# STILL Having Problem



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Went to turn the car on one day and just had the one "click." Went under and heard it coming from the starter. So I removed the starter and had it rebuilt. Installed it yesterday, car started right up. Went in the house and about 3 hours later, car again started right up. 

Fast forward to now. Went to start it again, and sure enough, one click again. Car won't start. What could it be? The starter was just rebuilt yesterday?


----------



## Gotagoat (Jan 6, 2006)

How about the solenoid?


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Isn't the solenoid built in the starter? I thought when a shop rebuilds it, they replace the solenoid as well?


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Just talked to the guy who rebuilt it and he said the solenoid was perfectly fine when he opened it up. It seems the clicking noise is coming from the part of the solenoid that enters into the transmission.


----------



## firebird (Feb 6, 2011)

if you hear the click from the starter when you turn the key, it means that starter is working/gear is extanding. you might have another issue there. all the wiring connected and not lose? did you take it to local auto parts before rebuilding? they test it for free.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

I took it to the local auto parts store before getting it rebuilt and they said it was completely dead. Had it rebuilt and when I went to pick it up, the guy said it ran perfectly after rebuilding it. I spoke to him on the phone and he said it seems to be the positive wire running from the starter to the battery. I did have trouble putting the wires back on when installing it, I will see if it is loose.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Disconnected the wires and the power wire was not on properly. Installed it properly and went to start it, and again, one click. Still doing it


----------



## firebird (Feb 6, 2011)

what about the plugs and wires, is every one of those ok? not melted? is there CEL or SES light on? rent a obd II from auto zone and test if you have any codes active on the car. who rebuild the starter, are they reputable? try getting one from the zone see if it fires up, if not make sure you dont scuff it and return it.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

The wires are perfectly fine and there is no code showing. I will rent the obd II and see if it reads anything, but meanwhile, I am going to take it back to the guy and he's gonna take a look at it again


----------



## LS2 MN6 (Jul 14, 2010)

Could it be that the relay isn't holding the solenoid line high?


----------



## jetstang (Nov 5, 2008)

LS2 MN6 said:


> Could it be that the relay isn't holding the solenoid line high?


Could be a bad relay.


Falco21 said:


> Just talked to the guy who rebuilt it and he said the solenoid was perfectly fine when he opened it up..


Hmm, answered your own question.. Clicking is a bad solenoid.. You don't open a solenoid up, it's sealed.. He didn't replace it and it is an intermitent problem. 
New starters are on ebay for $60, I put one on my 454 and don't have any hot start issues, and they say it's an LS gear reduction starter, so I assume same as typical LS starter.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

No I meant when he opened up the starter. After he rebuilt it, he said he tested it and it ran perfect. Also after installing it, the car started right up 2 times. Now the car is just clicking again. I was gonna just replace the positive wire with the ground running from the battery to the starter. It seems this wire is only about 5 feet long, if that. So I don't see it as being to difficult to replace.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

I am having trouble understanding that picture lol I'm retarded when it comes to wiring diagrams lol 

There is 2 wires. One power wire going from the battery to the starter and one ground for the starter. Those are the 2 main wires I should replace correct? Just making sure I get this right.


----------



## LS2 MN6 (Jul 14, 2010)

I'd make sure the purple wire is providing constant voltage to the solenoid when you crank the engine.

That way you can eliminate the rest of the system as a possible problem.


----------



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

If you hear the click then the starter solenoid is working. Check the connection of the power from the solenoid down to the starter itself. The solenoid acts as a "relay" for power to the starter. There's usually a 1-2" braided wire that runs from the relay to the starter. Make sure those connections are tight/clean. I don't think replacing the power and ground wires to the starter is going to do anything but cause you more frustration and lighten your wallet.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Ok I will have a look at it today. I will also try and take a picture of it to see if maybe you guys see anything that could be the culprit.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Just looked at the wires. Everything seems to be perfectly fine. Took the starter to advance auto parts, they tested it, worked perfectly. Then I had them test the battery, and it read good but needs a recharge. CCA was 625 out of 800. Could this be the cause of the starter not being able to run?


----------



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

625 CCA will get you by just fine... if I'm not mistaken that's minimum spec.

So, then the next thing I would do would either be check voltage drop at various points from the battery post all the way to the solenoid terminal at the starter (as well as checking ground path resistance). You should see less than 1 volt drop (and that's still being generous) along the entire path while the circuit is in use. You might need a buddy to help you. Also, you should see less than an ohm of resistance on the ground side. If that checks out fine the next thing I'd do would try to turn the motor over by hand with a breaker bar to rule out any mechanical binding within in the motor itself. If all those things are met, there's got to be a defect in the starter. There's really nothing else to rule out, other than corroded battery terminals or a loose connection on the power side somewhere.

Edit: You could probably check the voltage drop yourself if you had a means of jumping power to the control or "S" terminal of the starter (thin yellow wire w/red stripe usually). If you do that though, *MAKE SURE THE CAR IS NOT IN GEAR*. It WILL try to run you over.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Ok once the battery is done charging at the store, I will test the voltage points.

Really appreciate the help!


----------



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

Remember though the circuit has to be in use to check voltage drop (voltage difference, essentially). Otherwise you're just checking _available_ voltage.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Yea I know. Tell me if this is right though. None of the components should read above .2 volts I read when cranking the engine? Is that correct?


----------



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

.2 difference I'd say, yeah. Your cranking voltage should be 9.5 or better.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Ok I will get back to you as soon as I try this out. Hopefully it's something easy that can be fixed


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Just to update, I was not able to test it yet since my dad had the volt meter. I will be testing it tomorrow and will post the results to get help to figure this problem out.


----------



## 87GN06GTO07IRL (Aug 10, 2009)

Check the cable ends at the battery. The factory ones suck! Tighten them all the way, then try to spin them. If they spin, cut and replaced. These are also why so many batteries get eaten by these cars.


----------



## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

Falco21,

Check the connections on the ECM, if the car is a 6 speed check the clutch pedal start switch, if the car is an auto check the Park/neutral position switch.

My bet would be the ECM connection is loose.


----------



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

My guess is though if the neutral safety switch was bad he wouldn't even get the solenoid to click. When I've had cars come into the shop with bad neutral safety switches, they act like they don't even have a battery in them.


----------



## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

Poncho Dan said:


> My guess is though if the neutral safety switch was bad he wouldn't even get the solenoid to click. When I've had cars come into the shop with bad neutral safety switches, they act like they don't even have a battery in them.


:agree

If he has a loose connection on any of the safety switches, the start relay or the ECM the problems will be hard to find and will have the starter clicking.

I circled the items that need to be checked,


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Thanks for the help everybody. I just finished putting the fully charged battery back in. Reinstalled the starter. Checked the voltage on the battery with the multimeter, reads over 12. Put one end on the power wire of the starter, and the other end on the positive battery terminal. Started up the car and works perfect. No drop in voltage and car has started multiple times in a row. I made sure when installing it this time that I tightened the bolts on the starter power wire really tight. Also on the ground wire. I also just cleaned up the terminals now and the wires just to be double sure that everything has good connection. Could it just be that the bolts on the power wire on the starter might have been a little loose causing a faulty connection?


----------



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

Entirely possible. Loose connections, and especially bad grounds do weird things, and seem to get even more finicky with temperature change. I had a blade fuse with a microscopic crack in it throw me for a loop on the outboard for my boat. Ice cold it would start and trim. Get out on the lake and within 5 minutes the trim would be out, and you had to grab a rope to start it again... or wait 2 hours for it to cool down.


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Yea what a pain in the ass man. Hopefully this was the solution though. I will see in the next few days. Hopefully it was and the car starts right up from now on.


----------



## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

Cool. I hope it doesn't give you any more headaches. We've divided up just about everything that could be causing your trouble outside of cracked magnets within the starter...


----------



## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

I let it sit for about 4-5 hours just now, went out and she cranked right up. No effort at all. Hopefully this was the solution. Seems good for now


----------

