phase12rx7

Hi All,

If I let the car sit for a while, it cranks on first attempt. But if I get it up to temp and shut it off, it may or may not crank when I try to start it back up. As it's sitting right now, it's not cranking. However, I haven't tried it since last night. When I turn the key and I can hear a relay over near the ECU and I can hear a relay at the ABS pump, but the starter doesnt crank.

I've consulted the FSM about checking the starting system.
1. Checked the starter terminal that goes to the battery with multimeter- getting 12v
2. Checked the smaller terminal - Not getting any voltage (FSM says check wiring harness)
3. Checked the clutch switch - getting continuity (even tried jumping the connection)

So the manual says I should check the wiring harness. Does anyone know what wires (and where they are located) I should be checking or possible fail points? Has anyone experienced/heard of this problem? Why would the car not crank after warmed up? (Is my wiring harness toast?) Any help is appreciated!

sc_frontier

iTrader: (3)

Sometime a starter gets stuck in such a position where it won't spin (it stops in a perfect dead zone). The old time solution was to tap on them with a hammer or just replace. You should be able to hear the start solenoid kicking on and off when you turn the key to start. It sounds like a loud click. If you don't hear a loud click, try to energize the solenoid manually with the 12v battery.

phase12rx7

tried banging on the starter with a hammer yesterday and it didn't help. when im under the car and have my buddy turning the key i dont hear anything coming from the starter - all i hear are the relays at the ecu and the ABS unit.

could there be a short/ground in the line? the previous owner seemed to do a bunch of half *** work all over and maybe there's some screwed up wiring somewhere? it's strange that it'll crank when the car has been sitting for a while, but once it gets warmed up i get nothing.

bajaman

This is a well-known FD issue...surprised no one has chimed in yet. Several 'fixes' have come up by various members. I for one found it to be related to my ignition switch. Didn't feel like forking over $478 for a new switch at the time, so I added a push-button switch in a remote location and it works fine. Try this: Put 12v to the 'S' terminal on the starter by running a 10 gauge wire from the positive battery terminal and then touching the 'S' terminal and see if she turns over. If so, it's dollars-to-donuts your ignition switch. If you turn your switch to the 'on' position and then put 12v to the 'S' terminal, the car should turn over and start. MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN NEUTRAL!

phase12rx7

Just a quick update, was about to try solutions in this thread. But before I did that, I decided to try something I found while trying to research the problem. Found this thread: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/one-possible-fix-click-click-start-problem-remove-oem-security-relay-872841/

Car wouldn't crank at all when I came back to it yesterday night. Decided to try the fix shown in thread above since it required the least amount of work. Low and behold, she turned over on first attempt! Woohoo!

Thanks to all those that helped. Now I can focus on solving the other mysteries about this car.

sc_frontier

iTrader: (3)

Ah, didn't know the car had a security starter relay. Interesting