Help! Car Won't Start

[jpeck2]

I recently did some work on the car that required me to remove the starter motor.... upon doing this, I had to disconnect the battery cables, etc... I put everything back together, battery cables back on, car wont turn over it makes a quick short "wha" noise like it would right before the car starts, and then nothing, the first couple of tries the battery wires/terminals smoked a TAD bit... any ideas/help?? :thankyou:

 

[DaSho97]

did you make sure that ALL cables were connected?

 

[SHO1]

And to the proper terminals? Smoke may mean somethings in the wrong spot.

 

[SHOZ123]

Make a jumper wire, pull out the starter relay and try to turn it over by hot wiring the starter through the fuse box. If it turns over then all is OK. If it doesn't your wires are screwed up.

Generally if you see smoke the insulation on the wires is burnt up. There are only three wires. One large hot wire from the battery, one large ground from the battery and one small one from the starter relay.

 

[ruWelded]

Conections

Make sure every wire is in the correct location. Then check all connections make sure they are clean (shiny) and then tighten them.

I have seen battery terminals smoke a little if they are dirty and loose.

 

[jpeck2]

well we went and bought a battery because I looked through some old receipts and my battery was about 5 years old... so we went and bought a new battery for it... came back, hooked it up, still not starting, went down to advanced auto, had the starter tested, it kicked on fine with their machine... so now I should look at all the wires? went out and bought some extra wiring in case I need to replace some... so I'm glad that the starter is still running though I was worried I fried it at first... everyone is saying check the wiring, so it's most likely that this is definitely the issue? :thankyou:


again when all is hooked up, I turn the key and its like a "click" and a short quick "wha" type noise at the same time... not sure why its working at advanced auto on their machine but not on the car... I'm assuming you all, as always, are right... and it must be a wiring issue

 

[93nighthawk]

It would not explain the smoke you are seeing, but it would explain why the starter won't turn. Did you somehow wipe your PATS codes or PCM?

 

[jpeck2]

ok, so new battery, BRAND spanking new starter... still the same thing... so im thinking it's definitely a wiring issue?

how would I know if I wiped the PATS codes or PCM? It's still just making the click noise like the starter pinion is going up, but its not spinning, thats the issue... it's not spinning, and I just cant figure out for the life of me why.. it's kicks up, but no spin...

 

[ruWelded]

Try The Jumper

Go ahead and try the jumper that Paul SHOwed in his post above. If the starter works properly, then you know the "high" current part of the circuit works. Then you could look at the starter relay back to the "control" circuit.

Did you check all connections? I have seen mega fuse conections look pretty bad. Make sure all connections are shinny and tight. Did you check your ground connections? There is one on the FL fender and also the one at the firewall that connects to the block.

One of mine had a bad positive wire right at the battery. I had to replace the positive battery connection. Do you have a voltmeter, that would be helpful to find bad connections.

 

[jpeck2]

i tried the jumper that he showed above, the starter worked... I bought a brand new starter relay, and checked all the ignition fuses, they all check out good... just not working when I turn the key... i just get a click still... not understanding

any chance its the ignition switch? if so, whats the star-like tool required to take the ignition switch off? i took the knee bolster off and part of the ignition cover, seen the ignition switch, and there some weird star like tool required to remove them...

 

[SHOZ123]

The ignition runs through the ignition switch on the column actuated by the key switch, through the TRS on top of the tranny which makes sure it is in neutral or park then to the relay in the fuse box. The TRS is a notoriously difficult to confirm failure point.

The fact that it worked when you jumpered it means it is good from the relay to the starter. It is bad somewhere between the column switch and the relay.

 

[Eric VerValin]

Relays go bad too...

is there another one you could steal to check?

 

[SHOZ123]

Yes I should have said the circuit is good from the relay output to the starter. Swap any other relay in, the heater fan relay will do, it is also in the box.

 

[jpeck2]

i tried the jumper that he showed above, the starter worked... I bought a brand new starter relay, and checked all the ignition fuses, they all check out good... just not working when I turn the key... i just get a click still... not understanding

any chance its the ignition switch? if so, whats the star-like tool required to take the ignition switch off? i took the knee bolster off and part of the ignition cover, seen the ignition switch, and there some weird star like tool required to remove them...

yeah I've put in a new battery, a new starter, and a new starter relay... im guessing i possibly shorted something somewhere then... whats the difficulty of finding the source of the problem if its in the wiring? and whats the difficulty of fixing once found? would I be better off having a shop do it? I talked to Kirk he said $125 for him to come down to albany NY and tow it back to NESHO... how much would an electrical problem cost to get fixed if i had him come pick it up?

 

[SHOZ123]

With the key in start you should have 12V at the Tan and Red wire coming out of the TRS and going to the starter relay.

 

[jpeck2]

any pictures by any chance? I'm not sure where the TRS is, or will I see the tan and red wire underneath the fuse box? or going into it somewhere?

 

[SHOZ123]

TRS is on top of the tranny with the shifter cable attached.

 

[jpeck2]

ok cool thanks... ill let you all know the outcome of that... :thankyou: