terminal and cable.
I checked the spark plugs (just for dirt/damage), checked oil, put in petrol and coolant.

The car turns over and sounds like it's nearly firing up but it never does, usually it just turns over.

I can't hear a fuel pump or the relay, but then again I just might be missing it (I'm new to this).
I know the original owner removed the immobilizer and installed a 'switch' to isolate the fuel pump, by switch I mean there's a switch there and there's two red wires stuck together.

So unless the owner didn't remove the immobilizer properly (a car security symbol shows on the dash, yellow car with a key in the middle of it).
Or the fuel pump is gone.. or the relay, or another relay or something else entirely!

Any ideas?

Hellrazer

Id remove the switch first and join the 2 wires together eliminating that switch from the circuit altogether.
then Id start with the usual checks.
Crank it and see if theres fuel getting to the engine ie pull the fuel supply pipe off at the engine side and see if you have fuel while someone cranks it.

I suspect that removal of the immobiliser by the previous owner is your problem and you wont have fuel up at the engine. If that's the case you`ll have to find out what they did by retracing their steps.
Removing an immobilser isn't easy to do.Id say they had something fail in the past and got someone to do a dodgy job on fixing it.

tikkamark

Yet again the unofficial moderator/wizard of oz strikes!
Assuming the op can’t afford a rebuild on a car you’ve never seen and a person you don’t know....good god.

richardsheil

Mx5 is not rotary. Ignore w211

nophd08

w211 wrote: »

22 year old car or 100 years old, both runs exactly the same basics. You need only 3 main thing, compression, fuel/air mixture and the spark. All these must on right time and ratio. Even the stupidest person on Ireland (no offense) can figure these out. That part works only by standard engine, rotary engine are rotary engine....

You bought the car what have a rotary engine. 99.9% sure that car was not in use because that engine needs rebuilding. This is stupid engineering... For DIY project, it may be way over your head. That engine rebuilding can cost 3000-7000eur (no DIY price, estimated).

Ask the true story about the car from the owner. If the engine was bad then no any reason to keep cranking. I am sure you can not get any good that type engine, even the brand new one was garbage. No power, no good gas mileage and it burns load of oil. The engine rebuilding are hard because no available parts. May be from Asia... Actually some of parts are available but not all.

The next time please make your homework before you buy the exotic sport car.

Brilliant!

Waterson

It sounds like the engine is immobilised. I'm not sure how the Mazdas immobilise their engines, probably inhibiting fuel injection, but check that your key has the transponder inside it, this is the chip that is synced to the engine and allows the car to start once the encoded signal is verified by ECU.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Don't assume that just because the plugs look ok that they perform ok, change them for the sake of the €8 it would take and try again. I had a similar problem with an SiR civic years ago, refused to fire up, plugs look perfect if a little old but I changed everything else including the timing belt and was about to give up but decided i'd buy 4 copper plugs and try, fitted them and it fired straight away! I had spent over €400 on parts replacing timing belt (and water pump) plug leads, distributor, air filter, oil/oil filter etc etc and it was the cheapest part that I ignored that was the problem. I could have kicked myself up and down the road!

As for the fuel pump, open the boot lid and get someone to switch on the ignition, you should be able to clearly hear the pump prime the system.

Alanstrainor

w211 wrote: »

22 year old car or 100 years old, both runs exactly the same basics. You need only 3 main thing, compression, fuel/air mixture and the spark. All these must on right time and ratio. Even the stupidest person on Ireland (no offense) can figure these out. That part works only by standard engine, rotary engine are rotary engine....

You bought the car what have a rotary engine. 99.9% sure that car was not in use because that engine needs rebuilding. This is stupid engineering... For DIY project, it may be way over your head. That engine rebuilding can cost 3000-7000eur (no DIY price, estimated).

Ask the true story about the car from the owner. If the engine was bad then no any reason to keep cranking. I am sure you can not get any good that type engine, even the brand new one was garbage. No power, no good gas mileage and it burns load of oil. The engine rebuilding are hard because no available parts. May be from Asia... Actually some of parts are available but not all.

The next time please make your homework before you buy the exotic sport car.

Your posting is again completely unhelpful, think before you post in the future please.

