cukaracha

Hi all,

I drove home from work on a rainy day and about 3hrs later I tried to start the car. I hear a slow clicking, but no crank. Tried a few more times, and now there's no noise at all when I try to start. Dash lights come on normally and fuses (under hood and dash) are all okay.

Tried jumping with my other car, but still wouldn't turn over. Left it charging with the other car running for a few minutes, but still no crank.

I have a manual trans, so I checked the clutch interlock switch and it seems fine too.

This has never happened before... Any ideas?

ezone

Jumper cables get rusty and cruddy and cruddy battery cables cause poor connections, so you may need to wiggle and squeeze the jumper clamps to make a positive connection on each of the 4 ends. Can't charge or jump without really good contacts. Sometimes it takes two people, one to twist the key and the other to handle bad connections while you twist the key.

Or..
Remove battery, charge it up and have it tested. Replace if necessary.

Get a cheap battery post and cable wire brush and clean the cable ends to get shiny clean metal for good contacts.

cukaracha

I had this battery tested somewhat recently. Moreover, wouldn't a bad battery shows signs of eventual failure rather than just stop out of the blue? Lights don't dim when I try to start the car either.

I checked the solenoid voltage, and it reads battery voltage when I try to start.

I have a manual transmission, so I'm guessing that if the clutch switch was broken, I'd hear that nasty rapid clicking from the main relay when I try to start the car? Since I don't, can I eliminate that?

ezone

A battery that "passed a test" yesterday does not prove anything today.
It could be bad today.... or it could just be run down enough to cause problems. Leaving the ignition or lights on too long can run down a perfectly good battery then it needs recharged before it has enough power to start the engine again.



You found 12v on which starter solenoid wire--- the small solenoid trigger or the fat battery cable? DURING cranking, both should show battery voltage. That would prove the 'crank' 12v signal is coming from the key ignition switch through the clutch pedal safety switch and relay, AND the cable from the battery that carries the 120+ amp load is also at the very least intact enough to supply a voltage.

With the above statement:
If the starter solenoid does not click at all, that's a problem. (Open winding or poor connection?)
If the solenoid DOES click loudly but starter motor does not turn, that's a problem. (2 wires show battery voltage but the braided short cable does not, that means the solenoid is not bridging its contact plate to turn on the electric motor)
Whack the starter while someone is trying to crank it and see if that will get it to begin cranking.

If the clutch switch was an issue, you would not find battery voltage on the small wire at the starter (someone else needs to sit in the drivers seat and attempt to crank it while you test)

That said, if the clutch switch IS an issue, it seems more common that the rubber pad broke apart and the safety switch plunger is no longer pushed in by the tab on the clutch pedal.
Are there small rubber pieces on the floor under the pedals? The pad would have been about the size of a penny.

cukaracha

I checked the clutch pedal as well and the rubber pad is intact and not falling apart at all.

I removed the starter to bench test it and everything worked normally - starter motor extended and spun when supplied battery voltage.

Here's the kicker: When I was re-installing it, I noticed that the short braided cables had broken off at some point during the installation. I tried soldering them back on, but cables wouldn't absorb the solder. So I went to Autozone to buy a replacement which was supposed to fit, but upon installation, I realized that the screw hole distance was not the same. So wrong part....

I'm thinking of using heavy duty spade connectors to crimp onto the broken off braided cables of the original part. Will that work, given the high current?

More importantly, what else could be going wrong here? Is it possible that there are loose connections inside the starter such that when I removed it, I coincidentally made it work again? I'm really at a lost here....

ezone

If the short braided cable between the solenoid and electric motor is shot, replace the starter.