superdan50

Today a was driving my 94 del sol si (manual) and it was fine, got out went inside and came back out bout 20 minutes later and the car wont start. here is what happens, when you turn the key everything turns on fine, when i go to crank it over nothing happens, it doesnt even try. its like if you dont push the clutch in it wont start. it can be push started.

i found some stuff searching and something that had a symptoms was a bad Clutch interlock switch. so i jumped the 2 terminals and nothing. when i had the 2 points jumped there is a click sound when i turn the key to the crank position, the same sound as when its plugged into the switch and i push the clutch in. when i just pull the plug out of the Clutch interlock switch it makes NO sound. this leads me to believe the switch is good (or at least working).

the starter is 3 years old with less than say 25k miles on it. battery is new (although i dont think its the battery b/c all the electronics work, and jumping it didnt help). i dont know what else to look at. please help. thanks in advance.

Former User

Does the larger starter wire from the battery have about 12.5V? If so, the starter is likely bad, though be sure also to have the battery tested.

superdan50

im out of light, but will check soon. in theory, if the battery or starter was bad wouldnt it still at least try to start? like when ur battery is low and it has that rrrrr rrrrrr rrrrrr sound? sorry dont know how to speel that sound, lol

Former User

Based on what you have said, if the large starter wire has battery voltage, then the starter or battery is the problem. My guess would be the starter, but have it and the battery tested before buying anything.

superdan50

so i tested the battery and the line going to the starter solenoid from the battery and grounded it at the point of on the engine where the ground wire goes to the frame. both read 12.5v.

does the car need to be running to test this? if not, i dont understand why 12.5 would be bad, reason being that 12.5v from the battery while the car is off is fine. so why would the voltage on a line directly off the battery be anything different?

Former User

Voltage is only one indicator of battery function. You should probably load test it now.

If the battery is fine, then the starter is almost surely bad.

superdan50

so i had the starter tested, it came up bad, installed a new one and it does the same thing. battery should be fine, when we tried to jump it it didnt change anything. connections are good.

any other ideas?

Former User

Recheck voltage at both starter wires. Did you have the battery load tested? Do you hear the solenoid click?

superdan50

so i found the problem. i had kicked a relay near the driverside kick panel and it came unclicked. its the relay the clutch interlock switch is wired to. the wire harness came loose but not all the way out so it looked like it was fine. plugged it in and bingo started right up. also my starter was fine i reinstalled it in place of the new one, not sure why it tested bad.

Former User

If the relay were the problem, then the starter solenoid wire would not get voltage, so I assume you did not test voltage on the small starter wire. That simple test would have saved you a lot of time and energy.

superdan50

i gotcha, see i thought you were talking about the power wire, not the relay wire. but i did fix it, when i was exiting my car i kicked the plug out of the relay the the interlock switch goes to. plugged it in and it started. so i went back and got my old starter and reinstalled it just in case and it worked, so i dont know why it tested bad.

but im just glad it didnt cost me anything in the end. and i ended up getting a free head unit.

superdan50

oh and thanks for your help. i wouldnt have known where to even start.