I changed my starter motor the other day and have been having some problems ever since. So the problem is when I re-connect my battery the motor starts to spin without the key in the ignition and it drains the battery pretty quick. When I pulled the motor off and checked the connections I reconnected the battery and all was well, but when I mounted the motor and re-connected the battery the same problem occurred. Does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be?
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toybreaker
iconoclast
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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ghostride.gif polstergiesties ? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ghostride.gif
Or,
1.) bad.stuck starter solenoid.
. Best way to test for that is just pull the black/yellow wire of the solenoid and then reconnect the battery. If it spins up, the solenoid is stuck or some such internal in the starter.
2.) Start signal from key is corrupted.
.Bad ignition switch
.Solenoid wire shorted to 12v (like in an alarm/remote start/turbo timer debajickle of wiring under the dash/at an ignition t~harness.
..Another possibility for 12v onto the solenoid wire is in the engine compartment, if there's been any creative "improvements" in the area.
. There may also be a remote start/alarm system that's lost it's mind.
I'd go back to the last time it worked, and check everything that was done since then, but a good guess would be a bad starter.
What was wrong with the original one?
Or,
1.) bad.stuck starter solenoid.
. Best way to test for that is just pull the black/yellow wire of the solenoid and then reconnect the battery. If it spins up, the solenoid is stuck or some such internal in the starter.
2.) Start signal from key is corrupted.
.Bad ignition switch
.Solenoid wire shorted to 12v (like in an alarm/remote start/turbo timer debajickle of wiring under the dash/at an ignition t~harness.
..Another possibility for 12v onto the solenoid wire is in the engine compartment, if there's been any creative "improvements" in the area.
. There may also be a remote start/alarm system that's lost it's mind.
I'd go back to the last time it worked, and check everything that was done since then, but a good guess would be a bad starter.
What was wrong with the original one?
The original one went bad and the car is bone stock and has had no hacking done to the wiring . I will try those things out tomorrow though and see what happens.
toybreaker
iconoclast
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Stole a couple of pics from this thread
On the passenger side unibody section in front of the strut are a few mission critical harness connectors. They are somewhat hidden by the airflow meter and other stuff, so they're hard to see.
Circled in red, the rectangular connector is the power distribution connector for the car.
Circled in yellow, the triangular connector is the connection down to the starter solenoid.
A quick test for a stuck starter/solenoid without going to the back of the starter would be to disconnect the triangular connector. That will interupt the signal from the key.
If it still turns over, it's a bad starter, or there's something funky going on with the little black/yellow wire.
If you have a voltmeter/test light, you can also check to see if there's 12v on the key side of the harness in that triangular connector. (you're checking the black with yellow stripe wire)
That's the signal to the starter, so if if there's power there with the key off, your problems are upstream towards the key.
Here's a pic of the starter side of that harness.
One end of the starter solenoid wire is in that triangular connector, the other end goes to it's own little lug on the back of the starter.
On the passenger side unibody section in front of the strut are a few mission critical harness connectors. They are somewhat hidden by the airflow meter and other stuff, so they're hard to see.
Circled in red, the rectangular connector is the power distribution connector for the car.
Circled in yellow, the triangular connector is the connection down to the starter solenoid.
A quick test for a stuck starter/solenoid without going to the back of the starter would be to disconnect the triangular connector. That will interupt the signal from the key.
If it still turns over, it's a bad starter, or there's something funky going on with the little black/yellow wire.
If you have a voltmeter/test light, you can also check to see if there's 12v on the key side of the harness in that triangular connector. (you're checking the black with yellow stripe wire)
That's the signal to the starter, so if if there's power there with the key off, your problems are upstream towards the key.
Here's a pic of the starter side of that harness.
One end of the starter solenoid wire is in that triangular connector, the other end goes to it's own little lug on the back of the starter.
Thanks for all of the info, I will go test it out.
I disconnected the triangular connector and it did not turn over so im thinking that it is my ignition switch. is their a way to test it and if its bad where can I find one? I looked around but had no luck
toybreaker
iconoclast
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A good next step would be to drop the drivers underdash panel, and have a look see.
Locate the ignition harness where it runs down the column, and see if there's a t-harness there or anything funky going on there with butt connectors or wire nuts.
If there's a T-harness installed there, it may be an aftermarket alarm/remote start system that's lost it's mind and/or programing, or a problem with one of it's relays.
In addition, unplugging the ignition switch harness there will allow you to check the ignition switch for a short to power on the starter position. The switches can fail mechanically, and a broken piece of the mechanism can short the switch internally.
Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.
Locate the ignition harness where it runs down the column, and see if there's a t-harness there or anything funky going on there with butt connectors or wire nuts.
If there's a T-harness installed there, it may be an aftermarket alarm/remote start system that's lost it's mind and/or programing, or a problem with one of it's relays.
In addition, unplugging the ignition switch harness there will allow you to check the ignition switch for a short to power on the starter position. The switches can fail mechanically, and a broken piece of the mechanism can short the switch internally.
Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.
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