O.K, I've had this problem with my 88 turbo II for a long, long time. When you go to start the car, turn the key to the start position, and all you hear is click,... after several attempts to start it will finally engage the starter and start. I've replaced the starter several times, and had the wiring checked to starter. All good. I'm wondering if the problem is in the ignition switch that the key goes into??? any ideas or others with this problem???
thanks

 

could be a parasitic loss in the system, might check it for excessive amperage draw. Also check the main relay and your ignition switch itself may be the cause of the problem.

 

not exactly sure about your click click sounds

bad battery or alternator??
but u said for a long time already..so i guess it's not the case

 

I have this problem too. I also replaced the starter (no help). I've never been ambitious enough to track it down (too many other problems to worry about). Let's keep each other updated if we find the solution.

 

Sounds like the solenoid on the starter ... or whatever you call it. Not the starter itself. Possibly ignition switch.

 

In my case with that sound, it was the solenoid on the starter. It has been suggested more often than not to get a new Mazda unit starter though they are $$$$$.
I dug into the ignition switch and you will find if you do that, it is a very easy switch if you have another one from a salvage yard or something. Take off top and bottom covers of steering wheel surround, look at the bundle of wires soldered to the plastic round piece on the left side of the steering wheel, loosen phillips head screw on top and it pops out. Undo all the plugs 3 or 4 that connect to the wiring harness. The only problem is the 2 wire bundle that goes directly into the armored ignition switch itself. You will have to cut them and splice or take them out of their plug and reinsert ones from the other ignition switch.
Ralf

 

Just to chime in here. I have the same problem on my '87 TII also. Again for a long time....car has a "rebuilt" starter on it. I don't think it's the switch because I think the click is coming from the solenoid...must be the starter motor I guess. Again...let's keep the list informed if we find an answer.

TOdd

 

Try jumping it, or a new battery first. Then move onto checking out the starter. GF's dodge spirit had a combo of bad battery and starter...did the same thing...

 

I changed the battery, problem still persisted. I changed the starter with a mazda remanufactured starter.. problem was fixed for 2 days, and came back. I changed starter again, and problem still persists. I'm going to look into changing the ignition switch and will follow up if I find a fix....

 

Hey guys, i have problem on my Corolla. When I turn the key, I hear a few clicks coming from the somewhere around glove compartment and then the starter engages turns on. I'm thinking it's the ignition switch since when I turn it hard it goes on right away but

 

heh, you should jump in my 323 and try to start it. click click click click click click, vrooooom. Its mostly like the clutch safety switch. If you bypass it, it should fix the problem. Its located at the top of the clutch pedal.

 

I have a 1990, T2 and it does this as well. Last time I was at T&R I asked him to check it out and he said it was sorta normal. I founf that if I click the igntion switch to "on" and then wait for the seatbelt thing to finish moving and the turbo timer to stop singing its little tune, the car starts 90% of the time on the first shot. Weird eh? His car (tony of T&R, a 3rd gen) does it sometimes too. He said something about the alarm relay, I don't really remember... (shrugs)

 

The click you hear could very well be the fuel relay under the dash next to the steering column. Thats if its a lite click. This should'nt not be a hard problem to figure out. Take the small wire on the starter solenoid, the blade one. and put a volt meter on it. The other lead on a good ground. Turn the key on. Did you or did you not get voltage on the single wire? If not, then trace the wiring back from the starter on back. Wiring diagrams are free on line somewhere. Get one. If you get voltage on the wire, investigate the viability of the solenoid and associated grounds. If not those options, always park on a hill and roll start. Have you jumpered 12v to the single blade wire on the starter solenoid and seen if the starter engages? That should tell one if you have a good engine ground or not.

 

I started having this problem a couple weeks ago, and after about a week of clicking or the starter barely turning, I was about to replace my starter. Then, I decided to go to WalMart and I saw some Battery to Starter cables. They're 4 guage thick *** wires. I bought a couple. One I hooked from the negative on the battery to the frame of the car where there was already a bracket hooked up. The other I hooked up between my Y-pipe and my transmission. The starter began working just fine again, and I haven't had a problem since.

Oh yeah, before I did that, I checked the resistance between random points on my car. Some gave me a reading of 30 something or others. Others gave me 0. After I installed the additional ground wires, all the readings were 0 resistance.

Good luck.

