Ok ive got a little problem with my starter. First off my starter has been known to heat soak and not want to crank when its hot. But when this happens i normally run the engine fan or give it some 15 min to cool off and it normaly cranks fine.

Today when i went to wal-mart to pick up some stuff i ran in for a quick minute and when i came back to start my car the starter wouldnt turn the motor over, just like it has always done with heat soak. No the bat wasnt dead. So i went back in wal-mart and looked at some tools and ect, came back out 20 min later and still no start!

Well luckily i was parked on a hill and i just rolled it off and pop'd the clutch and she fired right up and got me to my softball game. After the softball game a good 2 hrs later no start.

This time though it seamed as if i had an electrical short. Because nothing electrical would work in the car with the ignition turned on, lights, cd player, ect. THE BATTERY WAS NOT DEAD. With the ignition off the lights would turn on just fine. So this time i unhooked the thick positive wire to the starter and the 12volts to the solenoid, and the lights and everything worked fine! Rolled it down the hill and she fired right up. ( note that my ignition isnt wired off the starter but off the bat, so that didnt effect my ignition box )

It was dark and i couldnt check the starter to see if the power wires had shorted on the block or frame.
So to make a long story short does this sound like an electrical short or has my starter just gone bad? Could a blown solenoid cause these symptoms?

 

Check your fusible link.

 

The only fuse there would be would be a inline fuse i have between the starter solenoid and the 12 volt source. I disconnected the 12 volt solenoid wire from the starter, and still had the problem. The only cable going to the starter at that point was the thick red wire from the bat. No fuse between those two.

 

when you turn the key do you get power to your solenoid wire? If you jump it across, does it engage the starter? You have to trace it back to the last place you have power. Electrical is a beotch.

 

I couldnt tell you for sure if the solenoid wire had power, it was dark and i couldnt see or have all my tools to test. I can tell you that when i put 12v to the solenoid wire something did happen. i heard a small sound, not the starter gear hitting the flywheel, but buzz. After i disconnected that solenoid wire, i still had the electrical problem where my lights or anything electrical would come on with the key in the ign pos. It wasnt until i pulled the main starter wire off could i turn my lights on and power the ign and fuel pump.

 

So when you have the main power wire hooked up on your starter, It powers everything like all the switches are stuck on? Or it won't power anything?

 

Ok. I just re-read. I think you have a short. You might have a bad starter and a short. I would find one or the other first and see how it affects the other. Like, find the short, see how the starter works after that. If you can't find the short, it might just be the starter but I doubt it. Its so hard to diagnose electrical not being there lol. Is your engine grounded to the battery? Or is it grounded to the body and then the body to the battery? If I am not mistaken when you switch the key to the the ignition on any vehicle, everything looses power. am I correct?

 

Well when the key is turned to the start position everything loses power but thats not where mine lost power. It had lost power even with the key out of the car ( example of the outside lights). Im hoping its just a short and the starter isnt bad. It kinda seams like a short to me too. But i couldnt see anything in the dark. The engine is grounded to the bat, and the frame is grounded to the bat. 2 different think black wires.

 

What wire runs to your ignition box?

 

Ok here is the setup maybe it will help ya get a visual. A fused 12 volt wire runs from the bat to a toggle switch on the dash to the MSD box.
Another fused 12 volt wire runs from the bat to a push button on the dash to the 12v solenoid on the starter.
Thick red wire from the bat to the positive terminal on the Starter.

The only thing i do with the key is turn on the accessories like the radio.

 

Ok with a starter setup that simple, you have a solenoid not engaging. since you have taken everything else out of the loop, I think you have a short also.

 

sounds like a job for first thing tomorrow morning.

 

check my edit.

 

So you think i have a combination of a bad starter solenoid, and a short. Or just the short. I thought if i just had a bad solenoid i woudnt have the other strange electrical problems, just a dud when i hit the start button.

 

Ok, still dont have the car home so i cant put a voltmeter on it but ive narrow'd the problem down to when i send 12 volts to the solenoid, my cars electrical goes to crap. i have to disconnect the bat give it a little time and then hook it all back up. Yes my first guess would be a short between the starter button and the ign on the solenoid. But with out a way to test im wondering if a bad solenoid could cause this also. I havent done anything to the car recently that would cause a short the 12v wire to the solenoid so im thinking the solenoid has gone out. Can a bad solenoid give me these conditons on a mini starter?