Anyone good with electrical? Will this work?

a reply to: tinner07

that`s what I always do before I even put a new starter on, connect the new starter to a battery charger or to the battery with jumper cables and make sure the solenoid and bendix are working.

in your case I would trace all the wires from the starter back making sure none of them have the insulation melted off of them and have rusted,and make sure that all of the old shims have been removed and put back in the same place on the new starter. double check to make sure that no old shims are rusted and stuck to the block or the old starter.
and of course make sure that the new starter is the same as the old one and actually needs the shims. if the mounting on the new starter isn`t the same thickness as the old one and you put the old shims on it also the bendix might not extend far enough to engage the flywheel.

starters seem easy to replace because there`s only 2 bolts and 2 wires but overlooking even the smallest detail can cause them to not work like they are suppose to.

originally posted by: intrptr

originally posted by: TinySickTears
a reply to: intrptr

thanks man
appreciate it
for the record there is only 1 wire going to the solenoid

There should be more than one.

Found this...

cargurus

there isnt
1 wire(purple) coming out of solenoid and into harness

a reply to: Plotus
I agree, I`ve never seen a car that had the teeth on the flywheel broken off or worn down so much that the starter wouldn`t engage the teeth. a vehicle would have to be extremely abused on a regular basis for the flywheel teeth to be broken or worn off to the point that the starter wouldn`t engage the flywheel teeth, and it wouldn`t happen overnight it would be a very noticeable and gradual process.

a reply to: TinySickTears

make sure the pins are seated all the way into the harness and spray the harness pins with some carb cleaner then trace the purple wire back to it`s origin making sure the plastic insulation hasn`t melted anywhere.
you can use a small jewelers screwdriver to push on the pins from the back of the connector to ensure that they are seated.

I had an old Nissan maxima that needed the pins on the mass airflow sensor reseated on a regular basis.

the easy short term solution is to do what you proposed to do but the permanent long term solution Is to do it the right way and find the problem and fix it,in the long run it will save a lot of time and aggravation to do it the right way.

a reply to: TinySickTears

make sure there aren`t any loose wires hanging under there a wire might have rusted off the pin connector on the harness and is just hanging loose.
attention to details will get it fixed right.

my daughter borrowed my suburban once and drove it to work when she left work it wouldn`t start. all the lights worked so I knew it wasn`t the battery but when she turned the key there was nothing, no click no crank nothing. I figured it must be the starter so I went and bought one and when I was taking the old starter off I saw that the connector on the end of the cable coming from the battery had completed rusted off,since I had the new starter anyway I just put a new eye loop connector on the battery cable and put the new starter on.

a reply to: TinySickTears

i think that the ring gear has detached from the flywheel

ETA :

do you still have the old starter motor ???

if so can you take a pic of the pinion ???

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: TinySickTears

i think that the ring gear has detached from the flywheel

ETA :

do you still have the old starter motor ???

if so can you take a pic of the pinion ???

i have been thinking about it since you brought it up and i think you may be right.
its me so that sounds about right. worst possible #.... yup

no i do not have the old one. i had to give it to them to satisfy the core charge

originally posted by: TinySickTears

originally posted by: intrptr

originally posted by: TinySickTears
a reply to: intrptr

thanks man
appreciate it
for the record there is only 1 wire going to the solenoid

There should be more than one.

Found this...

cargurus

there isnt
1 wire(purple) coming out of solenoid and into harness

Okay, what color is it?

a reply to: TinySickTears

no i do not have the old one. i had to give it to them to satisfy the core charge

Always bench test starters and visually compare with replacement on the counter at the store.

originally posted by: JHumm
If the starter motor is turning and the silinoid is kicking in but not engaging with the flywheel then you may be missing some flywheel teeth ,
Try to turn the crank by hand to move the flywheel a bit to see if that works .
I think Saturn may have that problem, I have had chevy trucks do the same thing .
If you hear the cranking gear kick out but not engaging the flywheel,i would say it's a possibility.

same thought... He DID say that when he first started it (before changing out both starter and solenoid) that he heard it spinning. After changing out both, that confirms it. Wasted money on parts, I'd say.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
Thanks for the help so far. The flywheel is not missing teeth. At least not in the position it's in now and now is when it won't start. I could see a bunch of teeth when I pulled the starter. All good.

Again the problem is the starter is turning but the solenoid is not engaging so the starter teeth never meet the flywheel teeth.
That's why I think it's a faulty wire somewhere

But one is attached to the other.... That means, one of them would have to be bad to get this result. You sure you replaced both? Or at least put the new ones on? Maybe bought a bad noid?

a reply to: TinySickTears

The more I read the closer to the timing belt I want to suggest is the problem.

a reply to: StallionDuck

Nope. Car would still crank.
It would crank fast though.

And I did replace both

originally posted by: TinySickTears
a reply to: StallionDuck

Nope. Car would still crank.
It would crank fast though.

And I did replace both

Good deal. That's a B!^%# to deal with.

Got me bro. I'm scratching my head at this point. Check voltages is all I can say from here.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Just out of interest, it would be nice if you could post on what the final fix is. Pics from a 'phone would also be good too.

Not a demand,though, just out of interest.

Cheerz and hope the fix is cheap and easy!

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: TinySickTears

Just out of interest, it would be nice if you could post on what the final fix is. Pics from a 'phone would also be good too.

Not a demand,though, just out of interest.

Cheerz and hope the fix is cheap and easy!

thanks man. my buddy is coming over tomorrow and we are gonna get after it. if it is the ring gear the car is going to the yard because i dont have a place to do that job and my hand is #ed. if it is a jacked wire or connection i will either fix or bypass. will definitely let you know.
doubt pics will happen. not too interested in bringing my phone under the car you know.
ill see whats what

thanks for the help everyone.

Well today is Friday, I hope you get your car fixed. From what you say I can't believe a new starter did not fix it. Cars can do weird stuff eh? But on the bright side (I think) it sounds like it happened at your home instead of at some grocery store or someplace.

ok here it is.
after all this bull# it winds up being the ignition control module. i was way off.
this whole time i was going by the sound and the fact that the motor was not turning over.
turns out it was it just wasnt getting fire.
my buddy came over and was looking at the motor while i cranked and right away he said your belts are moving.
so we know the starter is hitting the it is cranking over. just no combustion.

check fuel pressure. yes
check spark. no
unplug control module and probe it. has power

ignition control module.
35-50 all over the net

mother #er

blinks , i.............................

< click >

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
blinks , i.............................

< click >

I don't know what this means bit I guess I learned my lesson. Never diagnose a problem by sound.