1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

My no start problems still continues....heres my problem. i have 12.45 volts at the battery(in trunk), fuse box, and starter. wheni go to crank it the voltage drops to 10.86 (normal i think), I have one ground on the battery that is grounded at the seat belt bolt(good connection). should there be another ground somewhere up front? I was under the assumption that the starter was self-grounding. is it not?? help guys, ive been battleing this for over 2 months.. thanks in advance

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

TTT....when the battery is in the rear. where does the ground cable that goes from the battery to the starter go?? i need some help

11SECSS

iTrader: (199)

Try running another ground big groung wire from the body to the engine .The factory uses a small metal strap from the body to the engine right behind the alternator.Hope that helps you.

2FAST4U

yes there is a ground in the front. I think it is the starter?

LS1Birdy

iTrader: (1)

If you have a voltmeter you can test to make sure there isn't to much resistance from the battery to the starter. If you do...disable the fuel pump fuse so you are able to CRANK the motor not start it. Then connect the positive lead (red) to the positive battery terminal. and connect the negative lead (black) to the starter terminal (should be the biggest wire conneced to the starter) Now get a buddy and crank the car for a few seconds, no more than 15 seconds! if the reading is above .6 than there is to much resistance in the cable...could be the size of it since the battery is in the trunk or it might be a loose ground. Let me know if you did that

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

as of now i have 2ga run to a junction then 4ga to the starter and to the fuse box. i may do away with the junction and just run the 2 ga to the starter, then 4ga from the starter to the alt then 4ga from the alt to the fuse box. btw im using a remote starter without the solenoid wire from the car connected, im just jumping from the big to the small post.


should the starter be grounded seperately?? there was a ground coming off of the battery to the starter. where do i connect that wire on the new starter??

Dave88z

The starter is case grounded to the motor. You need to make sure the motor has a good ground to the chassis. The ground can be run from the back of the cyl head to the frame or wirewall. The rear battery ground should be grounded to the chassis also. It sound to be that you will have a huge voltage drop across
the positive cable due to the junction box and step down in wire size. Do what LS1birdy said and then move the red test lead to the 2ga wire before it enters the junction box and have your buddy crank it again. If the meter reads less voltage drop then it did at the starter, you know the problem lies in the junction block and smaller wiring.

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

ok im getting aprox. a 2 volt drop at the starter while trying to crank it reads 10.8xxx while trying to engage and 12.45xxx while sitting still. is that tooo much?


would a shim problem cause the starter to click real fast like its not wanting to engage?!?

Dave88z

Like LS1birdy said, you should see a 0.6 volt drop MAX. 2.0 volts is way too much. See what you get with the lead at the 2 ga wire as it enters the junction box.
A shim problem will not cause the clicking problem. A shim problem will cause noise when engauging/disengauging the starter. The clicking is due to lack of voltage causing a weak starter solenoid. You have way too much voltage drop.

GOaT Cheese

I run "00" ARC welding cable for all my main power and grounds, ARC cable is important due to the high strand count. 2 ga is probably too light for battery in trunk application.

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

everywhere ive looked says 2ga would do fine?? let me go check the drop on the other wire

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

ok i did a quick test on everything

volt meter at power wire before junction: 12.35beginning 11.41cranking

volt meter at starter: 12.34beginning 10.34cranking

volt meter at hot side of master cutoff switch: 12.36 beginning 11.69 cranking

help me diagnose this guys, thanks

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

ttt....im loosing sleep over this,llol

1STGEN68-2000SS

It sounds to me that the ground is your problem. Take your volt meter and place the red + end on the battery negative terminal ( not the cable end but in the center so you are on the battery post only) and the other meter cable - on the engine block. Now have someone crank the car and see what the meter reads. If it reads over .6 volts your ground to the engine block has too much resistance and you need to run a cable from the battery all the way up front to the engine block.
Alan

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

ok is there any other way i could do this?? my leads on my DMM (snapon) arn't long enough to go from the backof the car to the block......or do i need to take some wire and run a longer lead?? since i have a optima yellow top and im usng the top post for my power, could i pot the neg. lead into the side post to make sure in not touching the power cable.

also if this is my problem, can i run some ground straps from the heads to the body or chassis??

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

another thing, when i did those voltage tests last nigh, i was bypassing the cutoff switch and had the ends luged together with a bolt. could that bold be putting too much resistance into the circuit? the cutoff switch i have is a moroso.

it has 20 amp continious ratingand a 125 momentary rating, is this enough?

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

did this and i have aprox -8.999x volts while cranking. when i swaped the + and - leads on the DMM i got +8.98xx volts while cranking.

so now do i need to run a cable all the way from the battery to the engine or can i just run some ground straps from the engine to the chassis/body

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

I GOT IT TO CRANK!!!

the ground on the drivers side head was no connected to the engine, one end was on the motor mount the other end was on the body..

im happy as a pig in a big pile of **** right now

1998TA__1991RS

iTrader: (23)

ok i got it to crank with the remote starter switch, now im getting no power to the solenoid wire, before i was getting plenty of power to the solenoid wire, could it be the fuse or relay??

Bitemark46

How big of a fuse are you running? You atleast want to run a 150-175amp fuse. Have you tried to crank it bypassing the cutoff switch (assuming you have one)? Your wiring should look like this. I used 1g for both + and - wires. You did sand the paint off the body where you grounded it right? -Mark