Seanf999

Hellrazer wrote: »

Id remove the switch first and join the 2 wires together eliminating that switch from the circuit altogether.
then Id start with the usual checks.
Crank it and see if theres fuel getting to the engine ie pull the fuel supply pipe off at the engine side and see if you have fuel while someone cranks it.

I suspect that removal of the immobiliser by the previous owner is your problem and you wont have fuel up at the engine. If that's the case you`ll have to find out what they did by retracing their steps.
Removing an immobilser isn't easy to do.Id say they had something fail in the past and got someone to do a dodgy job on fixing it.

That sounds about right.

The previous owner he said the immobiliser was causing issues and so he removed it and installed a fuel pump cut off switch.
The underside of the steering column has been taken out and there's wires hanging.

I tried to have a look and whatever way I moved I touched two wires together, they had been cut, both red, and when they touched there was a spark and a noise.
The 'switch' for the fuel pump shut off has the same red wires.

So I disconnected the battery, attached the wires, stuck back on the battery tried to start it, heard a pop/click and now when I try to get it to turn over nothing happens, lights won't come on, dash doesn't light up, no sound at all.

I say a fuse went, maybe a relay.

Could it be that I had reattached his botched fuel pump switch and it blew a fuse?
He said the immobiliser was gone and the switch was to do the job of the immobiliser.

Any ideas?

Seanf999

Waterson wrote: »

It sounds like the engine is immobilised. I'm not sure how the Mazdas immobilise their engines, probably inhibiting fuel injection, but check that your key has the transponder inside it, this is the chip that is synced to the engine and allows the car to start once the encoded signal is verified by ECU.

It's a JMA Key, has the red square.

I posted it below but this happened recently.

I went rooting under the steering column and whatever way I moved two wires connected, there was a spark and a sound.
I taped the wires together, put the battery back in and tried to start the car, it turned over and then a bop followed by nothing.
Lights won't go on, no icons on the dash, the car won't turn over like it did.

My guess is the wires were for the fuel cut off (same wires in where the arm rest and petrol cap are) and the circuit was broken.
So when I connected it back up it blew a fuse or a relay, I just don't know which one.

The immobiliser has been taken out and the cut off was added to do the immobilisers job, I say that's what it is.

Seanf999

w211 wrote: »

22 year old car or 100 years old, both runs exactly the same basics. You need only 3 main thing, compression, fuel/air mixture and the spark. All these must on right time and ratio. Even the stupidest person on Ireland (no offense) can figure these out. That part works only by standard engine, rotary engine are rotary engine....

You bought the car what have a rotary engine. 99.9% sure that car was not in use because that engine needs rebuilding. This is stupid engineering... For DIY project, it may be way over your head. That engine rebuilding can cost 3000-7000eur (no DIY price, estimated).

Ask the true story about the car from the owner. If the engine was bad then no any reason to keep cranking. I am sure you can not get any good that type engine, even the brand new one was garbage. No power, no good gas mileage and it burns load of oil. The engine rebuilding are hard because no available parts. May be from Asia... Actually some of parts are available but not all.

The next time please make your homework before you buy the exotic sport car.

Like I can afford a rotary, sadly there's not too many RX7s going for less than 1k!

magentis

A rotary engined exotic MX5 I really wanna know more.

magentis

And the stupidest person on boards(typo Ireland that should have been) working on it,no offense(sic).

Seanf999

magentis wrote: »

A rotary engined exotic MX5 I really wanna know more.

One for sale on Facebook market place

Alanstrainor

Seanf999 wrote: »

That sounds about right.

The previous owner he said the immobiliser was causing issues and so he removed it and installed a fuel pump cut off switch.
The underside of the steering column has been taken out and there's wires hanging.

I tried to have a look and whatever way I moved I touched two wires together, they had been cut, both red, and when they touched there was a spark and a noise.
The 'switch' for the fuel pump shut off has the same red wires.

So I disconnected the battery, attached the wires, stuck back on the battery tried to start it, heard a pop/click and now when I try to get it to turn over nothing happens, lights won't come on, dash doesn't light up, no sound at all.

I say a fuse went, maybe a relay.

