My 1987 Rx-7 has been a great car but recently it has developed some strange hard to diagnose problems.

#1. The heater does not work. I removed the heater core and ran the garden hose through both sides (low water pressure) and there does not seem to be any restriction - water flows out the other tube. Is there a better way to test whether the core is clogged or not - short of taking it to a radiator shop? One of the heater tubes from the firewall goes through what looks like a water control valve before it goes to the heater core. I used the garden hose again to test whether the valve was opening and closing and it was working fine (I operated it manually with the linkage removed). It's getting cold here in Reno and I sure could use my heater!

#2. The second problem is in the power steering. I get a constant alarm (but no indicator lights are on) when I first start the car and there is no power steering for about 10 to 20 minutes. Suddenly the alarm will go off - andthen the power steeringworks! I checked the fluid level and the belt tension - both are fine. This sounds like an expensive fix. I hope I am wrong.

#3. As I am driving along all of a sudden I hear5 beeps that repeat over and over. This goes on for some time then it stops. Maybe this is related to #2 - I'm not sure. I thought it might be an error code but I can not find any listings that show such a code.

Until recentlymy car has performed flawlessly and it has been a joy to drive but these problems have me stumped. Any ideas anyone.

Thanks!
Tom

 

More than likely the issue with the heat is the AC/Heater Logicon. It is the unit where you change the settings & such. What usually happens with those is that the cold solder joints usually go bad. I wiil research the 5 beeps & get back to you. Since selling my RX7, I have forgotten some of the knowledge I have gained over the years on them.

 

power steering problem, unfortunately, sounds like a bad pump.

+1 on the logicon. let me check and see if i have an extra.

 

Thanks for the replies. One importantitem I forgot to mention is that none of the motors that operate the linkages for climate control work (I believe thats what you mean by Logicon). I traced it down last year to a "power transistor" that was missing in the blower area and I have not been able to find another oneat the local junk yard- so I just unhooked the linkages to the motors and run it manually. It ran fine last year using this method - so the logicon is pretty much non functinal for now until I can locate another power transistor module. The blower motor slider works and the A/C button works but for everything else I just turn the linkages manually. Micky Mouse I know, but I am on a fixed income and can"t afford the parts store prices for electronic parts- they"re astronomical! The linkage on drivers side of the heater unit controls the water valve and also operates a flapper at the same time. I can turn that control back and forth with no problem. No binds, etc. There is another motor on the right side that controls various flappers to direct the air where you want it. It is also working fine. The blower works - I just blows cold air.
Sorry about not posting that little tid bit.

Tom

 

Logicon.

 

You just said Logicon - do you mean the power transistor or whatever drives the motors resides in the logicon and not somewhere else?
I noticed today that the input tube to the heater core is warm to the touch, but the output tube is not. That tells me that water is not flowing through the heater core. I guess I"ll take it to a local radiator shop and see if they can tell me if its clogged and can be repaired. Probably less expensive than a new one.

Tom