I changed my oil, installed new spark plugs and a wire set and the car ran great for the rest of the day. The next day I try to crank my car and there's only 1 loud click and that's absolutely it. I've checked the main relay, starter, battery, there's fuel and a spark, and no codes. I've been able to push start my car for the past month but I just now replaced my battery cable because of extreme corrosion (thought it could be related to my starting problem) and now the battery light stays on and my starter is locked up. Tried rocking the car and banging on the starter with a hammer, won't push start anymore. I'm stumped

 

check your grounds...you can jump a ground to the starter body and a hot to the solenoid to see if it cranks...if this works its more than likely your main ground cable

 

charge your battery

 

checked the ground and cleaned the connections, got the light to go away. still won't crank, only the 1 click and I can't push start because the starter is still locked up

 

could be your alternator? i had a similar problem, kept draining the battery so i couldnt start it. try checking your alternator.

 

if the starter doesnt spin replace it too

 

if it was my alternator, would it drain my battery completely? i have a starter laying around from a d16z6. could i use that on the d15? i had a guy from autozone telling me since my car is a 4 speed it won't work but it wouldn't be the first time they lied to me lol

 

manual or auto is the only difference i know of between d series starters the z6 should work

 

Could be you have a short to your starter somewhere (internally or externally) making it locked.
Disconnect power to it and see if your battery still drains.

 

so i replaced the starter and i'm getting the same results. won't crank, won't push start, just the same 1 click

 

You could be dealing with a bad ignition. I know they can act funny once they get a bagillion cycles on them. Lol

 

Try the alternator. The alternator drained my battery all the way down, and was doing the one click thing with me too. I just swapped it with a new one and it worked

 

run a push start button.

one wire from the started to the switch, and the other to a 10amp fuse under the dash.