Skeletor

The car was swapped in Feb. and right from the start, the starter wouldn't work properly. It would click but nothing would usually happen the first time it usually took 2 or 3 tries to get it started. This hasn't really been a problem until lately when it would half way turn the car over or do it weakly. Well, doing the usual and ignoring the problem, I figured I'd get to it. Well today it quit even turning the car over weakly, it just clicked over and over to no avail. When I checked the positve wire going from the battery to the starter, I noticed some corrosion on the screw. Well when I tried to take the nut off my tranny ground wire burned up. All the insulation was melting off. I freaked and just yanked the positve wire off the battery thus buring my two fingers. My tranny ground melted off, and my battery ground melted slightly and burned the paint around that screw. Now my question is would the starter solenoid being stuck open have cause a load thus burning up my ground when the wire was taken off? When I tightend the wire back to the starter, and put the wire back on the battery, no more smoke or flames. Should there be anything else I need to check for after I replace the starter? Fuses? Other wires burned? This really sucks cause I burned my hand bad enough to go to and urgent care and get wrapped. And my car has to sit for a week or so until I can work on it.

old man neri

I would recommend checking out your pos wire going to the starter and any other main grounds. They do deterioate over time. Check all connection points for corrosion. Get some steel wool and clean them up. I think there is a special grease you can put on afterwards that will conduct electricity and prevent corrosion.

Do you possibly have a short anywhere? Starter wire getting a little too close to a ground or something?

Also see if you can have your starter inspected or if you can swap it out with a known good one.

I don't know where you are from but if you are in a colder climate and running the wrong grade oil it will become very very hard for your starter to turn over.

Hope that might give you a start.

Skeletor

I'm in Virginia so cold is not a problem. There was corrosion on the positive going to the starter and when I took that off the tranny ground burned up and the battery ground partialy melted. I think this may have been because I stupidly didn't remove the battery wires before I took it off. Would the starter being stuck have caused some kind of reverse load on the system therefore sending all battery power backward through the battery and in to the ground? I'm pretty sure the starter is bad so that and the grounds is were I'll start first.

old man neri

No, the power won't go backwards.

Usually melted wires is a sign of a short. Maybe when you removed the starter wire you accidentally grounded it on something.

A stuck starter might start dawing too much, although I always though starters drew as much power as there was available.

Skeletor

I didn't remove the starter wire, just barely loosened the nut when the tranny ground burned up. When I put the smoke out after removing the positive battery cable, I reconnected the starter cable then the battery cables and had no more smoke or heat. Just the car still wouldn't start just the clicking like before.

old man neri

You yourself might have gounded the main positive lead. If you were touching the nut with your hand or a conductive tool (i.e. a metal wrench) and another part of you body was touching metal (you leaning on the fender or using one hand on the valve cover to supper yourself you would essentially ground it.

It is always best to disconnect the negative terminal on the battery first.

Other then that I have nothing, sounds like your starter is fucked but I am only giving guesses at this time.

Oh and just a side note, It takes about 0.1Amps to travel through you to cause probably death, .025-.1 to cause respiratory paralysis. A starter can draw I think up to 1000 Amps in some cases. So please be careful working on your electrical system, always disconnect your negative termincal first.

Skeletor

I know not disconnecting the wire was stupid and probably the source of my fire. I really didn't think about it it was kinda like "Oh let me take care of that corrosion." Without going through the usual logical details. I'm going to replace the starter and replace the tranny ground. Is #2 big enough? I have some left over from a stereo install and I can pick up some crimps from work.

old man neri

I think you might be alright with #2 guage, but it might just be easier to go an auto parts store and by a premade cable with the correct terminations.

Skeletor

Oh, I wasn't aware they sold premade ones. That'll be just as easy.

Archidictus

You started taking wires off your starter without unhooking the battery first? Damn, son, that's either brave or sincerely stupid

Skeletor

Really stupid and not thinking at the time. BTW are all b series OBD1 starters the same? And is that something sold at the standard auto parts stores?

SuperSteve737

Check all your wires. The same thing happened to me after replacing my starter. I rushed the job because it was getting dark and cold. I ended up having a loose end touching the trans and shorting everything out.

I understand that you have had the car swapped and running great for whatever lenth of time, but **** happens. Just check the wires, and recheck them, then again.

Zeus Zore

yeah..
get a new starter (shold have for along while ago) and make new wires, big ones...
and get a new batt...

Skeletor

Does anyone know if all b series starters are the same? That way I can call up the auto parts store and tell them I need a starter for a 95 Integra LS.