PapaSmurf Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 Ok guys, I just replaced my starter in my 1978 280z, I hooked up the power and ground wires to it and tried to start it up... nothing. The voltage meter is at zero and the little red light does not come on... I've tried everything cant seem to find the cause of my trouble. I looked under the little white fuse covers and lo and behold there were no fuses some dumb bastard decided to go cheap and just bridge the connectors and one of the wires was melted... is this likely my problem? or maybe that one wire was just not thick enough, the other is ok... what do I gotta do I need this car running it's my daily driver. any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted May 26, 2005 Author Share Posted May 26, 2005 and for the smart asses out there... YES I tried jump starting it lol the battery is not dead ... When I bridge the power and the little ground wire the starter turns the engine but it does not stay on. damn this is pissing me off I just want my Z to run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted May 26, 2005 Author Share Posted May 26, 2005 I stripped the wires on the fusable link gizmo and spliced them together to make sure there was no resistance due to the melting, still no power. does anyone have any ideas? I'm at a loss here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 You need a 280 Z parts car.... for extra parts and visual comparison....... Thoroughly Clean the battery terminals.. every connection from battery to starter....... try to start.............Since I have read your other posts........You may have a bad ignition switch with internal terminal not conducting enough electricty..cannot be repaired or ever reliable again.. the wiring harness can be removed from the ignition switch and hot wired ... find your hot wire on the ignition harness with a tester.. There should be no more than 5 wires total... on the opposite end on the opposite side of the hot wire connect this terminal to hot terminal (hot wire usually is white and the igniion wire black and white... don't depend on this.) when hot wire and ignition wire arced together should cause your gauges to activate..... Now find your starter ignition terminal.... touch it to the connected "hot and ignition" terminals which should cause the starter to turn.. when engine starts... remove starter jump wire.. to shut off engine... disconnect battery and ignition hot wire connection. If this does not work.. post again. Welcome to the world of old 25+ year old cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterZ Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 I'm new to this group but I have worked on a few of these. Check the spade connector near the starter terminals. The bugger likes to get loose when you change things. A test light helps if you can get to the connections. Sounds like you aren't getting power to the key from the battery terminal at the starter. That's where the little white/red wire at the solenoid comes into play. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted May 26, 2005 Author Share Posted May 26, 2005 I tried the ignition, it was one of the first things I thought of, I bridged every one of the wires int that cable in every combination and got no response the voltmeter on the dash stayed at zero. I would love to have a parts car but I just dont have the money, or a place to park it for that matter lol, I checked the spade wire that I believe you were referring to, the black and yellow wire that goes into the starter near the posts? it's on there good and tight. I tried running a jumper cable from the negative battery post to bare metal on the car to make sure it was grounded right that did nothing... anybody got any more ideas? *edit* I also cleaned all the connections with rubbing alcahol and sand paper, and the battery posts too. My fear is something went snap crackle pop from the jerry rigged fusable links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterZ Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 I'd try getting a test light and follow the power from the battery to the starter then to the ign. If you lost power to the key changing the starter my guess is to look in those areas you worked in first. I may be thinking of the wrong year car but I think the power goes from battery to starter then up to the key. If it's an automatic something strange like the Neutral Safety wiring got unplugged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 Did anyone point out the the things under the little white covers on the passenger side are called fusible links? They are "funny little wire things" that melt through when the current is too high - just like a fuse. Sounds like you have a short somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted May 26, 2005 Author Share Posted May 26, 2005 oh they are supposed to be wires? I thought that was somebodies cheap jerry rig. Yeah I checked them and one was melted, I spliced the wires together and still have no power. This is a manual not an automatic. so heres a question what is the yellow wire that plugs into the starter on the second post, theres the positive from the battery a ground from the battery a black spade connector and a yellow wire on the second post. whats the yellow for? I assume the black spade is for the ignition as when you bridge the power and spade it turns over whats the yellow one for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted May 27, 2005 Author Share Posted May 27, 2005 Ok I've taken my entire car apart. Literally. There is not a single piece in the interior that was bolted on, it is gone, as long as this thing isn't starting I figured I might as well start the cleanup. I found 9 dollars in change a bullet and 4 cans of primer (in the storage compartments that somebody carpeted over) I'm redoing this interior. Now that everything is out I can get to the wiring and start trouble shooting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterZ Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 I recomend take the nine dollars and get a test light. Phantom is right; the wires (fuse links) are supposed to be there and are supposed to melt if something is not right. Fuse links are special wires, don't leave your jumper in place when you are done. The black wire should be power from the key to engage the starter. The "other" wire at the starter solenoid should be a resistor bypass to allow full battery voltage to the coil during cranking. is it a spade connection as well? If the key isn't "happy" (powered) you need to find out why there's no power there. Are you sure the yellow ground wire isn't actually the battery feed (power) wire for the rest of the car??? (is the ground wire kinda small like the solenoid wires or big like the battery cable and are you sure it was connected to the starter solenoid and not to the battery cable?) The size of the connector should help. A test light helps there too. Check the basics. Check the battery: If there's only one big cable with no other smaller cables and it goes only to the starter then the key and the rest of the car gets it's power from the starter terminal. There must be another wire there to power the ignition and fuse link. Find that wire and follow it. A test light is an easy way to check for power. Did I mention that? Voltmeters are better for computerized cars but a little more difficult to use if you aren't accustomed to them. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted May 27, 2005 Author Share Posted May 27, 2005 ok I tried replacing the new starter with the original again and it didnt work either. Then I got a bright idea, I turned on the headlights so that if anything I did restored power to the car I'd know it. When I jumped the starter by bridging the power and the black cable I discovered that the headlights turned on. What could this mean? I've been through all the wires inside the car, I had to redo a few connectors that were pretty much dead from long ago when a heater core probably went wrong and leaked over them. But that did not fix my problem. I'm lost here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted May 27, 2005 Author Share Posted May 27, 2005 I found the problem, the wire that attaches to the positive terminal on the starter that goes to the inside was bad. it had a short in it, and by a short I mean it melted right in half. So I replaced that and she starts right up. Damn this starter makes a differance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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