ok so i just bought a brand new battery and put it on my car that had a two day old brand new starter. I installed the battery and went to turn it over you could hear the starter catch the flywheel then it just clicks. If you turn the motor over by hand about 1/2 a turn you can hear the selinoid drop and then when you go to start it again it will catch the flywheel then just click. So i took the starter back on the warranty and installed the new one hoping to fix the problem but i got the same result. Next i checked all the starter connections and battery connections and the ground and all are good what can be the problem?

 

Did you check the lash (spacing) between starter and flywheel? If the engagement is too tight, it could cause the starter to just jam up. Use a shim or 2 and see how it works.

 

do i put the shims on between the starter and block or between starter and bolt and can i just use washers as shims

 

between starter and block. you can use washers but its not as solid you can get a pack of shims for 3bux at autozone in the help section that has the door handles and all that.

 

tried the washers didnt make a bit of difference this is really frustrating

 

Then check your positive battery cable. It may have some extra resistance somewhere in it. If tests bad, replace it. That resistance could be a power draw and all 12 volts not be reaching the starter.

 

ok so i bought some shims for the starter i put in the mid thickness shim and notice a tiny bit of a difference it wants to engage a little more it has a more firm grab on the flywheel but then it starts clicking should i move up to the bigger shim or move down to the smaller one also i replaced both battery cables to rule them out.

 

will the starter turn over the engine if you jump the posts with a screwdriver? If so, you have a bad connection somehere. How was it before you started doing all this work? Also, is your ground wire hooked to the block or the body? Should be to the block. Clean your connection areas where you have the negative cable and see how that does.

 

ground wire is on the body before the starter just quit all of the sudden it was working perfectly. it will not turn over by jumping post. what are the other two wires on the starter and where do they go? i appreciate the help i tried all the shims with no difference i really want to get this figured out

 

Move the ground wire to the block. You are most likely not getting a good ground on the engine if it is connected to the body. This happened to me when I first started tinkering on cars 12 years ago.

 

alright i will try moving the ground but it was working fine with the ground where it is also do you happen to know where the other two wires on the starter go besides the positive wire

 

Small wire is from the neutral safety switch. The other wires are main power wires to other things like constant power suppy to fuse block. No problem. The body is not really a good ground for the starter. That's why the main ground wire is to the block and the back of the engine has a ground strap to the body. Some ground cables also have a small wire to go to the body as well. Good luck with this.

 

Ok so i still havent figured this out. I have tried every possible things i can think of. I've bought all different sizes of shims and tried all kinds of washers with no luck but i did find something interesting i have some big washers on between the starter and the block and the starter is far enough away from the flywheel that it free turns. When you hit the key you can hear it turning super slowly like it dosent get any power but i have a brand new battery and all new battery cables with a good ground and have all the wires hooked up right. I would like to get this figured out before i have to take it to a mechanic and get overcharged for something i can do by myself.

 

Just for giggles, try to start it with another vehicle and jump start... or swap in a known/good/charged battery.

I've had a few batteries over the years that although new, were a little weak until they got on the car and charged up.

 

I figured it out the starter wasnt grounded wow i feel dumb for this one

 

wasnt grounded?

 

yeah for some reason there is a little post on the back of the starter motor that if not grounded will not allow the starter to work

 

must have a wierd starter. glad you got it going!

 

Nice! Never thought of that. My starters ground from the mounting bolts to the block. Anyway, good job on that one.