Car won't start, battery is hot, starter will not engage?

SPOOL_GSX · 09-27-2005, 10:23 AM

My car has been down for 3 months due to tranny problems, radiator, exhaust etc . . . and i finally got everything all put back together and off the jackstands. I go to start my car and it makes this weird fan noise coming from the starter, it sounds like the wheel was spinning but not touching the flywheel or something . . . not quite sure what. And at first, just touching the negative terminal to the battery (without the key's being in the ignition) the car would either make that free-spinning noise or sometimes it would crank over, when it did crank over and eventually start up then i would remove the terminal and all you would here would be the free-spinning sound. My friend, who knows much, much more about DSM's electric than me, hooked up my starter and all the wires just like how it is on his 90 FWD talon, and now it won't even turn over at all, it just clicks (the relay perhaps?) then , the battery (2 days old) is starting to lose power and it is really really hot. I really do not care how stupid you think you may sound or if you think i might have already done it, just post up some advice if you guys can please. I appreciate it, thanks alot.

Tommy

Oh yeah, i have a 90 starter and a brand new fidanza AWD aluminum flywheel, and my car is AWD, the starter worked absolutley fine for months before that but i don't know now. Please let me know what's up guys thanks.

Matts95TSiAWD · 09-27-2005, 11:21 AM

thats cake!

take a mallet or a hammer and bang on your starter a few times, a pin can become stuck inside, if you knock it loose it will start right up!

if it happens again u need to replace your starter asap, you may get a few more whacks out of it but its going bad.

kanderson111 · 09-27-2005, 11:38 AM

The hot battery sounds like an excessive amperage load. This could be caused by a bad starter, locked up engine, or new flywheel may not be meshing properly with starter drive. I would first put a socket on the crank pulley bolt and turn clockwise a little just to make sure you don't have a problem with your engine. Then take your starter to a rebuild shop and have them look it over & see if there is any reason it wouldn't work properly. If those 2 things don't turn up anything, then you will have to check how your two gears mesh on the flywheel and starter, (this is easy to check on some cars but I have not done it on a dsm and I'm not sure how to do it.)

SPOOL_GSX · 09-28-2005, 09:38 AM

Well, i do not think that 9is the problem, i appreciate the advice, like i said, i can use anyhting, but does anyone else have any other opinions, perhaps a DSM wizeman?
I need my car by Friday, this really really sux alot, is there somewhere where i can find the configuration of the starter and how it is hooked up? Or perhaps something on the location of the starter relay, because i cannot find it . . . Someone help me out please.

ddavisaf · 09-28-2005, 12:23 PM

Your starter is bad. The solenoid is not extending the gear. That's the click. But the gear is still trying to spin. That's the fan noise.
You can try taking out the starter and rotating the gear on the inside. Sometimes they have bad spots.

There should be a positive wire bolted onto the starter, cover with a vinyl protector. There should be a single wire with a female connecter that clips onto a tab above the positive wire on the starter. You also have to have the starter casing grounded.

Verify the connections.
Take out the starter and rotate the gear a 1/4 turn. Reinstall and try and start it up.
No dice, then take the starter to an auto parts store and get them to test it. If it fails leave it there for a day and test it again the next day just to make sure (weird, I know... but it might be operator failure instead of starter failure).

alexg1323 · 09-28-2005, 12:27 PM

the relay for the starter is on the starter. its that little hump off the main assembly. you can take the starter out and test it with jumper cables. Ground the casing and touch positive to the main terminal and relay terminal simultaniously.

You need to make sure you can can turn your crank freely by hand as said earlier

you need to verify there is no design change in the starter from 90 to 91-94 as many electronics arent interchangable, though i would assume the starters would be the same too.

make sure the starter teeth enguage onto the flywheel ring gear when you bolt the starter in.

make sure your transmission was tightened down to the block (4 bolts)

most importantly get the right starter for your model.