Whenever i try to start my car, it usually takes a few times of turning the key before the starter will catch. What i mean is, when i turn the key to "start" position, the starter wont engage and all i will hear is a click (from the starter relay i believe). It will do this a few times, sometimes more than others, sometimes not at all. What could this be?

 

Bad solenoid and/or bad contacts on the starter itself. First thing I would do is get under the car, take off the ground wire, positive wire, and solenoid hot wire and clean them all. Clean the contact area too and see if that fixes the problem.

 

I dont think its the starter itself, because this is the second starter in the car and they both did the same thing.

I also have 600V welding cable as my bat. cable () so i KNOW im not getting any resistance.

 

Maybe dirty/worn contacts in the ignition switch or the clutch interlock switch.

 

could be... the problem doesnt really bother me, but its getting worse so this is why im asking. I will check the starter relay again for good grounds.

Also, is there a way to ground the starter itself?

 

The ground cable from the battery attaches directly to the long starter bolt. That's the way it came from the factory. If yours is not sttached like that, then it's been messed with in the past. Although I agree that it should make no difference if the cable is attached to one of the transmission attach bolts.

You could rig a long wire, say 20 gauge, and put a receptacle on the end of it that will attach to the blade on the starter.......and touch that to the battery positive terminal to see if the thing still just does the click job. If still does the click job.....it ain't the wiring.....it's the starter/solenoid.

 

I have two 600V ground cables: one running from the Neg bat. terminal to a custom grounding bolt on the shock tower, and the other to the top of my Upper intake manifold.

No negative battery cables run directly to the starter, it is my positive bat. cable that runs directly to the starter. Isnt this the way its supposed to be?

 

No wonder you're having problems...Your starter is getting it's ground through all the engine housings (depending on where on the engine you grounded that cable). Hope you haven't welded the starter to the tranny bellhousing, there's gonna be a lot of juice flowing at that connection with your setup...Take that ground off of the intake, and put it on that starter bolt Hailers was refering to...

 

I have been having the exact problem describied above but I haven't messed with any of my grounds or battery cables. I do have an apexi turbo timer. My problem seems to ussally happen when I leave work and my car has been in the sun it has never happened when my car has been cold in the morning.

 

Read what AcidShock posted above...

 

How exactly does the starter get its ground? There are no empty bolt studs on the starter to atatch a ground wire to. There are 3 wires if i remember correctly, my pos. bat. cable, a small black wire with a connector on it, and then the wire that runs into the starter caseing from where the other two are attached.

How does the stock setup work? Ever since i had the car ive always had a positive bat. cable running to the starter, not a ground cable.

 

The neg cable doesn't run to the starter itself, but to the upper bolt that attaches the starter to the tranny (the long one). Most guys put the terminal under the nut of the bolt, right above the starter...Direct run to the battery from there, with the ground clip for the chassis at the left strut tower built in to the assy.

 

The ground cable from the battery attaches directly to the long starter bolt.

 

So you're saying i should re-route my grouding wires: either take off the one on the U.I.M and attach it to the long starter bolt, or can i leave that one and just add another ground to the long starter bolt?

Also, should this ground run directly from the bat. to the starter bolt, or can i run it from my custom ground on my shock tower?

 

Yeh, you can run it from the strut tower, just make damn sure you've got a good tight terminal-on-terminal connection...The UIM ground is overkill, but if ya want it, go ahead and keep it...

 

what guage wire should i use for that strut tower-starter bolt ground? I wouldnt wanna under do it, especially when it comes to grounding. If i had any more 600V cable id love to use it.... but i dont

Wayne, ive also read extensively about your posts on grounding the pressure sesor. When i first tried doing that i think i did the wrong wire, is it possible that anything is messed up with my automobile?

 

First of all, just because the wire says 600v on it, that doesn't mean squat...house lamp wiring is rated at 600v, and you wouldn't use that for your battery's power supply now, would you? It's the amp rating, or current carrying capacity, that we're concerned with, and cross-sectional area (or gage) determines current capacity. Use OEM spec or a size larger. I think the OEM neg cable is 4 ga., that is plenty. Most of you guys don't understand about electrical grounding, you're using the assumption that a larger cable is going to do something for you, and it's just not true...Whatever makes ya sleep better, I guess, j/k...

You may or may not have hurt anything grounding that pressure sensor...Best case scenario would have a fuse blowing, worst case would be frying the ECU...

 

The cable im using for my battery is welding cable and its larger than a 0-0 guage (im not sure how they measure guaging after that Ive noticed since i put it on that the stereo is louder, lights are brighter, and overall the car seems to run better

Alright, ill get a minimum of 4 guage wiring and ground that starter bolt.

Wayne that could also be causing some of my other electrically related issues ive been having (turbo timer shorting out, starter getting a mind of its own, in dash boost guage and parking brake light working intermitantly) if there is supposed to be a ground there and i dont have one, right?