Click Click start.....again
 

I have to find the source of this because it is extremely annoying!!!

In October, around Halloween, my FD began to act up when trying to crank it. I would turn the key and once in a blue moon the starter would make a single knocking sound but not turn the motor. Then I would proceed to turn the key again...bam cranks fine

After a few weeks the clicking would come back....it would then require 5 knocks until it would turn over

One morning it would only click...interior lights exterior lights music sunroof windows everything worked perfect how could it be a dead battery...had the battery tested at napa = good

- so , i replaced the starter with a brand new NSA....exact same problem, without time to test battery i just swapped it for a new Advance Auto battery - problem completely solved!


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now the clicking is coming back...it sometimes takes a few hit on the key to get the car to start again....the WERID THING IS - if im crusing, slap it in neutral and kill the ignition and restart while the car is moving it cranks right up...or if i crank right after shutdown it cranks right up....if the car sits for more than 60 seconds it begins to act up?



the only conlusion i can get from this is i have a worn alternator that is partially charging my batt???? but the problem i hav with this conclusion is why does everything function as if the battery if fine besides the starter and why does the starter not crank but crank SLOWLY like on any other car?? Does the starter require an exact voltage to even BEGIN to crank????



There are many posts about this click start issue suggesting bad starters, bad solenoids, bad cluct switches, bad ignition switches etc....but have anyone had an FD that would crank SLOWLY with a worn battery or if the starter doesnt recieve enough voltage does it simply not turn at all??

Seem simple, but hay you checked the ground wires? To test this use a jumper cable and directally ground the engine. maybe this helps.

you see this a lot in on highway tractors, you have poor connections, go through the large gauge connections in your starting circuit and clean them all up, or replace them if they look screwed up, i bet it'll be good as new. 100% positive that that is your answer

The click sound is the starter motor trying to twist, but the solenoid hasn't kicked it forward. It's either a ground issue, something's up with the solenoid, there's a problem with the wiring to the solenoid, or a problem with the ignition switch itself.

Sometimes wires increase in resistance with heat - many of the auto tranny cars have had this problem, and Mazda had a TSB part that changed the wire path to the starter solenoid to help the heat soak problem. When the resistance increases with heat, the solenoid doesn't get full voltage and may or may not be able to kick forward.

Same goes for the ignition switch - dirty contacts in the switch mean more resistance, the solenoid might not get full voltage.

Some of this can easily be tested with a multimeter, too.

Dale

Dale Clark is correct! most auto trans cars had this problem. I had to have a relay added to my wiring harness near the starter to fix the problem and get a full 12 volts everytime.

Jeff

I've also found that if you simply run a push button fed directly off of 12v to the starter it works admirably. The whole issue is that for various reasons, the car's system no longer delivers the full 12v or full amperage to the starter.

most likely is a voltage drop issue to the starter solenoid.
like dale said a meter will help define the problem, if it reads less than 10.xxvolts when it clicks or so it is a drop issue (measured at the starter terminal)

new battery will "hide" it for a bit but prob is still there if it goes click click , normal cranking speed.
just install a relay on the starter circuit
use the stock ignition signal to power the relay
it mounts under the fuel rail plastic with maybe 12inches of total wiring

again the path is
ignition switch
clutch switch
theft relay(blue one in driver's kick panel)
up to the grey connectors on the front drivers side of the car under the hood
down to the starter solenoid

hmm i never thought about wiring in a relay but it makes sense.

are we talking about adding the relay to the ignition activation circuit from the key or the power wire to the solenoid......

im getting the solenoid knocking...i can hear it knock under the car doesnt this mean its recieveing the activation signal from the igition swithc circuit?....how can it halfway recieve the signal but still click underneith

help