Here is my situation and troubleshooting.

One morning, the car cranked and started and ran like it always has. Stepped out of the car to check something and car dies. I try to crank it over again, I hear a electrical "pop" around the dash area. It will only click and not crank over.

Car specs:
88 Vert 200k still NA

First check and replaced fuses in engine bay and underdash.

Had started tested and passed.

Tested starter relay and swapped with working one.

Motor moves freely

Battery is good and charged.

Check grounds.

What else should I test? Thanks

 

To test whether the Ignition Switch is getting power requires turning the key to on and seeing if the wipers or turn signals work. If this checks out okay then look at the thicker of the two Black/Green wires at the Starter Cut Relay as it should have voltage w/key to start and clutch pedal depressed. If it does then the Interlock Switch and Ignition Switch are good. If this checks out good then jumper the B/G wire tested to the B/W wire in the same switch as this will bypass this relay and deliver voltage to the starter solenoid w/key to start and clutch depressed. If things work then the starter should turn over.

 

I have tested signals, passed.

Test thicker B/G wire, passed with voltage.

Jumped B/G wire to B/W, still just clicks. Its getting voltage as well.

 

I had a direct wire from + battery terminal to starter solenoid and still clicks the same as before.

 

The solenoid could be shot even though it tested well. The brushes might also be iffy.

 

Alright Satch, I will try to swap starters from my daily and see what it does in the next few days. Thanks!

 

Last week, I jacked up the car again and found a extra lose ground wire. Tightened the bolt and it cranked up. I drove it for a hour and parked it. Today same issuse as before. Redid all grounds, jacked it up on the driver side and cranked up. Lowered it again didn't crank. Jacked it up once again, almost cranked. Lowered it again, clicks...

 

^^

had the exact same issue on my s4 na base. did everything i could, the stick starter mod, replaced starter, checked all grounds, all wipers and signals were working. turned out the ignition switch had too much resistance. replace started up like a effing champ all everytime.. 2 weeks later. blew my coolant seals. ce la vie.

 

post #168 explains how to turn the high amp start circuit into a low amp trigger circuit to save the ignition switch and alleviate issues if it is on its way out.

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...-896013/page7/

the thread also goes into many other issues with the starter circuit and the problems it has.

pettit also sells it in kit form for about $50, but it only costs about $10 from an auto parts store for the parts necessary.


i do the modification on a lot of cars, because the original wiring/relays/ignition switch are just too tired to cut it anymore.


in fact i let it go on my own car for years, dealing with the click-click-click-ok now i'm ready to start BS it dished out and now it cranks every try. i just upgraded it to the bypass relay last week, taking only 10 minutes to do(because my car is the last to get attention).

 

That worked out amazing! Took some time to understand the explanation, but worked out! Thanks again, another lesson learned.

 

no problem. you can give the props to pettit for coming up with the idea first, i just copied it and cut out the additional excessive cost and time spent wasted waiting on parts.

additionally, you may want to seal up the relay with silicone if it isn't a watertight unit. if water gets in it could kill the relay prematurely. this can also be alleviated by making the the pins face the ground so water won't sit inside the relay like a pool collecting water.

you could move the relay near the main relay but i just do it at the starter because everything you need is right there(power, ground, trigger, output all within a few inches of one another).

 

Well, that was short lived... Now it wont start again. I clicking seems to come from the ignition switch not starter this time. It hasn't rained, driven, or anything. All I did was remove the battery last night.

 

well, even if it it does wind up being the ignition switch itself the relay mod will save the new switch.

double check to see if there is still power being applied to the original starter switch wire, if it's not there now the switch may have just completely given up.