Could it be that I had reattached his botched fuel pump switch and it blew a fuse?
He said the immobiliser was gone and the switch was to do the job of the immobiliser.

Any ideas?

Just for clarity here. You say the switch for the fuel pump has the same red wires. Do you mean, if you follow the 2 wires going to that switch one of them came to a point where the wire had been cut? Or is it just that the wiring is red for both wires. Silly question, but worth clarifying.

As for the pop. Yes, relay or fuse is a good start. But the question of why it blew is another entirely, if you find a fuse blown you might end up with another if you repeat the process. I'd wonder about removing the switch entirely for now at least.

Seanieke

w211 wrote:

The next time please make your homework before you buy the exotic sport car.

Please make your homework and know that an MX5 isn't a rotary engine.

Hellrazer

Alanstrainor wrote: »

As for the pop. Yes, relay or fuse is a good start. But the question of why it blew is another entirely, if you find a fuse blown you might end up with another if you repeat the process. I'd wonder about removing the switch entirely for now at least.

Or he could run 12 volts straight to the fuel pump from the battery and see if it starts that way bypassing any of the broken / cut wires or switches that may have been put in to "immobilise" the car.

We`ll get it sorted!!!

Seanf999

Got it started!

Turns out the battery was ****e and some of the connections weren’t great.
The immobilizer connection needed fixing but the cars fired up now and running great.

Took it for a spin around the garden (roundabout drive way) and it all seems solid!

Alanstrainor

Seanf999 wrote: »

Got it started!

Turns out the battery was ****e and some of the connections weren’t great.
The immobilizer connection needed fixing but the cars fired up now and running great.

Took it for a spin around the garden (roundabout drive way) and it all seems solid!

Woohoo! Savage stuff.

Interslice

Happy days.Thought you were into a can of worms with the ecu and immobiliser there.

Seanf999

Interslice wrote: »

Happy days.Thought you were into a can of worms with the ecu and immobiliser there.

I'm training an apprentice electrician and I wasn't looking forward to electrical work on my car.

Took it for a quick spin today, needs an alignment, new front tyres and a battery bracket/holder, but then it's NCT ready!

I was putting away months thinking I wouldn't get the car running until July but I'll be on the road a lot sooner!

9935452

Seanieke wrote: »

Please make your homework and know that an MX5 isn't a rotary engine.

To be fair to the man how was he to know what engine was in the car without the vin number?

Kamili

9935452 wrote: »

To be fair to the man how was he to know what engine was in the car without the vin number?

MX5s never ever had a rotary engine full stop, so no need for a vin number. Only the RX had the rotary, never the MX.

richardsheil

Kamili wrote: »

MX5s never ever had a rotary engine full stop, so no need for a vin number. Only the RX had the rotary, never the MX.

Think it was tongue in cheek, w211 always wants the VIN

FR85

The other brilliant thing about that engine from memory is that its non interferance meaning that if the timing belt snaps the pistons dont meet the valves.....could be corrected on that....
I'm not saying dont look at the belt but if im correct there is peace of mind there.

Body is clean and rust free, check around the arches.

Super little car, very positive and fun on the road, hope it brings you miles of smiles!!

Seanf999

FR85 wrote: »

The other brilliant thing about that engine from memory is that its non interferance meaning that if the timing belt snaps the pistons dont meet the valves.....could be corrected on that....
I'm not saying dont look at the belt but if im correct there is peace of mind there.

Body is clean and rust free, check around the arches.

Super little car, very positive and fun on the road, hope it brings you miles of smiles!!

I've heard that too, the belt looks fairly solid anyway but I don't know when it was last changed so that's a job I'll do in awhile.

I bought a new roof for it too, heated rear window, new frame, rain rail, great seals and it cost me €200!
I was considering buying a new vinyl top for €260 a few days earlier and now I don't have to bother with a rust frame or crappy seals.

I'm delighted I bought a project instead of just upgrading my other yoke.

Any idea how much it'd cost me for a respray?
I'd strip and tape up the car myself, maybe even strip it and prime it but I haven't a clue what it will cost me.
There's 2 panels that have slight cracks in them and another that's just sh*te sanded down paint so I'm thinking a respray is in order.