I whent to leave my friends house last night, and when i went to start the car i got nothing. He said it was my starter solenoid, which i replaced this morning and that didn't do it. Its not the battery because we got it to start by taking a screwdriver and touched both of the contacts on the solenoid. I can here the fuel pump prime, the radio comes on in the on position, but when i turn it to the start position i get nothing but silence. Any ideas. He told me he didn't here the solenoid click when i turned the key. It is a 93 Lx. I checked my fuses and they look fine.
car won't start (what could it be)
- Thread starter Puntang302
- Start date
TrophyHead
15 Year Member
Im gonna say it's the starter. If the starter is good you'll hear a clicking sound. You might have to re-juice your battery back up.
NKau
Founding Member
NO, it's not the starter. You have a bad battery ground cable, or the positive cable itself could be bad. I had the exact same symptoms when mine went bad. I bet you may be able to get it to start by wiggling those cables, but they need to be replaced in all likelihood.
ram360
Founding Member
If you can jump out the solenoid with a screwdriver and start it up, then the solenoid is bad. I agree its prolly time for new cables anyway. You had a bad solenoid and you bought another bad one, I have heard of this happening before. Check to see that the small wire with the boot on it is getting 12v when you hit start with the key, if so the solenoid is bad. If not you have another prob.
bmorrisj
Member
push the clutch really hard to the floor and start the car, if it starts that means you need to adjust the clutch safety switch. on top of the clutch pedal arm there is a gery box, with a plastic rod facing the firewall, on that rod is a tab, slide the tab all the way to the grey box, then press the clutch pedal with your foot you'll hear the tab slide back to position......you shouldnt need to press so hard now...
Check the clutch safety switch (5 speed) or neutral safety switch (auto) they will keeep the starter from cranking the engine.There is a slip on connector on the starter solenoid. Pull the wire off of it and jumper the post to the solenoid post that connects to the battery. If the engine cranks, the clutch or neutral safety switch is the culprit.
Since your car is a 93, it may have a mini starter (smaller and more powerful than the old style starters). The wiring is different with mini starters, and these instructions may not be too useful.
Since your car is a 93, it may have a mini starter (smaller and more powerful than the old style starters). The wiring is different with mini starters, and these instructions may not be too useful.
ok i did the jumper from the little post that the little wire with the boot goes on to to the post the battery conects too. It started, so then i put a jumper on the clutch safty switch on the clutch pedal ( to act as if the pedal was pushed in ) the car still wouldn't turn on by key. Could it be my ignition switch? Thats about the last thing i can think of.
URNEXT
New Member
Sounds like you are not getting power to the smaller side (primary side) of the solenoid. It's just an electromagnetic switch. You could possibly have a bad ground on the ground side of the primary. Starter circuits are just switches that switch switches.
MrKwik
Founding Member
Your on the right track with the ignition switch. If you can jump the bat and start post on the solenoid and it starts, then that rules out the starter, cables, battery, solenoid etc. If you dont have 12v on the little boot at the solenoid the problem is obviously before that point. One thing I have seen happen three times now (on sn95 mustangs and a ranger) is that a little pin in the middle on the column backs out for some reason. This pin holds the 2 sections of the linkage that runs from the tumbler to the ign switch near the base of the column. When this happens, turning the key will sometimes put it into acc or ign posistion but the likage wont go all the way into the start posistion. My suggestion would be to access the ign switch and see if the kinkage is moving all the way. You should also be able to remove the switch and actuate it by hand. That will rule out the switch itself. If you actuate it by hand ant it doesnt start, tats probably the problem but I would break out the old multi meter and run some continuity checks on it before geting a new one.
alright i just pulled my clutch safety switch off my clutch pedal and checked it out and gave it a continuity test. It passed. I tried to get my ignition switch out but i could disconnect it from the plate on the stearing wheel. However I did bring my o-meter out and clipped onto the connectors that the plug plugs into. They seemed to test out ok. Then i checked to see what the little boot that clips onto the solenoid was getting. Withe the key in the on possition, it got 2 1/2 volts, and stayed the same when i turned the key to the start position. Could I have checked the ignition switch wrong? In the start position, when i was checking the ignition switch, the very last prong (the furthest away from the steering wheel) had continuity with the top prong in the set just before it.
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