STARTER

[87WhiteStang1]

so i installed my long tubes the other day and along with them i installed a brand new starter for a 93 mustang which is the mini one compared to my original. i moved the wire to the starter from the switched side of soleniod to the hot side of solenoid and hooked that to the starter. i ran a 12 gauge wire from switched side of solenoid to the small wire on the new starter. bolted it up and it worked so good for a few days. yesterday i went to start it and all i could get was a click!!! so i popped the original starter back in there and thats what i'm using now. ANY IDEAS??? Please let me know.

 

[jrichker]

No Crank checklist for 5.0 Mustangs

Revised 30-Jan-2009 to reorder checklist and add cleaning procedure for connections.

Since some of the tests will bypass the safety interlocks, make sure that the car is in neutral and the parking brake is set. Becoming a pancake isn’t part of the repair process…

1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check battery.
The battery posts and inside of the battery post terminals should be scraped clean with a knife or cleaner brush tool.

The clamp on with 2 bolts battery terminal ends are a know problem causer. Anyplace you see green on a copper wire is corrosion. Corrosion gets in the clamped joint and works its way up the wire under the insulation. Avoid them like the plague...

A voltmeter is handy if you are familiar with how to use it to find bad connections. Measure the voltage drop across a connection while trying to start the car: more than .5 volts across a connection indicates a problem.

See Automotive Test Tools for help for help troubleshooting voltage drops across connections and components. .

2.) Check the battery to engine block ground down near the oil filter, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall. All grounds should be clean and shiny. Use some sandpaper to clean then up.

3.) Jump the big terminals on the starter relay next to the battery with a screwdriver - watch out for the sparks! If the engine cranks, the starter and power wiring is good. The starter relay is also known as a starter solenoid.

4.) Then pull the small push on connector (small red/blue wire) off the starter solenoid (Looks like it is stuck on a screw). Then jump between the screw and the terminal that is connected to the battery. If it cranks, the relay is good and your problem is in the rest of the circuit.

5.) Remember to check the ignition switch, neutral safety switch on auto trans and the clutch safety switch on manual trans cars. If they are good, then you have wiring problems.

Typical start circuit...
Diagram courtesy of Tmoss & Stang&2birds

6.) Pull the starter and take it to AutoZone or Pep Boys and have them test it. Starter fails test, then replace it. If you got this far, the starter is probably bad.


Starter solenoid wiring for 86-91 Mustang

Starter solenoid wiring 92-93 Mustang or earlier Mustang with upgraded high torque mini starter.

 

[87WhiteStang1]

I had everything wired just like the diagram shows. I'm pretty sure something had to short out or something. the wiring and rely are good because my old sterter worked fine when i put it back on. one thing that could be possible is that the hot wire coming from the solenoid may have touched the wire that connects the mini stater's solenoid to the mini starter. When i hooked it up i just used the same power wire that went to my old starter. all i did was drill the hole out a little so it would fit on the bolt. it was bent down and it may have touched the other post.

In the picture i attached i circled the two that i suspect may have touched(because i may have confused you when trying ot explain it.

I dont know if those two touching would cause a problem that would cause the starter to fail?

 

[d.r.moss]

I just install a mini starter on mine a week ago. I had those two touching when I installed. When I hooked the battery back up it began to whine. I unhooked the battery, fixed the wire, and it worked. If they did touch, I dont think they would have distroyed your starter and you would have heard it, I heard it immediatly, move the wire, now mine works great. I'm not sure what else it could be, as long as you have good connection at the starter and at the sylenoid.