Hey you know how on the starter solenoid there's 2 "loops" that connect on the same post as the battery cable? I had to cut those 2 (3 wires actually) and splice them together. Is there any problems with doing that? Because for some reason when I turn the key none of the guages come on or anything. But it might be my battery.

 

What do those red wires do? Are they for the computer or something?

 

Those wires are power wires running from the starter to the fuse block. You just blew the GAGE fuse my man. You cannot splice those wires together, it creates too much resistance or current (sorry not big into wires but I know it does one or the other to blow the fuse) which blows the fuse which powers everything from your gauges to your EGR. I would fix those wires and make sure that they don't contact each other or anything else, replace the fuse, and rock and roll.

 

I re-read my post and I just want to clarify that they affect the GAGE fuse, but I don't know if they go straight there or not, either way its irrelavent. You need to fix those wires and replace the fuse. Just make sure you follow the golden rule, DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE before you do any electrical work ESPECIALLY near the starter. Or really any work period under the hood.

 

I didn't think it'd matter since they all touched on the solenoid. But I also was wondering why there were 2 loops not 3. Back to sears again..

 

Are you talking about the two blue wires on the main battery terminal at the starter? Those are fusible links. Give them a little tug to see if the wires have melted inside the insulation. If you have no power to teh fuse panel, chances are that one of them is toasted.

 

I can't figure out which of these three go on the same loop when on the starter. I should of marked them before I cut the loops off


BTW the reason I'm doing this is because I put a ministarter on and the wires don't reach.

 

Does it matter if two of the wires share the same loop? Or can I just put 3 loops on the starter solenoid?

 

By "loop" I'm guessing you mean "ring terminal". If so, no, it doesn't matter which ones go where. It also diesn't matter if they are used in the same terminal, so long as the terminal is rated for 40A or higher. If not, you'll have to use individual ring terminals for each wire.

 

Ok, I went ahead and tried it with the wires just wrapped around the starter solenoid terminal and the interior lights/headlights don't come on. Actually nothing works, won't crank over etc..

I checked the fuses and the interior fuse was blown, replaced it and still no power. Now the only thing I can think of is the fuseable links, but I don't know why they would be bad since they were fine before I decided to swap out the starter. When I was working on the starter though I forgot to disconnect the positive wire and it hit the frame causing some sparks, could that have somehow fried teh fuseable links?

 

Yea, sorry I couldn't think of the right name for the ring terminals.

I tried pulling on the fuseable links and they're pretty solid, they look fine too. Should I try a voltmeter on them or something? Could there be something else causing the no power condition? I put a new positive battery cable in but that was pretty straightfoward.

 

Sparks are bad, very bad. What exactly was connected when those sparks flew? Did you have the starter connected to the battery and have sparks at the starter? If so you could have very easily cooked your starter. I'd bring it down to autozone to get it checked out.

 

after messing with your power wires it maybe a good idea to get a fire extinguisher.. $15 item that can save your car, i've had the starters catch fire do to the mechanic that intalled my new motor not tightening the starter wires.. i'm still trying to figure out why the fuseable links didn't blow..

 

If I remember right the positive cable was just hanging there and it bumped the frame. I can't remember really to be honest cuz I was jumping out of the way.

 

I just went out and tried the screwdriver trick and nothing. Then I took the screwdriver and bridged the frame and the positive battery terminal. A SMALL spark. So I guess my battery is dead. Actually that's good, I'm glad it wasn't the fuseable links cuz those would be a bitch compared to changing the battery.

 

Ok, sounds like the starter side of the battery cable touched the frame and the other side was still connected to the battery. This forms a circuit. Nothing should have been damaged unless it managed to spark against somthing other than just the frame of the car. Remember to disconnect the battery next time. This is really dangerous stuff your working with. And yes, you should ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher near by when working on your car, specifically your fuel and electrical systems.

Now back to the problem. I'm guessing that you now have some problems in the battery circuit. You have no power at all to anything? Dash lights? Anything? If you have absolutely no power take out your battery and bring it to Autozone or the equivalent to have it tested and charged. If its dead or bad you know what to do. If its good then there's a seriously bad connection some where. Check the battery ground and make sure you have the positive battery cable going to the right place on the starter with a secure connection. The terminal might have been damaged with those sparks. Finally make sure that the starter wires are going to the right places and are not grounding out anywhere. Sorry I don't know exactly how they go but someone else on here might know.

 

Ha, well I guess you are a step ahead of me. You must have had some serious sparking to kill the battery

 

This is weird. I measured with the voltmeter in a few places and get strange results

From one battery terminal to other: 12.93v

Positive battery cable near starter to engine block (put it on the starter to make sure there was no dirt) 0 volts.

Hook positive battery terminal to positive on voltmeter and black wire to engine block, 12.93v.


So.. I guess this means something is wrong with the battery cable? But it's brand new, hmm..

 

WTF OK I just went out and wiggled the battery cable at the battery and all the lights came on woo hoo! I guess I just need to make the battery cable tighter or something.

 

Disconnect and clean the cables first. The transients created by the surge (and more importantly, after tehe surge) may have scrambled some of the volatile RAM in the ECM. To be sure, disconnect the battery for about five minutes while you clean and inspect the power cables.

 

Fortunately the ECM was out of the car because I was getting my chip reprogrammed by Ed Wright..