I just installed the remote starter solenoid per the tech section article. The first two times I started the car, it was fine, but now the starter will turn, but not with enough force to turn the motor over. It acts like the battery is low. I replaced the battery with the 910/720cca battery from pep boys, it was the beefiest one I could get. This didnt solve the prob. So, I am thinking that there is something stopping all the juice from getting through to the starter, I am not an elctronics guru by any means, so I am not sure how to test this or figure it out. I am pretty sure that I wired the solenoid in right. Also, if I keep the starter engaged for more than 3-4 seconds, there is a wire coming off of the neg. battery cable right by the battery terminal, it becomes rocket hot and starts smoking. Did I goof in my wiring? Here is an image of the remote solenoid. The red wire goes straight down to the starter where the large and small posts are bridged with the batter cable on top on the large post. The purple wire, in the center of the image, was the only wire on the small starter post. The wires on the right side of the image are the accessory wires and the positive battery cable.

www.gamerion.com/rob/remote_solenoid.png

Any help is, as always, greatly apprieciated.
Rob

 

Noone?

 

If that wire is smoking , your main ground wire is not making contact properly. Check where it connects to the motor.

 

I would try running a ground cable directly to the solenoid housing (i.e. where you bolt it to the body). See if that works.

 

Yep, you need to make sure the heavy cable on the negative side of the battery is securely attached to the engine.

Pete

 

Thanks for the help guys, I will check and see if the neg. cable is loose. Do you think that that would also cause the problem of not having enough power to crank the engine over?

Rob

 

Definitely. It has lots of power getting to the starter through the large cables, but only a small amount is getting back to the battery through that small cable which can't handle the amount of current - that's why it is getting hot and smoking.

Pete

 

Check the grounding strap that goes from the back of the head to the firewall too. Depending on where the remote solonoid is grounded, that could be giving you some issues too.

Matt

 

And I can't tell from your picture, but it looks like you have the ground cable and the accessory cable going to the same terminal. If that's the case, that will give you the same effect.