Hi All,

I am experiencing a reduction in power, only noticeable under load, i.e. in gears 4-6 and uphill. If I floor the gas pedal when the acceleration dies down, nothing happens, but when I ease off there is a slight surge in acceleration. It starts fine and revs to 9000 at rest no problem. Air filter changed 1500 miles ago. Plugs 1000 miles ago.

 

No CEL?
Have you checked or changed coils & wires also?
Cleaned ESS & MAF sensor when you did the air filter or unhooked the battery?
If so, try the 20 brake stomp.
If all that checks out, inspect your cat if you have one.
That's the usual suspects list for common problems with what you describe. If that doesn't work, there is a trouble shooting process here somewhere.
Good luck!

 

Thanks for your help. However I have no idea what GEL, ESS or MAF mean, and as for 20 breaks stomp; it sounds like a dance.

Anyway I took it to my mechanic and he found to be faulty ignition leads which he replaced, and tested the compression which is right at the low end. The power is still poor. The engine is only done 54,000, which would be low for a piston engine but maybe not for a Rotary. I assume that the seals are worn. I checked out the cost of an engine rebuild and was quoted £2250 which I would guess is $3000 or more. I only paid £2500 for the vehicle 2 1/2 years ago. It would be probably best to try and sell it fairly cheaply.

 

CEL = Check Engine Light.
ESS = Eccentric Shaft Sensor.
MAF = Mass Air Flow sensor.

You obviously have done no searches, as these are 3 of the most commonly referred to items on this forum.

 

The new HT leads seemed to provide a temporary respite, but the power loss returned, especially when the engine has warmed up. Then came stalling when idling and wouldn't re-start until it had cooled somewhat. A few days ago the power went rapidly downhill on an 18 mile round trip, and by the time I got to my street it sounded like it was firing on 3 plugs only. Now won't start at all, but not flooded as far as I can tell.

I have done more reading on this site and I gather defunct coils is a likelihood as well as a damaged catalytic converter. Can these be tested at home? Ihave no idea where the ESS or MAF are or how to test them but I will look further on the site

 

This description is pretty typical of low compression on the engine.