shh, your giving out pettit's secrets!!!

 

I've had this problem for years. I thought it was my alarm at first, then I was going for the starter. I going to try cleaning the contact from the ignition, if that doesn't work then I'll try hooking up a relay like the picture Lan posted. Hope it works.

 

i would use 14 or 12 gauge, 18 is a bit thin.

 

the click click **** on my friend's FD has gotten to the point where it won't even start at all. I'm about to wire up my own custom "starter booster," aka $10 worth of parts...

whoever at Pettit took a relay and marked it up 500% was a genius (from a business perspective)

 

i agree. and anyone that spends $50 + shipping, for a relay & 4 -8"wires is not so much a genius

 

I haven't done my fc. it's getting cold here. I get the click during the winter.
Let us know how it goes.

Make me one too if you have extra materials. I don't have the materials and it looks like it'll be close to $50 if I make it my own buying spindles of 12 gauge cables of diffrent colors,(not necessary, but usually its better when color coded) relay, connectors, time. (maybe Im exaggerating a bit)

Someone with money wont care about paying $50


From the photo, it looks like the wires are about 20cm lenght from relay.


$36




$27
relay?



$14
relay?

 

Iv'e had this damn "click start" problem on my car for the past year iv'e owned it. latley, it's gotten so bad it doesnt even CLICK, anymore, ill turn the key and... nothing... then if I keep trying, eventually it will start.I even installed the Pettit starter booster kit, but this didnt fix the problem, it didnt change anything.

From what I have read, the relay needs "SOME" kind of signal from th starter (even if it's weak), for it to start the car. Mine doesnt even click, which might explain why the relay isn't doing me any good. I seem to have a voltage drop SO bad, that the relay doesnt even recognize any voltage. The battery is Diehard Gold (2007) full charge, Alternator 13.7 volts good, ignition switch was supposedly replaced right before I bought my car ( im going to have to check for myself tommorow)... wat the %!$@ is goin on???? does anybody know how I get to the security relay??

 

yeah its prob the security relay or the clutch switch. here is a pic of the security relay and harness, with it by-passed. its in the driver kick panel area.

 

You need to replace they actual ignition assembly as in... the thing your sticking your key into. They can be found used for about 50 - 125 dollars OR, you can by pass it and make your own start button.

Basically, you have an s2000 ignition set up... you still need a key to turn on the accessory power but then you run two wires to the starter that complete the circuit and have the wires running to an I/O button, press the button to complete the circuit and the starter will engage the fly wheel and ur good.

 

Ill take a look at the security relay tommorow, and the clutch switch. Ill check the ignition switch last, because when I first bought this car last year the owner said the car would not start, and they had to replace the ignition switch.

 

I actually tried tapping on the security relay several times, just now. The car started perfectly fine after the tapping, started 5 times in a row. BUT the real test is what happens after the car sits for a few hours, or overnight, I will check again tommorow.

 

i actually just started having this problem;

it started out weird, for some reason my SS clutchline got voltage, so much that it melted the rubber hose inside when it came in contact with the oil filter pedestal. it started smoking when i tried starting the car.

so right now my clutch pedal is depressed but i'm getting the click start, i wonder though if the battery (PC680) has enough power to crank the engine while the clutch is not disengaged (tranny is in neutral), even though the clutch is depressed i had to get rid of the clutchline and order the stock rubber one from Ray.

i've also noticed though that in the wiring schematic it says the started should be grounded; mine has NEVER been but i just started getting this problem. i only have the 4g wire from the battery and the B/R 18g wire to the solenoid going to it.

could someone post a pic of how it should be.

thanks.

 

Another thing to do is to either replace the Starter cut relay or remove it, remove the lid and clean the contacts with 400 grit sandpaper.

Later

 

does anybody have a write up on how to do the "12 volt mod"? screw it, I just wanna rewire everything, I dont have time to diagnose. Does anybody have a write up on how to run a wire straight from the battery to the starter with a relay, and bypass all the switches and and other factory relays? Ill drive down to radishack right now and buy all the parts and do it today please help!!

 

it's not hard to by-pass the security relay. just have a short piece of wire with male tabs and plug them into the two larger wires where the relay was. It takes about a minute and may solve your problem. It did mine.

Otherwise if you still want it tied in with the key, pull the plastic covers off to get to the electrical side of the ignition switch then figure out which wire is powered when you turn the key to start, (use multimeter) tap into it and run it directly to the starter solinoid. This will bypass all other switches.

Alternatively you can run a hot wire from the battery into the car to a button and then back to the starter solenoid on the starter. then you just have to turn the key to on and push the button. there shouldnt be a need for relay here as the starter solenoid wont pull alot of amps.

 

I like your idea about tapping into the ignition switch thing, very clever!! that way if the car STILL wont start, the ONLY other possibility would be a bad ignition switch,it would bypass all relays and switches and all that crap. It would make things so simple, thanks! im gonna try this today! and then wiring in my own switch for security would be very simple, thanks, I'll let you guys know how it turns out! last question, what guage size wiring should I use to be safe?

 

mine on fc.
seems to be working. . .

 

Just get a 30A N.O. (Normally Open) relay at an auto parts store, they are usually $5-$7 (you can find them cheaper at an electronics store)



The relay has four terminals labeled 85, 86, 87 and 30. In the above drawing connect the black (ground) wire to 85, yellow to 86, green to 87 and red to 30.

You owe me $50 now...

 

You folks keep in mind that IF your starter cut relay points are corroded or arced over OR if your clutch switch is bad - this mod above will do nothing to start your car if the signal never reaches it.

Also a bad CPU will hold you out from starting.

I bypassed all three of my FDs Clutch switches and cleaned the points on my SCRs.....no clicks....no booster relay....always starts : )


Later

 

I've had the "click start" problem for as long as I've owned the car. It reached a peak last night as the car WOULD NOT start and I had to get a tow truck at 2am.

So I read this tread and wired the harness in this picture the same way - Took 5 minutes. Started right up, no problem. Now it starts on the first try every time. Without the usual 3 to 4 tries that tend to drain my motorcycle battery. =)

I'm not even going to bother pulling the tumbler to clean it up, I'm just going to leave this hardwired and move on.

Thanks!

 

Awesome, glad my picture could be of help. Also nice to see some more TX rx7 owners. Austin isnt too far away.

 

This mod worked for me. The relay is a 12VDC 30A SPST Automotive Relay. I got mine from Radioshack for about 8 bucks. Make sure your yellow wire is an uninsulated male quick disconnected. I mounted the relay and the ground to the same fuel line bracket.

 

Awesome thread. Just wish it was around when my old FD used to strand me.

 

The voltage at the battery should be:

12.x V with the ignition switched on.
14.x V with the engine running.
should not drop below 10 V when starting.

 

I have had this problem for a while now and I fabricated the kit today.
The total cost at Radio Shack was $17 (including the 8.25% tax).
The parts were, the relay, terminals and one spool of 12 gauge wire (one color only for me, red).
I have left over loom to wrap the wires, so this is not part of the total cost.
It took me about 10-12 minutes to cut the wires, peel the ends and crimp terminals.
All I have to do now, is install it this week and will report back on the starter booster kit project.