N3kras

Can someone tell me how to make the patch pictured above?

First gen man

iTrader: (24)

I now have my ignition switch direct wired to the starter. (remote wire I mean) After I did that everything was fine. No relays/startercuts. Until one day I replaced my solenoid (mine had a stripped stud on it.) and the problem came back. Averaging like 10 clicks per start. After like 25 mins of clicking click click click (smacks solenoid) click click click. I actually got stuck one day.
So I changed my solenoid back to my old one, and bam no more problems.

So maybe make sure your starter is fine before you go blaming wiring lol.. Me and my friends actually have been blaming shitty brand solenoids. Friend of mine bought a brand new advance discount w/e brand starter, and it clicked with no start. So he ordered one from mazda, and had no problems after that.

It's multiple problems strung together that can get you stranded at a gas station.
Don't get stranded at a gas station..

rotary_bünta

iTrader: (3)

ok two years with this issue and i still haven't addressed it. i read this thread front to back and side ways. its still greek to me tho. i hate electrical issues. it makes my head hurt. flux capacitors and what not. but im going to give it a shot this week and see what happens.
i just want to clarify that my issue still falls in the same field as this fix..

when i press the clutch and turn the key. i get nothing. no click. i gotta mash the clutch down pretty hard to get it to click and usually after 3 or 4 times it connects and starts over.

satch

iTrader: (1)

You want to address your Interlock Switch first to see if that's the culprit. It's located at the very top of the clutch pedal. If you jumper the two wires at the switch plug this will tell you whether it's the switch or not. The two wire colors at the Interlock Switch are Black/Red and Black/Green.

rotary_bünta

iTrader: (3)

i will do that. and post what i find. thanks all for the info.

rotary_bünta

iTrader: (3)

you da man Satch. did the jumper like you said. car turned over right away. since i already have the blue relay under the hood. so now im in the market for a new interlock switch. which reminds me. there are a few connectors under the dash that go no where. so ima have to post one of them "where does this thing go" lol

thanks again. at least until something else goes sour.

rsantaniello

when i hold the key to start and pump the clutch and it starts does that mean i need to replace the clutch switch

RockLobster

iTrader: (7)

+1 for the parallel relay circuit method. Did this to my 91 turbo, completely fixed the issue of the click-no-start.

S5 the main lead to the start solenoid is Black/Red FYI

HOZZMANRX7

iTrader: (43)

^

junito1

I need some help. After engine harness "tuck" and removing a lot of the unused harness i ran into a problem. Everything was checking fine but when I went to try the starter it didnt do anything. The engine in not int he car and the started is obviously not mounted but i do have the connections on it. The ground that goes on the tranny bolt has been bolted to the chassi for testing. The power cable is showing 12v's. But i think the 12v goes away when i turn the key..

I did get the "bendex"? to extend out by adding another ground.
SO if starter is mounted the bendex should extend as the trans. becomes a ground.

SO now it extends out but does not spin.

ANy ideas of where to start or what to try would be greatly appreciated as I am not the greatest when it comes to the electrical side of things and im kinda on a tight schedule. If not, Im going push bottom start.

raksj04

iTrader: (1)

I have a issue like that as well. the car wouldn't start right for over a month now. I would turn the key from on to start instead of pumping the clutch, untill I read this thread. when I tried pumping the clutch I would see the lights dim as I had the key in the start pos. I am thinking it is not the clutch switch. also I have noticed that sometimes I will lose power with the key in the "ON" or I would try to start hear a click, lose power, turn back to acc get power back.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you have an Ignition Switch issue.

raksj04

iTrader: (1)

I am going to meter it tonight. I just dont know how I could lose power everywhere, my E-fan that is wired off the main fuse won't turn on.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Faulty battery connection, wire running from the positive battery terminal to the engine fuse box could be loose (this wire powers all of the engine fuse box fuses including the Main fuse).

junito1

I tried making that harness suggested in this thread with same results as before.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Your Ignition Switch is connected to the Front Harness. There are two B/R wires. One is for the starting circuit while the other one is for powering the IG2 fuses (power w/key to on, but not start). Perhaps you have these two wires mixed up.

Landon303

iTrader: (25)

I did Dave007's patch harness, worked GREAT for about 8 months, but the sticky starter is starting to come back!!

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Have you checked the starter itself, specifically the brushes?

meteoro

I thought at some point in starter, I'll get to work on this

SoloII///M

iTrader: (13)

I've read this a bunch of times and ignored it, but I feel like I have to address it now that I'm fixing a car with a sticky starter. I understand what you are trying to say regarding the current (amps) but it just isn't correct.

Reading the volts at the starter solenoid with the key in the start position is a totally valid diagnostic tool to evaluate the wiring to the starter solenoid and in fact an amperage measurement would be much less useful. What is going on is the starter solenoid energizing circuit is a long train of wire connecting the battery to the solenoid with several fuses, switches, relays and connection points in series. Think of all those switches and relays and connections as resistors in between the battery and the solenoid. The solenoid is also a resistor as well (it's a coil forming an electromagnet). Each of those resistances will drop voltage - it's a simple series circuit. If those connections are getting resistive (due to corroded wiring, bad connections, worn relays and switch contacts) then this will manifest itself as a lower voltage at the load - the starter solenoid. It might be a very small change, but it has nothing do with those wires current-carrying capability, nor does it imply the amps are "bleeding off" (they aren't). It is purely resistance and voltage drop.

Furthermore, the strength of the elecromagnet in the solenoid is proportional to the current flowing through it. If the internal resistance of the coil increases, by V=IR the current flowing through it will decrease given a constant (12V) source. This means it has less force - in many cases not enough to engage at all. A current measurement here is useless unless you have a known good solenoid to compare to and at that point it would be easier to simply measure the series resistance of the coil.

So, I think what we're seeing here are two things.

1) Over time the car's wiring degrades causing a (relatively small) increase in resistance in the wiring. This is easily remedied with a number of fixes detailed in this thread. These fixes ensure that as little voltage is dropped in the car's wiring - a good idea! They can be validated by a simple voltage measurement with the starter solenoid engaged. Measure this before and after the mod and look for a few tenths of a volt improvement. but you MUST make this measurement with the circuit completed - you need the current draw of the solenoid to make it a valid measurement.

2) Over time the starter solenoid degrades - the internal moving parts wear and the internal wiring degrades, causing it to need more current to engage. Eventually the solenoid will degrade to the point (resistance, wear) that it will need more current than a single 12V source can provide. At this point the only solution is to replace the solenoid (or the whole starter which contains the solenoid). This increased current need has NOTHING to do with the wiring being incapable of supplying the current - it is purely that there isn't enough voltage in a fixed 12V system to overcome the resistance of the solenoid.

I hope this helps everyone understand what is going on.

John V (MSEE with fifteen years in the field)

kleetuz

iTrader: (2)

When I completed this modification I used 2x20amp relays in parallel. I have had no cranking problems since.

When I was having issues I had a fairly new starter - it was winter time and had replaced the battery and still had issues.

It could take a long time to really pinpoint the culprit within the circuit and/or replace everything in the original starter circuit - so however you look at it if you bypass the original circuit and use it as a relay trigger You will be very happy with it and if you ever need to replace the relays, well hopefully you put them in an easily accessible place.

MrGoodnight

iTrader: (1)

So cars without the factory alarm do NOT have the starter cut really but instead have the blue connector with the black jumper wire correct?

My car started giving me the clicks to the point where it would not start. So I replaced the starter, and I had no problems for about a week.
Then it clicked a few times but always started.

Up till now it clicked, but for the past 2 weeks after it clicks it will crank slowly and make some crazy sounds (buzzing at the battery, grinding at the NEW starter). This only happened on COLD starts. Hot starts were fast normal healthy cranks.

Today it cranked slow and "crazy" on a hot start. My logic was thinking my battery was on its way out, cold cranking amps suffering first and now hot starts too?

I replaced the battery and it still cranks like s**t.

So I will try the NEW wire from the spade connector on the starter and splice that into the jumper on the blue plug. Correct?

If that fails I should move onto installing a relay circuit like the one Karack posted above?

Also these problems only arose months after I turbo swapped my car, seems pretty common?


~Kyle



Edit: 500th post yay!

philiptompkins

iTrader: (4)

I got a lifetime warranty on a starter from I orileys. I've gotten bad new starters before. Sucks

MrGoodnight

iTrader: (1)

Well I just went outside and tried to start my car, it gave me one click, then cranked at normal speed.

So I did the wire bypass that hozz is now using and I tried to start it once and it cranked normal speed with no click.

I only cranked it once cause I don't want to bug my neighbors, I live in a tight apartment complex.
But I will drive my normal routine. If it cranks fast and normal with no clicks after I get off work it will be a sure sign that it has been fixed.

I'll post back with updates tomorrow.

savanna.seven

iTrader: (5)

+1 tapping into the jumper connector worked for my 87 Tii.