 

Alright, here it is, i seemed to have encountered this problem, with my 87 tII when replacing the clutch after mounting everuthing the first time, i had now i dea why it did not want to start. Mind you I had never done any type of clutch job on any car. I had to remove the hydrolic clutch assist,(that pushes the fork from outside the transmission bell housing.) I also replaced the starter, when I put the new starter on it did the SAME THING WITH THE BRAND NEW STARTER. I let off the clutch and pressed just a little bit harder on the clutch and it turned over but didnt start. I stopped looked at the hydrolic clutch assist ad it appeared to be loose, and this looseness did not allow the clutch to depress fully, to the try and turn on. I tightened everything up properly and I have put 7,000 miles on the car since without having to buy another battery or starter... hope this may help:p

 

i fixed this on my t2. this is very common, and it usually is the clutch saftey switch, the one that wont let you start the car with out pushing the clutch first. i took mine out just because i dont like them and it also fixed the click click click vroooomm. it is the switch on the bottom

mike

 

There is a way to solve this problem if its happening often. The circuit is a simple circuit. Power flows from the ignition switch when you go to START. From there it goes to the clutch interlock sw(not all cars have this. My 87 turbo does not neither does Irv's, but my 87N/A did). From there it goes to a STARTER CUT RELAY. This relay only exists in cars that have theft deterrent. On all the other cars, there is a jumper plug in the place of the relay. This relay is next to your trail coils. From the jumper it goes straight to your starter. I suggest going to that STARTER CUT RELAY and the BLUE jumper that replaces it on cars w/o theft deterent. Seperate that jumper and plug from the harness where it is tied, position it where you can easily get to it without removing the coil assy. Now you have it sitting out in the open. Arm yourself with a large gauge wire with an alligator clip on one end. The other end bare. Next time the car acts up and won't start, leave the key to the ignition position, lift the hood, pull the jumper out of the black wire with white stripe, and jumper 12v from the batt with your large gauge wire, to the black and white wire. The car should start. Its a straight shot. If not your solenoid stinks. This said, you guys jinked me the day before xmas. Went to get gas. Yeah! Wouldn't start. Pushed. Embarrased.

 

Out of curiosity, do you have an aftermarket alarm system?

I had this happen to one of my 86's that had an aftermaket alarm installed. It was a real hack job that used piggyback solderless fittings onto the battery wire to the ignition switch. What happened was thart there was too much current trying to go through some of the wires, and they'd overheat, causing a loss of current flow to the starter. But there wasn't enough overheat to blow the fuse. I think most of the heat was dissipated at the bad connections.

Food for thought.

Ren

 

Turboren: I have no aftermarket alarms. The 87 na does this a couple of times a month, but always starts after a couple of tries. The 87turbo has never done this until the day befor xmas, and that darn car would'nt start after ten plus tries. No tools, no meter. I reached under the car and removed and put back on the single wire that trigggers the starter, but had the same results. Hand pushed and started right up. Got home no problem. No problem since. Yeah I think the problem is a poor connection somewhere b/t the key and the starter solenoid. If I pull the wire off the starter solenoid and have the key sitting in the Ign position, and then turn to Start, I only hear one small relay near the heater/ac fan mtr. Now what I heard when the car failed before xmas was a loud click or clack. That had to be the starter solenoid. Note: with the key at the ign positon, the main relay pulls in and does make a loud click. but if you leave the key at the ign pos and don't return to Off, you should'nt hear this click again. So its definetly the starter solenoid but not necessarily the solenoid. It could be the load of the solenoid causes the 12v to drop down to zip due to a bad connection somewhere in between. On the 87na I have the clutch interlock removed and the wires jumpered, a potential source of trouble. Anyway I have the ability to reach under the hood now and jumper the blue jumper to start the car.

 

Hard failure on the turboii today. Ten tries, ten times no start. Jumpered the batt to the blue jumper. Four failures. Jacked car. Jumpered 12v from batt to the solenoid. No start. Large hammer applied to the starter solenoid with vigor(only one blow). Turn key, starts up. No loose connections. Just another bum starter solenoid. I have a spare starter*spares are us*. A large hammer and a meter should have been included with the tool kit that should have come with the car. Maybe the electrical schematic also and a tutorial on how the ECU and its componets work in harmony. I think I just made too big a deal about the click, click. Common sense says its the starter solenoid. Solenoids can be bought seperatly I do believe. Have fun.