Just swapped engines: Starter not doing anything

[sportsma1539]

Hey guys. Once again I have another problem. I finished hooking everything up today and went to start the car and I got nothing. No click from the starter or anything. I tried to jump the car off thinking the battery was dead, but nothing. All my dash lights come on, fuel pump comes on. Its as if I'm trying to start the car without pushing the pedal in. A friend of mine that was helping me do the install took the starter off so we could get the tranny mount in and I'm thinking it may not have been hooked back up right. Is there more than just the one wire on the starter?? I saw a rubber boot looking thing on the bottom of the starter, what is that? I'm also thinking some of my grounds may not be hooked up. Where are some areas on the engine that have to be grounded to start the car???

Oh, btw, I have not hooked up the shift linkage yet. I dont think that matters though since I'm just tring to fire the engine up. Also where is the switch that cancels the starter when the clutch is not pushed in? Thanks

92 ls integra with a b18b1 engine

 

[Sammich]

i'm not that keen on doing swaps..but my guess would be...recheck your grounds. when u try to start teh car, does all the lights u ONCE had..just go away?

 

[sportsma1539]

when the key is turned they go away. Im thinking its a ground wire too. Where are all the grounds?? I know there is one from the chassis to valve cover, battery to chassis, and there is one at the thermostat housing. the ground on the valve cover got stripped when I was putting it back on so that could be a problem. Are there any more grounds on the engine??

 

[Sammich]

yea u may need to get another fresh wire to go from the VC to the chassis...i mean...why not redo them all..wouldnt hurt.

 

[sportsma1539]

What type of wire should I buy?

 

[sportsma1539]

Where does the wire that comes off of the negetive battery cable go to?? I noticed it goes down under the fender but thats about all i can tell. Im assuming it goes to the engine somewhere. I know one connects to the chassis.

My starter does work. I took it off today and tested it.

 

[acclude]

Is it manual, and if so, have you checked the clutch bypass switch at the clutch pedal?

 

[sportsma1539]

Is it manual, and if so, have you checked the clutch bypass switch at the clutch pedal?

Yea its manual. Is that the button on the top of the clutch pedal?? I dont think that is my problem because i tried to jump the starter today and it still didnt do anything. Jumping the starter bypasses the clutch bypass switch right??

 

[b20MAN]

Hit The Starter With The A Hammer ! Hit The Part That Goes Into The Tranny!

 

[sportsma1539]

Hit The Starter With The A Hammer ! Hit The Part That Goes Into The Tranny!

And what will that achieve?

 

[acclude]

NO don't do that....

If you tested the started out of the car and it works, and you put it in the car and it doesn't work even after bypassing the starting system, you have a bad ground. Use some thicker guage wire like 8 or 6 AWG and run a ground from the block to the firewall or frame. Just bolt it to like the bellhousing bolt and find a large bolt on the frame/firewall somewhere. If it starts then run that ground wire permanently nice and neat. I'm almost positive that's your issue.

 

[sportsma1539]

NO don't do that....

If you tested the started out of the car and it works, and you put it in the car and it doesn't work even after bypassing the starting system, you have a bad ground. Use some thicker guage wire like 8 or 6 AWG and run a ground from the block to the firewall or frame. Just bolt it to like the bellhousing bolt and find a large bolt on the frame/firewall somewhere. If it starts then run that ground wire permanently nice and neat. I'm almost positive that's your issue.

Is that the purpose of the ground from the body to the valve cover?? It is kinda screwed up. Ill have to give that a try.

 

[mirrorimg]

Use some 4g quality speaker wire. I dont know what wire you are talking about that goes behind the fender. The one wire that should be connected to the neg terminal is on the back of the shock tower.

 

[sportsma1539]

Use some 4g quality speaker wire. I dont know what wire you are talking about that goes behind the fender. The one wire that should be connected to the neg terminal is on the back of the shock tower.

Thats probably the same wire Im talking about. I tell ya, its so frustrating to have this happen when I havnt even got to fire my new engine up yet. Its been ready to fire for 2 days now. :x

 

[acclude]

Is that the purpose of the ground from the body to the valve cover?? It is kinda screwed up. Ill have to give that a try.

No, that one is mainly for the spark plugs and sensors in the head.intake manifold. A ground is a ground so the starter would try to use it, but all electrical devices will find the shortest path it can back to ground (neg term of the battery). So with that said, you want a large wire grounded near the starter and then near the neg terminal of the battery. The small guage wire on the valve cover will not carry enough current to allow the starter to work. Look at the thickness of the wire going to the starter. Find another wire that is at least that thick to use as the ground.

^^^^^now that's a good setup!