i've read a lot of threads with this same question but none of them have answered my question yet.
so my 90 ef wont start sometimes. i'll turn the key and it wont turn over, all you hear is a click from the starter. and other times the car will start up perfectly fine. after i mess with it a while it'll start, or i'll have to push start it. i got the starter, battery, and alternator checked and they all passed! so all i think is left is the grounds. heres my problem, i dont know how to check the grounds, or what to they look like, or where to look for them haha if someone could please tell me or put pictures up, i would really appcreciate it. sorry for the stupid question haha im still learning!

 

Sounds more like your battery cables are loose. The solenoid is firing on the starter but no juice is making it from the battery cable.

Negative battery cable goes to ground, it;s short follow it it grounds on the engine block.

then there should be a ground from the engine to the body and again a ground from the engine to the chassis/sub frame. They are just lengths of wires bolted to the engine/body. Except the negative battery cable it goes from the battery - to the engine.

Your positive cable should be checked for corrosion

 

my battery cables are on tight and they seem fine. the terminals are brand new, so i dont think it could be them.

thanks a lot dude, ima go check them now!

 

any other possible problems? could the tests have been wrong?

 

Loose alternator belt?

BTW, the negative battery cable should have 2 wires (or 2 attachment points) coming from the battery. One attaches to the body (fender under the battery) and one to an attachment point on the transmission. The tranny one is critical, to handle the large current during startup.

 

that could be it... when i got it checked, the belt did seem kinda loose. how could i fix that?

thanks a lot.

 

Loosen the alternator's pivot bolt,
then loosen the adjustment bolt,
gently pry the alternator body against the belt,
tighten the adj. bolt.
tighten the pivot bolt.

Same procedure applies to all cars.
Awkward, but simple.

 

bump. Want to know if your problem was solved.

 

havent had a chance to work on it, but as soon as i do, i'll post up results!

 

problem solved! it was my grounds after all haha
but my alternator belt is kind of loose, so i'll have to work on that anyways
thanks everyone

 

problem started up again, only this time a bit different. my battery is losing power when the car is off. the dash hardly lights up when i turn the key on after the car being off for a couple hours. so ive been having to push start my car every time i need to use it. what can this be? i've checked everything i can. i dont even have a stereo, and i know im not leaving any lights on. i know my alternator is fine, and so are my grounds. could this have anything to do with the starter? or anything to do with the wiring? please help me! me and my girlfriend really depend on this car!

 

A) Are you sure that the alt. is charging the car when it is running? You should be getting 14+v at the battery.
B) use a multimeter set to Amps between the pos battery terminal and the battery cable to see if there is a drain on the battery when the car is off.

 

deff check the voltage at the battery when the car is running. make sure the battery is fully charged before you start...12.6 volts. Check the voltage at 2000 rpm's, if you're not above 14 volts then that alt isnt doing its job

 

On my car I had a similar problem that seemed to come and go randomly. The previous owner had tried adding TONS of extra grounds but still every once in a while the car wouldn't turn over. The real problem was the clutch switch was going out. Next time it won't crank push the clutch REALLY hard and see if it fixes it.

 

once again, battery and alternator were fine. my starter is just going bad little by little everyday. and the grounds were coming lose again.

the clutch thing actually works! so that could also be a problem
thanks everyone

 

same problem here. With the battery light on my car would start loosing power litttle by little until it wouldnt start anymore. After a jump the car turned on but then the dash lights starteed to go dim and as soon as i got home the car died. Went to test the alternator but it passed all 6 times we tested it. What can it be?

 

skip have you tested the battery? is it good?

 

na. ima test it in a little.

 

i had autozone test my alt like 50 times and finally i exhausted all other possibilities and just bought and new alternator and my problems were solved. so i dont put faith it alt. and bat. testers anymore. haha.

 

while on the topic of grounding, does anyone like the upgraded ground wiring kits like the HKS circle earth kit, or the buddy club racing spec kit? what differences do those make?

 

just make ur own. its all the same copper. use 8 awg or 4 awg.
my .2