I was driving today, 92 degrees outside, A/C on and out of the blue the car stalled at a light and wouldn't restart. I sat there for a couple minutes with the hazards going and finally it did restart after letting it sit for about 5 minutes. I pulled off the road and started checking around the car. The gas cap was very loose so I closed it. I then started the car and drove around for another 45 minutes and no problems. The car has about 60,000 miles on it. Any ideas?

 

It could very easily have been the gas cap!

 

Mr rx-7 tt: If it happens again (with the gas cap tight this time), try replacing your fuel filter (assuming you haven't already done so). My 2002 X-Type also stalled a few times, and would not restart until after a ~5 minute wait. The problem immediately stopped after I replaced the fuel filter. Shame on me, but the old filter was the original and had ~110K miles of gas thru it.

Good luck.

 

Went to start the car this morning and it just turns over, won't start. So I'll replace the fuel filter and see if that works. Come on 65,000 miles ???

 

Looks like it is probably the fuel pump and the job appears to be a pain in the ****.

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Mr rx-7 tt: If the problem is low / no fuel pressure, it’s easy to check. Borrow a pressure test kit from AutoZone, O'Reilly's, etc. Take with you the protective cap from your fuel rail port to ensure the kit has the correct adapter id and threads. The fuel rail pressure should be steady with the engine cranking & running. Mine was ~48 psi, if my memory is correct. If too low, try changing the fuel filter. It's relatively easy and accessible on the passenger side, front of the fuel tank. If that doesn't work or you have no fuel pressure, changing the fuel pump is quite a bit more work. You’ll need to drop the fuel tank or carefully cut an access hole through sheet metal under the rear seat. There are several posts on how to do both.

You can feel the fuel pumps energize – place your hand on the fuel tank while someone turns the key to the on position without cranking the engine. You should feel a soft vibration of the fuel pumps for a few seconds while the fuel system pressurizes. If you're alone, you can do this by lifting the rear seat (pull hard & straight up on the front left & right corners of the seat). Then sit in the driver's seat and place your right hand on the fuel tank thru a large circular hole in the sheet metal under the rear seat. Turn the key to the on position without cranking the engine, and you should feel the pumps vibrate on for a few seconds while you see the pressure climb in the fuel rail.

FYI, our X-Types have two fuel pumps. The passenger-side pump is more important - it supplies the fuel rail & engine. But these cars have a saddle tank straddling the drive shaft & exhaust, so they also have a second, driver-side pump to transfer fuel to the passenger-side of the tank. This pump is not as important, except when you're low on fuel.

Attached are pics of the fuel rail test port. It’s under the plastic manifold cover, about a foot towards the fire wall from the oil fill cap.

Good luck.

 

I checked the fuel pressure. it was good so it was not the pump. It ended up being the battery that was ~1 years old that would work sometimes but not others, I can't believe it.

 

Mr rx-7 tt: Ask yourself "what would cause":

#1) Your 1 year old battery to be too weak to start your car, and

#2) Your car to stall while idling with the AC on?

It could be weak alternator output or a poor battery ground causing:

#1) your battery to not fully recharge, and

#2) the voltage to drop when your AC clutch sucks a lot of amperage at the same time your idling engine generates minimal alternator output.

Just my 2 cents.

 

You know those are excellent questions I didn't think about. I will check my alt. to see what it is putting out under load.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I hate to admit, but years ago I installed a new battery thinking (incorrectly) I fixed my problem, only to find myself stranded on the shoulder a few days later when the new battery also ran low.

When a weak battery is caused by a weak alternator or poor battery ground, a new or manually recharged battery is but a short-term solution to the wrong problem.

Please let us know what you find out.