So my car wont start. I went out today and bought a brand new solenoid and recharged the battery at the autostore, i come back home connect everything back up and still wont start. So i experiemented with the screw driver and the car only trys to turn over when there is no key in the ignition. when ever i turn the ignition on with the key and try to connect the 2 posts with the screw driver there is no spark or turnover of the motor. what does that tell you guys is wrong? i am going to rewire the car soon so i have a fealing its wiring problems anyway.

 

You sound a lot like me last year "Just replace it all"

I would start out small. Get a volt/ohm meter and do some testing at various points and compare them to what they should be. It might be a simple loose wire somewhere.

 

eh. yeah but ive already had an *** load of wiring problems, especially with my gauges. I think its time to rewire her. the whole inside is stripped anyway right now so its probably the best time to do it.

anyone have any ideas tho what it might be so i can quick fix it?

 

Are you saying you can bump it at the solenoid with the key off but when you bump it with the key on it won't bump? Try reversing the two small wires on the soleniod. One should be 12v from the key and the other feeds back 12v to the coil to get a full 12v on start up.

 

Turn on the headlights....do they light up?

If no....look at the wiring harness connection at the firewall next to the MC to ensure it is still connected

If yes, when you turn the key listen to selonoid to 'hear' if it is trying to switch
Also make sure you scuff up the paint behind where it mounts, it won't ground properly sometimes if the metal is making good clean contact with the car apron

 

when i turn the key it does nothing. the battery is fully charged. it only trys to turn over when the key is out of the ignition and i do the screw driver thing to the 1st post and 1st middle post. did i switch the two L shaped boots and thats why its not firing?

Edit: ok i just went out there i put it in the ignition and turned the lights on and i have power to the lights when the key is turned on, it just wont turn over the motor. its really bizzare. is it the starter? i dont hear any noises from the new solenoid when i try to start it

 

You selonoid is not working.

It grounds to the chassis so clean up the grounds.

If that doesn't solve it put a new one in (or the old one) and return the new one you installed as defective.

 

this makes absolutly no sense tho. because yesterday i had just pulled the car in running and then started it up one more time and turned it off again. then came back outside and went to turn it on for the 3rd time and it did nothing. I kno the solenoid and everything was working before then. So i went and just got a replacement solenoid and had them charge up my battery and now still nothing works. Im just going in circles. And i cant figure this out. It makes no sence. I can try scuffing it up but i really dont think thats the problem because the solenoid was there before and worked.

 

Just so I understand the timeline:

1. Car started and ran
2. Car would not start
3. Car would turn over when selonoid jumped
4. So Problem believed to be selonoid
5. New selonoid installed
6. Car still won't start
7. New selonoid has never worked

When you turn the key a little lever in the selonoid switches...this is quite audible. Is your radio hooked up to the key on power source? When you turn the key to on can you listen to the radio?

There are 2 possibilities based on the information available...the selonoid is not working or the wire between the ignition and the selonoid has a break in it. You can confirm you have a good wire by checking it with your ohm meter. I had a similar problem once and I literally had to lightly sand the paint behind me selonoid to get good enough contact for the ground to work. It is also common to get a bad selonoid from the get go and not have them work right out of the box.

Take a clip lead and connect the run post with the 12+ post and then jump the starter side with your screw driver. This will enable to move the car if you are stuck somewhere.

 

no its wierd. heres how it goes.

1. ran the car around the block
2. came back in and parked it.
3.started it back up to take it for another spin and girlfriend started talking so i turned it off really quick.
4.went to go start it for the 3rd time to go take her for a spin and it did nothing, i didnt hear a click or anything.

the car is stripped right now so i was looking at my wiring that goes to the park sensor in theshifter and fiddled a bit with that in the garage before i started it so maybe i messed that up. but i took the shifter apart and checked everything and it still wouldnt fire up.

5. so i went and posted a topic on here and everyone said get a solenoid so i went and bought a new one.
6. while i was at autozone i brought my battery and had it deep charged to make sure it wasnt that.
7. came home hooked it all up and still nothing.
8. when i go to try the screw driver trick with no key in the ignitionthe starter solenoid works and the starter works and the motor trys to fire up with the fan spinning but only with the screw driver trick and doesnt work with the ignition
9.BUT when the key is in the ignition and turned all the way on and i go to do the screw driver trick i get no signal from the solenoid and the screwdriver shows no sign of a spark and i hear nothing, and the motor doesnt try to turn over.


do i have the two boots reversed?