Alright guys, here's one for ya

[Xtreme]

My car won't turn over- as in, I have ignition power, but when I turn the key to the start position, nothing happens. No clicking, no nothing. When Im under the car, and my girl tries, I get no movement from the starter. This happened all of a sudden, just maybe 2 hours after I had driven it.
I've wiggled the solenoid wire, battery is charged, I tried activating my alarm, then unlocking and trying it, checked wires on the battery, (good), nothing makes any difference. there has been no indications of problems in the past (whether there would be, I dunno) What else can I try?

 

[drunk_medic]

Starter resistor [kick panel near your front passenger's right foot]? When you turn the key, can you hear something under THERE click?
Also, do you have an automatic or manual tranny?

 

[lagged]

seems simple but make sure the power lead to the starter is connected good.

 

[antman]

its a relay in the kick panel(passenger),and yes it should click. if its not. than its either bad or your not getting power to the relay coil...if it is clicking you might have a bad solenoid on the starter (which ofcourse is after the start relay) ,or a bad ignition or just a bad connection somewhere in the circuit. use a multimeter on it, but don't be confused by your readings. it might show 12 volts with no load. be sure to try and start the car and check your readings again. under load it might drop down enough to not pull in the solenoid.
QUICK FIX.. find a speaker wire or something in that range, and crimp a speaker terminal to it. unplug the solenoid wire on the starter and plug up your wire. run the other end to the positive battery post. she should start. just be sure she's not it gear and don't stand in front of it just in case. hope this helps.

 

[Xtreme]

I will check the pass side panel for "clicking", also, the clock dims out completely when I turn the key to "start", so I belive that means the starter is drawing a load, correct? I checked the connections on the starter, they seem to be in tip top shape, but I re-connected them anyway. Still no luck. I will post back when I check for the relay. Thanks for the help and keep the replies coming!

 

[Xtreme]

Ok, relay is probably bad. I get no clicking from the relay at all. It turns out that this is a dealer only item, so I will attempt to put a universal relay in there. Does anyone see a problem with that?

 

[Xtreme]

New info: I seem to be getting no power to the relay terminals. As in, when I test with a test light, none of the four terminals light up, with the key in the on or start posistion. my understanding of relays is- 1 terminal for power, one for ground, one for load, and one for switch. So at least two of them should be hot, right? Is there a fuse to check? Ive already checked every fuse in the engine compartment box, and the regular drivers kick panel box, all are good. Any ideas are welcome, please post some of them and help me out. Thanks a lot for your help.

Alright, tested the relay, and it tests fine. Clicks and everything. So WTF? No power to the relay all of a sudden? Allright, how do I fix that? Do I need to rewire the circuit, or is there a fuse I can check? Help please.

 

[antman]

One should be hot in the on position and two should be hot in the start position.I don't recomend rewireing anything. fix the problem not the symptom.

 

[Xtreme]

Antman: Advice taken, I didn't rewire anything, although none of the terminals are hot with the key in the on or start position. The relay tested fine, and no broken wires or loose connections or anything. The car turns over with a starter button jumpered to the solenoid, but won't fire. I am starting to think it's a problem with my security system (it's factory). I also checked the clutch start switch, but it has been bypassed before I got the car. I am running out of ideas. Does anyone know where the fusible link is, or if it could cut power to the relay? (That is the problem)

 

[cwapface]

I'll cast my vote for ground straps since no one has mentioned that yet

 

[Xtreme]

thanks guys, but I have already checked all grounds I can find, no luck. Talk about pissing me off. I even ran a separate ground to the relay, thereby eliminating any grounding issues. Same result. I don't know what to do. Im just gonna keep plugging at it, and maybe with some luck......

 

[antman]

I believe the am2 fuse in the engine bay controls the ignition. If its good pull it and check for currosion. Probably wouldn't hurt to clean the contacts and pack it with di-electric grease. If its the alarm won't the light stay on?

 

[mrnickleye]

OK......when it happened to my '89 N/A....it was the factory installed security system that cuts the starter out so the thief can't get it started.

Check your owners manual (cause its midnight now and I ain't going out there) and it will tell you how to reset it.

 

[SupraMario]

mine has done this once. all i did was leave it alone for like 2 hours and then it started right up never had a problem again.

 

[IHI-RHC7]

OK, AM1 powers the ignition switch. AM2 also powers the ignition switch, but there are two seperate power leads inside the switch. AM2 powers IG2, AM1 powers ACC IG1 and St1. When the key is turned to Start, AM2 leaves power on IG2, but AM1 transfers all of its power to St1. So ACC and IG1 are not hot during starting.

The starter relay gets power from the ignition switch. The St1 lead goes straight to power the switch leg. Another branch of St1 goes to the clutch start switch, although you said this has been bypassed in you car. Your theft detterent system controls the ground to the starter relay. The reason your clock dims out is because the starter switch routes power away from ACC when the key is turned to start. This is normal, it's why your radio turns off when you crank the motor.
Since the radio and clock, etc. come on with the key, and they are powered from AM1, I would say that you have a bad ignition switch. Remove your ignition switch, unplug it from the harness, and jumper pin 1 to pin 4 on connector A at the top of the image above. If the car cranks, repair or replace the ignition switch. It the car doesn't start, then trace the black and white wire coming out of pin 1 and find where it stopped its path. It changes to all black before it reaches the clutch switch. Chances are that if the switch is ok, then when the previous owner bypassed the clutch switch, they made faulty connections, and that is where I'd look to find a bad connection. Also have your girlfriend crank and verify that you have a ground at the starter relay. Just remove the relay and probe to see if any of the terminals are grounded. If not, then the security system is to blame.
Hope this helps.
-Jake

 

[antman]

hey man! where did you get that scamatic? its easy to read.

 

[IHI-RHC7]

Cygnusx1.net

 

[antman]

musta missed it. thanx

 

[Xtreme]

ok guys, back from the weeks worth of work, and It seemed that the clutch start switch was at fault. Some new wire, problem solved. thanx for all the help, and the time you guys took to help me out.

 

[IHI-RHC7]

I thought that was bypassed...
Glad you got it fixed.