So, I just got my TII Friday. I needed to change my oil, so I'm working on it; thinking its no different than my NA.

Got the bolt off, drained....it was just barely dripping from the pan. Next was the oil filter(Fram, WTF!) I get it off with no problem, but damn that thing was FULL of oil. I didn't think anything of it, pulled it really quick. Next thing I noticed was smoking from the hood. I look around for the location of the smoke, it was coming from the starter solenoid, it was sparking like crazy. I covered it in paper towels to smother the sparks. I disconnected the battery now and I'm trying to figure out what will happen if I try to start her up again, will it spark and start my car on fire? Please help!

Will post pics of the thing.

 

Thats crazy. That silonoid is only supposed to have power when your hitting the key to start... Paper towls to cover sparks????

 

Odd. Same thing happened after I replaced my starter and when I reconnected the battery it started sparking like crazy. Nothing bad happened. I tried to pull the positive cable off but it had welded itself to the terminal.

 

 

maybe its not the solenoid, perhaps it was the starter?

 

The big *** wire to the starter solenoid is always hot. Looks like the covering was cracked and the wire was very close to the starter, the oil fell on it and allowed the hot wire to ground on the starter. Wasn't aware oil was a conductor though!

 

Ahhh, positive wire bolted up wrong, that would do it. Turned your battery into a welder . Almost any liquid will conduct voltage.

 

im not following very well. explain!

more importantly, how to fix?

 

That big huge wire runs straight to the battery. The rubber cover got damaged or something, and the huge cable touched the case of the starter, which is grounded. This makes a lot of current flow, and when this happens, you get sparks and heat. Oily paper towels are not the best thing to smother sparks with btw.

 

Next time, poke a small hole in the top of the filter before you unscrew it, and let it drain for a few minutes.

Small hole!!! just big enough to vent the anti-drainback. Not so big that you will get metal parts in the filter.

 

How do you (Icemark) poke a small hole in the filter? Just lightly tap a nail in there with a hammer?

 

I use a long #1 flat blade screw driver, and tap it a couple times with a hammer until it breaks through the metal of the oil filter on the top of the filter.

This allows the oil to all drain back down into the engine, so when you remove the filter oil does not get everywhere.

 

That's a damn good idea Icemark. Thanks .

 

i wiped off all the oil and put lots of electrical tape over it. about 10 layers worth, will this work!?

 

strange... whenever i change my oil... the filter's already empty.
???

 

Oil most definately CAN conduct electricity... Ever worked on a piston engine car that had a bad miss cause the spark plug hole was full of oil and grease??? That'll arc like crazy!!!!

Looks like you kicked the starter wire up against the starter solenoid housing.

 

You must not be using a Mazda oil filter. The Mazda filters have anti drain back valves that holds the oil so the system does not have to prime when starting and oil flow through the motor is much quicker.

I would stop using what ever filter you are using.

The other option would be a major leak in the oil pedistol.

 

are k&n oil filter good? i have to slightly loosen it before taking it completely off to drain?

 

ah crap. I guess time to change then. i had no clue. =\