i dont know where my last thread went, so ill start a new one.

I just put in a brand new starter. still have the same problem as with the old starter. When i turn the key all i hear are quick clicks from the starter. now i tried to bypass the starting system as i saw in the manual. i connected the starter straight to the battery and still got the same sound. after doing this, it also smells like someone off a cap gun in my car. what is the problem?

heres a video so you can hear the sound:
http://s123.photobucket.com/albums/o...0106091605.flv

 

could be a weak battery, get it checked. Also check cables, badly corroded cables will also do that.

 

also check your neg. battery cable where it bolts to the tranny and to the fender make sure they are tight.

 

where is that one that you are talking about?


also wouldnt connecting the starter straight to the battery bypass any connection issues? so that would then point to the battery...?

 

solinoid is clicking with no apparent load. Sounds like the gear motor isn't working. Starter needs rebuild I would think.

 

k so i got the battery checked today and they said it's bad because its not holding charge. initial voltage is 12.3x. so i guess one cause is the battery? although i just bought this battery in September because of this exact problem back then...and when i put it in, it still didnt start my car.

i need to take it to another pepboys to try to exchange it because they dont have my receipt....so for now i cant really do anything

 

oh, why didn't you mention that lol. Alternator could be bad.

Maybe the starter relay!!!. That sounds just like a chattering relay. Thing is though if you bypass the relay and the solinoid and give the starter straight battery those systems are taken out of the loop. I'd atleast try to find a way to jumper your car and try to start it. If it will start with assist than your alternator/charging system isn't performing properly.

The ground that bolts to the tranny. You just follow the negative (black) wire down by your clutch slave cylinder pretty much.

 

so today i got a new battery, so the battery issue is resolved, and i changed one of the terminals. the negative one is new from today and the positive was changed in september.
ever since ive had the car, ive seen that for my neg battery cable...one line goes to the chassis and the other goes to the motor. heres a pic:

the red shows how my positive battery cables are connected (this is an old pic - the ground is in there much more securely than how it looks in the picture)


and the yellow is a problem i found. for that engine ground wire, it was cut and had little connection left. i replaced it (with a smaller wire ----8 gauge vs 10 gauge, assuming it wouldnt make a difference) and hoped that that was the entire problem. but it's not and still does the same clicking sound

and also, even if the alternator was bad, and the battery is good, it should still be able to start the car, no?

So 2m im gonna check 2 things...first im gonna run a direct line from the starter to the new battery, and then 2 i'm going to get the starter tested if that doesnt work.

 

if the battery is charged well yeah. Starting takes a **** load of ampherage.. NOT voltage. Starter only needs approximately 12Vs so if your tester says 12vs that doesn't mean **** about starting power. Have you tried to jump start your car using a friends vehicle?

So yeah report back once you try the new fully charged battery to start your car.

 

mine did the same thing...i just got someone to hold a wire direct from the negative top post to the block...started right up...altho it does look like your ground is secure from the picture

 

i already tried with the new fresh battery, and still the same result. maybe i should try to grab some new wires for the grounds to the battery?

 

Have you tried hitting the starter motor portion with a hammer? Seriously. Find a typical hammer, whack the starter motor a few times - not the solenoid portion where the wires are, the other part. It might be frozen.

Also, make sure the harness ground is connected properly on the water jacket. It is right in front of the place where the thermostat goes, on the head, 10mm nut.

 

Try turning the crank pulley manually.

 

i used to do that hammer trick on an old starter, and it got going for about the next 5 starts and then went back to the clicking. i dont want to have to do that for this new starter.

and yes i checked that ground. gave it a yank and it seems to be in there nicely.

 

umm i dunno might wanna take the woodpecker out of ur starter.

 

Umm...how about starter Relay??

 

Yup that sound is when there is enough power to pull the starter in but not enough to turn the motor. Then the starter releases due to the lack of power the then it slams back in as there is enough power pull the starter in again and again ....

Quite often if the battery tests out good there is a connection issue what happens most of the time is corrosion at one or more of the connections.
The corrosion can be under the bolts or where the wires go into the connectors at either end.
I have also seen it where a wire that has been flexing allot the strands break inside the insulation then you wind up with only a few strands carrying the current.

 

please provide a picture or a clear description of where this is. if its in the under dash fuse box, then which fuse/relay is it? i dont have the cover anymore that has the diagram. but either way, i still got the sound when i connected the starter straight to the battery, which means that i would have bypassed that stuff. and how do i test the relay?

and what would turning the crank pulley do?

 

no your right. You would have by-passed the relay! How about defective starter?

Oh. I got an idea. Open the peep hole where you'd shine the timing light at your flywheel. Its covered with a black rubber plug at the top of your tranny. Its retectangular in shape. Have some one crank the car and see if your flywheel is even moving!!

I also concur with crash control! A bad wire is has a good posibility of being the culprit. If you did have a ohm meter or continuity tester you can test the ground wires end to end and surface to surface to see if they are "bonded" properly. Resistance should be pretty low. A couple ohms to maybe 100 ohms would probably be acceptable accounting for how good your leads make contact with the wire (and depending on guage/distance wire travels.)

YOU just gave your ground a "yank"?? The connections should be solid in the clamp that attaches the wire to the tranny, and the other end to your battery terminal clamp. If it wiggles even a bit thats probably not a solid connection. Quality of the wire or condition is also a factor here.

 

Wow, yeah...

EXACT same problem I had...same sound EXACTLY.

I got a new battery and problem was solved. My old battery even checked out ok on some readers.

Also clean the inside of the terminal thingys (can't think of the names) REALLY good. Like...steel wool or sandpaper good.

 

ok so i fixed it and its starting now. stupid on my end. it was the ground on the transmission. i yanked it and it was nice and tight. but when i turned the bolt, it was loose. so i replaced the battery cables for the negative end (to chassis and to tranny)

thanks for everyones help.

now new problem....everything in the middle part of my gauges work, except for the fuel and temp gauges. all of the other warning lights (fuel, abs, seat belt, clock, etc.) work.