So far that fix is working great, starts the first time every time. The starter even engages kinda aggressive lol. And it's especially nice with the RX-8 starter internals.

 

Edit: Responding in another thread...

 

Was having the same no start issues, so I replaced my starter cut solenoid but now I can hear the solenoid opening and closing (click click) while the car is running...

 

GoodfellaFD3S this just fixed mine also so far.... a simple jumper and she starts every time so far no issues.

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1750

I used this relay same idea as the Bosch relay but a little more beefy same wiring

 

The dead starter bypass relay claims another victim. I got pissed off and just soldered the two wires together. Thanks for the info on this thread.

 

Awesome, I'm glad this is still proving useful

On a related note, one of our fine forum vendors recently released a pretty awesome product you guys may be interested in:

https://www.rx7club.com/banzai-racin...y-kit-1122394/

 

so I have the click, click, zoom nonsense like everyone here. purchased the Banzai racing starter relay kit. installed it. (didnt mount to frame like instructions showed, maybe since its auto?) so now as soon as its in key ON position it begins to start, me never moving into key START position. does this quite often. or I start it and it starts right up like a normal car.......but as it runs/drives the starter engages trying to start the car while the engines on. the relay kit is hooked up right, what area do I start to look for causing the issue. the factory alarm relay? its still there and not bypassed

 

 

I just picked up another FD and it had this problem. At first it was click click click start. Eventually it would start once after a few hours and sometimes not start at all. Scary taking a car out that your not sure would start. Not to mention embarassing. Initially I considered bypassing the ignition system using a relay to provide positive power to the starter solenoid as many aftermarket starter booster kits do but then came across this video by 86boy and decided to see if my problem stemmed from the ignition cylinder. After removing the clam shell I tried positioning the ignition cylinder upwards like the gentlemen did in the video and attempted to start the car. Nothing happened. I tried the opposite and applied downward pressure. Attempted to start the car again, BAM, instant ignition. I tried pushing the cylinder inwards and the starter also worked perfectly. I can't tell you exactly what the problem is but I'm assuming the cylinder is loose in the housing preventing the key to activate the cylinder appropriately. there is a single screw that is located on top holding the cylinder in place. If there was a second screw on the bottom it would provide additional rotational support and apply inward pressure which would ensure solid contact and prevent the click click click start issues. A temporary fix I did was apply two zip ties. The zip ties apply pressure by pushing the cylinder and holding it firmly in the ignition key housing. Since I've done this the car starts up every time. Before you consider doing a solenoid bypass consider removing the clam, push on the ignition cylinder and then try to start the car. If it works great, if not try applying pressure in different positions. If it still doesn't work then move forward from there. Its a simple and quick way to determine if your click click start issues derives from a poorly secure ignition cylinder. In the picture you can see the single silver screw on top and the zip ties wrapped around the cylinder and housing. Thanks 86boy.



-groovin

 

Interesting! I never thought about the ignition switch twisting. Makes a lot of sense!

The starter relay (like Banzai Racing's) fixes this problem MANY times. I built a starter relay probably 6-7 years ago for my car and it's worked without a hiccup ever since. Starts on a dime every time.

Next time I get some "us time" with the car I'll have to check that out on mine.

Dale

 

Maybe the loose connection between the two doesn't allow the key to turn the cylinder completely preventing solid contact with the connector thus sending out a partial current that is too low a signal to activate the starter solenoid? This would explain why bypassing using another relay would work in the majority of cases because even partial contact will still activate the relay. There exist the possibility the loose connection prevents the cylinder from making any contact at all with the connector and that could explain why, in some of those rare instances, a booster fails to resolve the issue. Either way it seems we possibly narrowed down the click issue to three potential culprits with this being the easiest to test.

The next time you get "us time" would you mind reconnecting your signal wire back to the solenoid (essentially disconnecting the relay booster from the system and going back to stock) then perform this test? If that was what you were originally planning to do I apologize. I would be very curious to see the results. If not don't worry about it.

