Starting problems (yes i searched)

[TurboNetic05]

First off, details of car:

95 SE, 5 speed, KA24de

I searched and searched and found problems that were very similar to mine but there is one thing that I couldnt find.

So when I try to start the car i hear a click. Ive read tons of things (starter, starter relay, clutch switch, etc). So i am almost positive it has something to do with the starter or its relay. However, when I try to start the car i get the click then all power is lost to the interior. I remove the key and the clock and such remains off. I touch the positive terminal on the battery. Like literally just touch, no wiggling or anything, then my clock and stuff will come back on. I turn it just to on position and power windows and all that work. Try to crank and it dies.

Its wierd because yesterday it was perfectly fine, now its dead.

So basically, i didnt see any topics that discussed the issue of losing interior power when having starter issues and therefore I am asking for further assistance

CLIFF NOTES:
try to crank and get a click
then lose power to interior
touch positive batt terminal and regain interior accessories and power
try to crank again and it clicks and loses power again

[wangan_cruiser]

1st of all. clean your battery terminal and check for any corrosion. then check your ground.

[Team DET]

clean terminals like wangancruiser said this happen to me push starting wouldnt help it either until i cleaned the terminals then it fired up

[xsparc]

yes thats exacly what happens with bad terminals. also check the connection from the wire to the terminal. i had a set that corroded off

[TurboNetic05]

terminals are good i believe. I can still see dielectric grease on it. There isnt any corrosion on the terminals at all. Ill take them off today and clean them anyways and check the wires as well.

The thing that has me stumped is the interior losing power. It comes back on if i open the power door locks with the little lever thing by hand. So i have no idea, unless thats what happens when you have a bad terminal or whatever

[1slowS13]

Just like everyone said, it has happened to me before. Your terminals might be fine, but also check the actual wire gauge that is connected to it. It may be fraying slowly as time goes by, or might be really corroded. You can also trying cutting the ends off the wire gauge so you have a clean connection again.

[Sileighty_85]

I had a similar issue.
Check your battery's Chassis Ground
I some how had my chassis ground fail for some reason one time.
(Reloacated to the rear)

After I finished a run at the track I cooled it down and shut it off and when trying to restart no power, seemed like I was popin fuses (but not)
Broke out the Multi Meter traced it down to my battery chassis ground.
(I used this location for 6 months with n/p)
Added and extra grounding point to the battery, Fired right up.
N/P Since

[Felipe]

if all ells fails.... you might need a new battery...

[TurboNetic05]

^ I was thinking the same thing. The battery seemed weak to me before. Maybe it doesnt have enough cranking amps to power the starter or something. Its weird though that it just suddenly died.

Oh ya, I can turn on my headlights and they work fine. So maybe its not the battery???

So no one thinks it could be the starter?

[dori_sil8t]

check battery ground. check power to the starter.using a multi meter.

[TurboNetic05]

i wish i wasnt working right now so i could go check all this out...

Thanks guys, keep any suggestions coming

[darkslide]

^ I was thinking the same thing. The battery seemed weak to me before. Maybe it doesnt have enough cranking amps to power the starter or something. Its weird though that it just suddenly died.

Oh ya, I can turn on my headlights and they work fine. So maybe its not the battery???

So no one thinks it could be the starter?

i had the same problem my buddy hooked it up with a starter put it in and a few weeks later it happened again and found that it was corrosion inside my + cable going to my starter. cleaned it out and it never came back since

[TurboNetic05]

fixed it guys!!! Thanks for the help. Ended up being a bad ground

About 6 inches down from the - terminal the ground wire was spliced. Just down far enough where i couldnt see it. Well anyways, the wires started to separate and caused a bad ground.

THANKS AGAIN!!!

[wangan_cruiser]

good to hear that you fixed it. i just recently replaced my starter like yesterday but since u already fixed it i dnt need to spill out some info about the clicking.

[surreybc]

pics if possible

[kamikazekid]

I was gonna say do a voltage drop test on the ground cable. glad you found it.

[TurboNetic05]

pics if possible

i didnt take any pics. But i dont think its something that could happen in most 240s. my ground wire was extended or something and where it was spliced the wires started to separate. the electrical tape wore out and let go so there was a bad connection. I just reconnected so they wont come apart again and bam... started right up

[theslows13]

your ground wire was SPLICED?! jesus. go to your local parts store and pay the $5 for a good ground wire and redo that lead. electrical tape should not HOLD wiring together...

please replace that lead before you have more problems.

[TurboNetic05]

ya thats what i was thinking too man. its just temporary for now until i can find some time to replace it

[wangan_cruiser]

can u post a pic where u found the location of that bad ground? im having starter problems right now too and its annoying since i just replaced my starter

[TurboNetic05]

alright.... look at your negative battery terminal. travel down the wire about 6-8 inches. Mine was spliced right there and the wires started to separate. It was the actual wire connected to the negative terminal. Im too lazy to go take pics and upload them. ha