Just picked this beauty up yesterday and im pretty sure the starter is shot. Got a new interstate mega-tron plus battery to throw in it (barely fits ha) and it just clicks rapidly when i turn the key and all the lights and go out on the dash .. So assuming it is in fact the starter my question is can I throw the starter from my 84 ea81 non turbo on my RX ??

Pretty sure you can but no matter what is said here you check them both side by side end to end nose to nose and see if they are the same.

 

Make sure engine can turn over by hand first. Check the cleanth of battery terminal s and cables first. Grounds. Tap starter solenoid while trying to start etc

It's not the starter. The battery gauge on the dash reads under 12 volts but the battery is new and reads 12.5 at its terminals. I put a jumper (Which was low on battery itself ha) on it and it was cranking but slowly for a second before the jumper died .

You can also get a current draw problem that causes slow cranking. A clamp meter test and some research on the technique might be worth a try.

 

Earth lead connections both ends.

 

Connect a crap power supply wont help - as you found out

 

Have you read Volts at battery while cranking?

 

Coulkd try swap starters if you have one. I would

It is not the starter.

Dash lights going out means means you have bad conections or a dead battery as long as the motor is not seized.

Check and clean both ends of the positive and negative cables. Sounds like you have a high resistance issue.

Check those main connections. Don't rule out the battery either. I've seen a new one fail internally.

Motor isn't siezed. Turned over by hand with ease. Cleaned both sides of the battery cables and threw a fully charged jumper on it while cranking it and still nothing. The fuel pump is wired to a kill switch . From the pump into the cab and out to the positive side of the battery with a 15 amp circuit thing on the wire . Figured that may have something to do with it ? codswallop I hate the electronic side of this stuff .

Motor isn't siezed. Turned over by hand with ease. Cleaned both sides of the battery cables and threw a fully charged jumper on it while cranking it and still nothing. The fuel pump is wired to a kill switch . From the pump into the cab and out to the positive side of the battery with a 15 amp fuse on the wire as well . Figured that may have something to do with it ? I hate the electronic side of this stuff .

Edited January 4, 20188 yr by Jaysus

In that case,the problem will be poor connections at the small wire that goes from battery positive to the fusible link

box,poor connections inside the box or at the ignition switch connector(they overheat and melt).

 

A bad ignition switch could do the same.

 

Some voltage measuments at various points would be very helpful.

Kill switch should be irrelavent.

Ok so where should I take the voltage measurements at? Sorry but I'm shyte when it comes to anything involving electricity .. Always shied aways from it til very recently

OK so am I to some extent.

 

I think just across battery terminals while it is being cranked and post result up to see if someone recognizes something for a start

 

This is where you learn so don't have to take it to a shop and bend over

Negative lead to battery negative.

All measurements while trying to start

 

Positive to:

1 Battery positive

2 Battery side of fusible link(can`t remember which offhand,do all 3)

3 Car side of fusible link

4Ignition switch power input by backprobing the connector

5Ignition switch starter output by backprobing the connector(use the meter to deduce which is which)

 

These should pinpoint the problem.

I`ve had trouble w/a poor connection where the positive wire enters the fusible link box.

How do I "backprobe" and where do I find the input and output sources mentioned in steps 4 and 5 to perform said backprobing?

I was looking at the fusable links and one of them did seem a bit melted and heat damaged

imagine if your doctor was back probing you with your consent, you stick the pointy end of your digital multi meter or analogue one if that is the case into the back end of a wiring socket so you touch the part of the terminal that has the crimps around the wire. Youd be looking at the back end of the plug not the front end where the matching plug fits and everything is insulated preventing your DMM probing

 

You can now buy plastic cased Female Fusible Links called FFL for short, that plug in in place of the coloured fabric ones. Just check leg length of FFL, some are not correct fit. Light blue 20A is a safe intro rating

Hey, how about you come up with results of step one before you advance to step 4 !!

 

May be no need to go there !!

Ignition switch connector is at or near the switch under the steering column plastic.

 

Do the voltage tests in numerical order.

 

If one is significantly less than battery voltage,you have just gone past the problem area.

 

It is probably that bad looking fusible link.

Edited January 5, 20188 yr by naru

Ok . So what do i do about the fusable link? How can i diy the thing at home? If at all possible

Not all the fusible links are necessary for driving I don’t think. Pretty sure you can move an unnecessary one to a necessary spot to get it running and driving.

 

But - whatever fried the first one is also likely to fry the next one you install unless it’s been repaired. They don’t just randomly blow for no reason.

 

If you get it started check the alternator output immediately to make sure it’s not overcharging and self destructing.

 

I’ve repaired this exact thing about 20 times as I’m sure others have. That’s what poor connections always do, like every corroded loose Clamp ever. I would check for voltage at the starter - just follow the positive battery cable to the starter. Put negative lead on negative battery post and positive lead in the positive cable where it bolts to the starter. Make sure the starter is at least seeing 12.x volts.

 

90+% of the time it’s the connections at the battery. But you do have an older car with exiting electrical issues so odds increase for something else.

 

The battery terminals and clamps need to be clean and tight. Did you pull and clean the battery terminals and the inside of the clamps? Then you need to verify however the wire is connected to the clamp.

Maybe nothing fried the FL, I have found many Subes after 23 years need clean FLs. A replacement may be all it needs. PO give you any history on it?

Po wouldn't know where to find the steering wheel.. so no ha. While cranking the battery at the terminals goes from 12.4 down to 11.4 and even 11.2.

What's the little male connector thing on the back of the starter close to the positive lead??

The small connector is the coil for the solenoid.  Apply 12V to that, and the solenoid should engage and run the starter motor.  The current draw through that connector is somewhere between 10-20 Amps.

 

A fully charged, good condition battery at rest - no current in or out for at least a day - is 12.6V

12.4V would be a little low, but still good enough to crank.

12.0 is fully discharged.

 

11.2V with the starter running, is not unusual.