So I’ve searched the forums but I haven’t found a solution to my problem so my car isn’t starting I’ve changed the - battery cable and sanded down all connectors including chassis one, I’ve changed the battery, at first I thought it was my alternator that was going bad but my battery light has yet to go off and when I went to get my battery recharged at autozone they said it was already charged but i went ahead and fully charged it. As soon as I got the battery into the car I turned the ignition switch but all I heard was a click. every time I turn the ignition all I hear is a click I usually have to do this about ten times before it actually starts. Tonight it wouldn’t start at all so i had to push start it which I know isn’t that great for the car. Any suggestions?
sounds like the starter…check the wirings, make sure there on tight and the contacts are clean. try this…if you turn the key and all it does is click, go under the hood and hit the starter a couple times…then try starting it again. if it turns over after hitting it, its the starter. not sure if you can re-build the starter or not, you can take it apart and check to see. a new starter will be pretty expensive…so if your gonna buy one, make sure it IS the starter thats going bad. or you can probably find one at a junkyard for cheap.
Where do you hear the “click”, is it comming from the engine bay or from inside the car, [below the HU in center console?
The “tap test” described above is a test of the starter solenoid not the starter.
There are 2 tests that can be done, [at the starter motor/solenoid].
First test is the “bypass test”, using a piece of wire, 14ga or thicker, connect one end to the batt. pos.(+) terminal, then touch the other end to the starter solenoid trigger input, that’s the lead, [black/white] that can be unplugged at the starter solenoid.
BE CAREFUL make sure car is not in gear as you are bypassing clutch interlock switch and motor will turn over even if ign. is turned off.
If motor turns over with above test, the problem is the starter relay, if not the problem is the starter solenoid.
Second test is the “tap test”, best done with 2 people, one inside the car stepping on clutch and holding key to the start position, the other person will sharply tap the starter solenoid.
BE CAREFUL make sure the the car is not in gear and person in the car will not freak out and does something dumb, if all of the sudden
the car starts.
If the car starts, [motor turns over] when you tap on the solenoid, the solenoid is defective and will need to be replaced.
There is one more possibility, because of your discription of how the you would have to switch to start a number of times before the starter would engage, a symptom a possible starter relay or starter solenoid problem, it is also a symptom of of a contact problem with the high current lead to the starter motor, the stud on the starter motor where the batt. cable is connected can get “turned” a little when tightening the nut that holds the batt. cable, put a wrench on it and see if the stud moves at all when you try and loosen or tighten the nut, it only has to move/turn a tiny bit for the contact to be misaligned and starting will get progressively harder as contact area arcs and burns, you have to turn ign, to start more and more times before car starts until the contacts are so bad, [burnt] that a connection can no longer be made.
The fix for the above can be as simple a turning the stud back that little bit that it is off by, or may require the replacement of the starter motor.:stare:94
“Where do you hear the “click”, is it comming from the engine bay or from inside the car, [below the HU in center console?
The “tap test” described above is a test of the starter solenoid not the starter”
It’s the smae click that you hear when your battery is dead you know you turn the key and all you hear is click from the engine bay?
new symptom: so when i drive back from work, say i start it again a short time from when i was drivng it, the starter works fine. it even starts the first time and many times after that.
If the click is coming from the engine bay, [starter solenoid] the problem has to be the starter solenoid, starter motor, or the other problem I described, about the turned binding post.
You said you had gone over the connections, re-grounded the grounds and so on, did you also check the batt. connection at the starter motor/solenoid, if not, disconnect the cable at the starter motor and clean both the cables ring terminal, the binding post and the surface of the nut that will be up against the ring terminal.
At the same time, [when loosen and tighten the nut] you can check to see if the stud moves/turns, it takes very little movement, [less then 10 degrees] to misaligne the high current contacts.
Have you tried the tap test?:hmm:94
sorry i was at work all day i haven’t tested anything on the car yet, I’m going to dedicate tomorrow to fixing this problem. if it is the starter then I’ll head over to the junk yard and buy one hopefully i won’t have to. hopefully it’s the solenoid or maybe a cable I’ve overlooked. thanks for everyone’s input i really appriciate it.
So I know this is going to sound stupid but is there a link or a write up on how to remove the starter solenoid? Any help is appreciated.
There are 2 bolts the hold the solenoid to the starter motor, they will be obvious once you remove the starter motor, also held in place with 2 bolts.
I am not sure if you can access the two bolts that hold the solenoid to the starter motor without pulling the starter motor on a G2.:shrug: 94
PS, if your going to work on your car yourself, spend a few $$ and get yourself a Haynes manual.
Update: sorry I hadn’t posted earlier but I fixed the problem I got a wire and hooked it up to the positive part of the battery and the other to the starter and it didn’t worked so I ended up buying a starter and solenoid and replacing them both. The car is fine now. I got lucky cause I only paid 17 bucks for both.