Idle curiosity - do rotaries require less force than a conventional engine to get started? Looking at the very detailed specs on mazdausa.com (we are not so blessed in the UK unfortunately), the starter system is 1.8kW, or 150A @ 12V. That's still a serious amount of current, but IIRC piston engines are usually nearer the 300A mark, correct? If so, do rotaries usually carry lighter starter motor/wiring/battery - to add to the weight savings on the engine itself?

 

Time: 1978, mid-winter
Place: True North, waaay up there
Conditions: Been -30 for days.

Rx-3 (13B) has been outside, unplugged, (we use plug-in block heaters!) for a couple of days when I get a urgent call to work. My options are my old beater straight-six truck, or try the Mazda, it has just got a big new battery, if it don't start I go by truck.

Rotary cranks slowly, verrrrrry slowly, dash and interior lights go very dim each time. On the third 'five second' crank, the lights suddenly go out, and the starter will not even click. Must be a fuse or the Fusible link, so I go in the truck and check it out the next day.
Lifting the hood to give it a boost, I am staring at the Pos & Neg clamps, but no posts. The battery terminals have melted away into little pools of lead!
So how many Amps does a really cold 13B draw? My estimate is in the neighborhood of LOTS!

Ray.

 

LOL, ok that's crazy! It would be cool (no pun intended) if the rotary engine starts easier in the cold.

 

The rotary is easier to spin than a piston engine, so it should take less starter current to start.

-Max
93 RX-7, no parking brake, so no parking on hills lest it roll away even in first gear!