Should we consider updating the initial post of this thread to include all three fixes so people won't necessarily have to scroll through the entire thing?
1. Test ignition cylinder by removing clam shell surrounding the ignition system and apply pressure in different positions while trying to start the car (If you are having clicking/starting issues, I would probably still secure the cylinder anyway to ensure solid contact, help rule out this out while diagnosing and prevent future problems). If no change keep intervention in place and move to next step.
2. Perform H302 relay bypass by disconnecting the thick gauge two wire connector under the driver kick panel and jumping the two thick wires together on the female connector. If no change keep intervention in place and move to next step.
3. Install an aftermarket or DIY starter booster kit. Refer to post #43 by dudemaaanownsanrx7 If no change after performing all suggested solutions consider checking signal wire and power wire resistance for wire degradation. If all wires are fine then the remaining culprits are a bad ignition cylinder,bad ignition switch, bad starter solenoid, bad starter and should be tested accordingly.

-groovin

 

Probably 8-10 years ago I had lots of "click-click-start" problems. It would always start but I would have to bump the key 2-3 times to get it to start. In the process, I -

- Replaced the ignition switch with new
- Replaced the security system solenoid with new
- Got a low mile JDM starting/charging harness and cleaned up/rebuilt it
- Starter rebuilt
- Probably more stuff

The only thing that fixed it was the starter relay. As soon as I put that relay on the problem disappeared and hasn't been back since.

At the end of the day it's a voltage issue going to the starter from the ignition switch. The starter relay fixes that by requiring much less voltage to close the relay than the starter solenoid needs. But, it's weird that there's so much of a voltage drop.

Dale

 

Bumping with pics

So I got the dreaded no click, no start problem. I had recently replaced my starter with a 2kw starter and thought that was the problem. After putting back the original starter, it still would not start. Next, I manually depressed the clutch switch, still no start. I then bypassed the security interlock relay (H302 located next to the CPU2 on the driver's left side kick panel), and bam started right up. I had also recently replaced my CPU2 with one from a '93 and wonder if that was the problem. Anyways, posting a pic of the bypass seeing the pictures in the original post are gone. The bypass connects the two larger wires in the connector (not shown)

 

We developed a bypass plug for this to eliminate the risk of the jumper falling out or shorting. High Torque 2KW Starter (93+ RX-7)

 

One thing i learned about this is that you NEED to have your battery straight to the starter.

I did it first just with the jumper and i was still getting the click click thing pretty often, but then i ran the cable straight to the starter from the battery in the trunk and i have not had that click click again.
I even bought a new starter thinking maybe mine being so old was just too weak... Noup, still running my original starter and the new one just sitting on the shelf.

 

I did the jumper a while back and it didn't solve it. I did it the petit way where you add a new relay and have a 12 gauge + wire going from + on starter to relay to starter solenoid +. I didn't have an issue with the + on the starter itself.

 

Also, I'm not knocking Banzai's product. That is a quick and easy solution for the majority of people that have the problem.

 

 

Just put in a starter booster relay last weekend and it worked like a charm for me!

It's sooooo nice not to have to explain to people that you've got to turn the key to "start" like 5 times before it actually starts cranking. I just got so sick of hearing "What's wrong with it?"

 

I've had the issue at different times over the years and after different fixes. I bought the Banzai relay years ago and it worked. Then I routed the battery positive cable directly to the starter, and took out the Banzai relay since it was obsolete at that point. Some time later I got the click click issue again. I was going to bypass H302 but it was already done. I had to run a 10ga wire directly from that blue plug for H302 (I don't remember which terminal but I believe it's in this thread somewhere) straight to the starter solenoid. Only then was it fixed. And before that I had upped my battery cables from 4ga to 0ga, I had added multiple grounds to the battery, ran the main battery ground to the transmission, ran a ground loop for the electronics in the cabin (isolated from the chassis so they are grounded directly to the battery), replaced the ignition switch, upgraded to the 2.0kw starter...only that 10ga bypass worked.

 

Yes. Solenoid not getting proper power is the more common issue. Not so much the starter itself.

 

Oh that's true. Now that I think about it, the starter relay wasn't obsolete haha. My mistake.

 

I'd like some more info on what you did and I have some more technical questions for you. Can you DM me your contact info @sonicgroove @DaleClark - Andy

 

Not sure what you have questions on, this problem is pretty cut and dried at this point.

Dale