Man lol....if it's not one thing, it's another. But I should have known better...I haven't had any issues w/ the FD for a while, so it's time to act up is well due...

I have no previous symptoms to tell...everything has been seemingly fine over the past couple of days. I've driven the car 4 days in a row, no probs. But this morning, I come to start the car, I put the key in, press in the clutch, and nothing happened. I have all the accessories, the dash warning lights are on, headunit works, etc. But I have NO crank at all. I DO hear the fuel pump come on, but that's about it. I don't think it's a flooding issue, simply because the car isn't cranking at all.

The battery is only a few months old, it's a Optima Red Top, and works fine. Like I said, I DO have power to the accessories, so I don't think it's the battery either.

I searched, and the vast majority of the threads I saw were attempting to diagnose a crank but no start situation... I did see one about no crank, but the guy had complained that his FD was giving him trouble starting over the last couple of days. I have had NO problems starting, pretty much asymptomatic. All this was pretty sudden, so I'm left here scratching my head... Oh and the suggesstions in that thread were a bad starter, clutch switch, or starter solenoid... https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ighlight=crank
but I don't know how much of that applies to my situation...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
~Ramy

 

Do you have a battery or trickle charger you can hook up to it? I had my first Optima red top go bad after only 4 months. I could get accessories and heard the fuel pump, but it ended up being the battery. I could charge it and run it, but everytime I shut it off it went through the same thing. I'd take some battery readings first off.

 

Bricke, are you serious? Did I buy a $140 POS? lol. I'd at least expect it to start getting weaker and weaker first...at least struggle once or twice...not just straight up quit on me w/o warning!

I can try giving it a jump tonight when I get back home, and obviously if that works, it's the battery, right? Or can that mask a starter problem? (Ie, can you still have a bad starter, but the car will start if it's jumped?)

EDIT: oh and I do NOT have a battery or trickle charger...

 

Heh I was very surprised to find out it was the battery after only 4 months. I hadn't driven the car for about a week, then came out one day and nothing at all.

It's possible you could have an alternator problem, but again you'd need something to monitor the system with.

A good trickle charger is an excellent yet cheap investment

 

I'll look into getting a trickle charger. But in the meantime, any reponse as to whether the car would start if it was given a jump, even w/ a bad starter?

 

I highly doubt jumping the car will allow you to bypass a blown starter BUT I also doubt you have a blown starter. A blown starter will have those horrible high pitched death screams before it dies on you. You hear it all the time when an old clunker starts up. You would have noticed some fade in the interior lighting or the stereo if your alt. was going out as well. I say give it a jump because its more than likely the battery.

 

FDNewbie,

First try a battery charger or jumper cables. I've had a battery with enough power to turn on accessories (lights, windows, etc) but not able to start the car.

 

Yea I'll try to give her a jump when I get back home. I didn't have time or patience to deal w/ it this morning...had to get going ASAP. I'll let you guys know what happens...

Oh and Neal, I agree w/ what you said. That's why I didn't think it was the starter, not w/o prior symptoms

EDIT: Better find the receipt for the battery...cuz that thing has a warranty.

 

Sure does sound like a dead battery with only enough juice to power the accs.

 

No one finds it odd that a battery would just quit all of a sudden tho?

 

Do you hear any clicking? If not, it's probably not the battery. It could the the neutral safety switch.

But try jumping it first. I just had a friend, who has an old 300zx, with a similar situation. He replaced the battery, the starter and soleniod, and finally the battery cables, and it still wouldn't start. Then he asked me about it. I looked at, and it seemed like a dead battery. Jumped it and it fired right up. It turns out he got a bad battery from Walmart, and that was his original problem too.

 

I was thinking that paw140.. as reading the thread.. I say if you get power to your stereo and stuff.. it could be your clutch pedal switch.. I guess 'neutral safety' switch.. My other car had this issue.. I turn my key to start and start pumping my clutch and sometime it will click on... Try it.. Its not going to hurt it.. I don't think??

Also, after my remote start on my FD, sometimes it doesn't start when I try to crank it with the key.. Same as what you are describing Ramy... I think it was wiring to this switch or something.. Not sure..

 

ouch, the other parts werent cheap...bleh

 

Paw140, I don't hear ANY clicking.

Phil, a neutral safety switch was my immediate thinking, but I had nothing to prove it. I only say that because when I first bought the car, it came w/ an aftermarket ignition kill on top of the stock alarm, and the wires were loose...and it got pulled once, and the engine wouldn't turn. But that's been solved. The symptoms were exactly the same tho.

I did try pumping the clutch pedal a few times, but it didn't do anything. I guess we'll see what jumping it is gonna do...cuz if the clutch switch isn't working, then jumping it won't help.

 

Does disconnecting the clutch switch deactivate it, or does it fail closed? Something you could give a try maybe.

 

yeah, jumping it is the cheapest option so far

 

Also check your battery cable.. I did have an issue when I first bought the car.. The battery terminal was loose and it wouldn't crank.. But my interior lights were on.. I guess not enough current to the starter or something.. but I'm sure you checked all this.. so, I have no clue..

 

All I did was pop the hood, touch the battery contacts, make sure the terminals were tight (which they were), stared at the engine bay for about 10 seconds, and was like eeh...wutev. I can't deal w/ this now, and hopped in my mom's car lol.

 

Do this before anything else!!! GO under the car and tap the starter with a wrench, dont beat it to death but some good swings will do. Now it will start.

 

LOL...what am I doing...waking it up? hehe

 

No, Fixing it the russian way.

 

It's meant to divert attention away from the crises at hand. Keeps your mind off the loaded 45acp.

 

LOL

Seriosuly, I also think you battery went to battery heaven or at least to sleep

Charge it up or jump it and it should fire right up. Has similar thing 2 weeks ago, but my car was standing for 3 weeks (was without brake pads).

 

Nothing he said indicated the battery is bad. Everything works, All the power is there. He just replaced the battery. The car hasnt been sitting and has had no issues. If the terminal was loose the power would not be there. So its not a terminal either.
Be logical when you trouble shoot and it will lead you right to the problem. NOW TAP THAT THING!

 

LOL! "American components...Russian components...ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!!"

areXseven, your point is well understood. I know why we love our cars so much...cuz if we didn't, there's no WAY we'd put up w/ this kinda CRAP lol

ZoomZoom lol...I'll tap it hehe (shaking his head lol)