subieman Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Ok, today when I was leaving work I went to start my car and when I turned the key all I got was a click. So my first thought was dead battery… no that wasn’t it. So then I figured it was time to replace the starter. I have tried 3 different starters and they all do the same, click and nothing. I pulled one of the starters far enough away from the bell housing to see if it was spinning or not. All it was doing is pushing out the gear and not spinning! What the heck is going on? Are all 3 starters bad? Or am I missing something? Its not a very complex system. Wire from the battery to the starter.. and then a switch to ground it??? What could go wrong there? I need some advice quick because this is my only mode of transportation!! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowstormer Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 dont want to be obvious but... battery connections tight? and clean? tried to jump it? battery cable to starter good on both ends? sounds like its not getting enough power to starter... weak battery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 not trying to be a wise rump roast, but did you check all the connections?sometimes if there is enough juice , it is not enough juice.in other words, if there is juice to get it to extend , maybe there is not enough juice to spin it.your battery terminals may be dirty, there may be a short in the wire, or your ground could be lose.gotta go through the whole thing without panic,don't try to fix it.just try to find out what is wrong with it.then you will be able to fix it.don't panic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[HTi]Johnson Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 try running a wire from the battery to the starter switch? make sure the car isn't in gear and the E brake is on. If that makes it spin...you have a bad ignition switch...I had that prob...I just made a puch button start. The button is right next to the ignition...not very hard... I ran a wire from the positive battery post ...to the button.. then to the starter. (This is the Cheap half You could go the right way and get a new switch (if that turns out to be the prob). Good Luck [HTi]Johnson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowstormer Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 yea- i had a bad ign switch that did that once also, good call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jibs Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I was ther helping Jeremy today, and the cables are fine and tight. We cleaned the battery cables as well. It does the same thing. We tried using battery cables and nothing. We tried to push start it and it started, and we let it idle for 5 or 10 minutes, then turned it off. Tried to start it back up and nothing. We disconnected the alternator and it does the same thing. I don't know whats up.Thanks for the input though, it's appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Are you replacing the solenoid with the starter? If not, the contact in the solenoid is most likely at fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jibs Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 The solenoid is located inside the starter right? We haven't been checking because we've tried 3 starters, and if the solenoid is bad on all 3, then it must be something else that's causing the fail, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 yeah, i was just checking that you wern't using the same solenoid on all three starters. Check that the engine/gearbox assy. is properly earthed (with a large gauge wire). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subieman Posted December 22, 2004 Author Share Posted December 22, 2004 The solenoid is located inside the starter right? We haven't been checking because we've tried 3 starters, and if the solenoid is bad on all 3, then it must be something else that's causing the fail, right? I think I know it's not the solenoid and not the starter causing the problem. Thanks for the ignition help guys. I will try your suggestions tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 If when you run a jumper wire from the positive battery post to the small spade connector on the starter the starter spins then it means the ignition switch contacts are probably toast (this is a common problem) so to rectify the problem without adding an aux. push button use any common lighting relay as follows. as a side note the connector that feeds voltage to the ignition switch has been known to cause this also. The main feed in the connector gets burned and will not let the amount of current needed to pass. This pink colored connector is under the st. col It can be easily seen after the trim panel is removed and may appear burned at the main (white colored) feed wire connection Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendrik Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I had the same problem . ignition switch was dirty/old. Only the starterswitch on the start-engine needs about 20 Amps to go..... What I did was mounting an extra relais just close to the starter. A relais cost 2 $ or less.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subieman Posted December 23, 2004 Author Share Posted December 23, 2004 Wow Skip thanks for the diagram, you rock. I got the problem fixed. It just happened to be corrosion on the battery terminal. I cleaned it up and it starts up like a champ. Thanks again for all your help. I still might put a push button start in the car. I like that idea. Peace, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowstormer Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 glad you got it goin- sucks to have a car down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NV Zeno Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Ready for Doyle Grade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 as my old man always said.keep it simple stupid.glad you got it goin.i would suggest some dielectric grease to keep your terminals free of corrosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subieman Posted December 23, 2004 Author Share Posted December 23, 2004 Ready for Doyle Grade? More then ready! I'll try that grease you mentioned monstaru! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evo's suck Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 You are all cool Subaru's rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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