Won’t start after sitting for a year (2006)

**Professor X** · 09-05-2018

I got some tips in the chat section on my desktop but can’t find that on my phone.
Anyway, I replaced the battery, had the starter rebuilt and retested after the fact.
Voltmeter says I’m getting like 1.8-2.4 to the ignition (?) wire at the starter (the purple one). Thinking my problem might be the ignition switch? Any input is greatly appreciated.

**Professor X** · 09-05-2018

No issues from sitting. Crank turns and no wires are chewed through, no nests or anything. Just some cobwebs.

**Professor X** · 09-05-2018

I’ve also tried to hot wire the starter (running a wire from the positive post of the battery to the small post on the starter (where the purple ignition wire is connected) with no success

**BillBoost37** · 09-05-2018

That would mean something is up with the starter. Do this though.. instead of running a wire from battery to starter....just use a screwdriver to touch the positive battery cable post on the starter to the purple connection.

**Professor X** · 09-05-2018

Thank you for the idea. What should happen when I do that? I’ve heard it’s a small spark, not a big one.

**Scottydoggs** · 09-05-2018

the starter is also grounded to the block, so a bad ground cable will also make the starter not work. you can use a jumper cable to the block and neg battery to make sure your all grounded.

**Professor X** · 09-05-2018

That’s a question I have. How is it grounded? There’s a second wire that goes attaches at the same post as the positive battery wire. For some reason that seems incorrect.

**Scottydoggs** · 09-05-2018

neg cable bolts to the trans bell housing near the starter.

where does this second wire off the pos post go to? is it a wire, or a cable.

**Professor X** · 09-05-2018

Ok. So the negative cable off the battery does go to the trans bell housing just above the starter. I’ll have to check that other cable when I get back home. I did take it off and try it without and it didn’t do anything different.

**Scottydoggs** · 09-05-2018

neg battery to any bare metal on the engine will do. might have to clean up a bolt or the likes to clamp to.

**BillBoost37** · 09-06-2018

That second cable at the starter is expected.

When you use that screwdriver.. it should make the starter work. If you removed the ground cable.. it's not going to work w/o that hooked up. Put all the stuff you unhooked etc, right back where it belongs and give it a try. From there we can quickly diagnose why it's not starting through a few quick tests.

The screwdriver is to see if the starter is good because it removes the pcm, relay etc etc from the equation. Once we know the starter can turn the engine, then we work our way backwards from there by testing the purple wire for power of 12V. You mentioned a very low voltage of 1.8-2.4, this tells us you either aren't getting power to that wire or you aren't getting a good ground. If you had stuff unhooked while you were testing that... then it's not a good test that we can rely on.

I think in your year the ignition switch sends a signal to pcm to crank engine. If the pcm sees the car in park or neutral it should send a ground signal to a relay that then engages and sends power to the purple wire of the starter. This may be as simple as a crusty relay or bad contacts in that relay. However you don't see many bad relays, it's usually something causing the relay to not be actuated.

**Professor X** · 09-07-2018

Hmmm, so the screwdriver bypass only gave me a bunch of clicking. I could hear the bendix fire but the car never started. I took a video but I’m not able to paste it here.

**Professor X** · 09-07-2018

So I’m rechecking all my ground wires and they seem fine. Scratching my head at this point.

**Professor X** · 09-07-2018

I’m in Tucson AZ. Just giving as much info as I can. I’m sure a summer here is tougher on cars sitting.

**BillBoost37** · 09-07-2018

if all you get is clicking.. then you have a power problem .. The car won't start wtih a screwdriver, but it would turn the engine over.

**Scottydoggs** · 09-07-2018

try the old hammer trick yet? i few solid shot to the fat body of the starter might make it work again, if it does work after a beating, replace it, its the issue.

**Professor X** · 09-07-2018

Starter has been rebuilt and tested twice

**Professor X** · 09-07-2018

So if I have a power problem with a new battery and new starter where do I go from there?

**Scottydoggs** · 09-07-2018

bad battery cables would be my guess, as long as the purple wire has power when the key is turned to crank.

**BillBoost37** · 09-08-2018

I got a newly rebuilt and tested starter for my boat and when installed it sucked. Under warranty another was gotten and it worked great.

To test the starter, it's out of the car with no load on it from what I've experienced. Why was the starter rebuilt?