sr20 wont start help!

[240teghan]

So I swapped a St into my 93 hatch. Everything is wired in, got all pumped to drive it. Turn the key, seatbelt light and door open light flash at me, and then dash clock turns off. Doesn't turn over. What could it be? Checked all grounds already, no idea what it could be.

[rwtf]

dead battery lol

[240teghan]

Ffs, I hope that's not it, I'll feel like an idiot :o

[240teghan]

checked the battery, thats not it. heres a video of what happens .. help

[S14jake]

does your starter make any noise? If not check the spade connector they are famous for coming loose.

[240teghan]

no noise. just replaced the spade connector

[S14jake]

try jumping the starter, get a piece of wire stripped on both ends and run it directly from the positive terminal on the battery to the spade with the connector off.

If the starter and battery are good it should at least try to turn over as soon as you complete the circuit

[mr.nismo.]

when you turn the key to the on position can you even hear the fuel pump prime? did you remember to put a thick ground wire from the engine to chassis?.

[S14jake]

when you turn the key to the on position can you even hear the fuel pump prime? did you remember to put a thick ground wire from the engine to chassis?.

true story

[mr.nismo.]

true story

for real. i forgot the ground wire doing my sr swap. i was getting so pissed that it wasnt doing shit until i saw a random ground wire started melting and then i realized what i forgot lol

[240teghan]

fuck thats it then!! i just grnoud it anywhere or what?

[S14jake]

there is a bolt hole on a flat surface near the throttle body on the intake manifold, there is another similar area on the back of the motor on the intake side near the firewall.

I can probably take pictures of mine if you cant find it

[240teghan]

if you could take pics thatd be awesome!

[S14jake]

the silver wire is the one you need

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q731/jake_sanders1/20130406_140718_zpsb4c658e3.jpg

I was mistaken about the other one I have, its on the exhaust side where the charcoal canister bolts in. I cant get a pic of that one but you really only need the one above.

[mr.nismo.]

Ill get some pics of mine for you as well

[240teghan]

Didn't fix it, what could it be !?

[mr.nismo.]

When you turn your key to the ON position do lights turn on in the ecu hole? Red and green

[S14jake]

Didn't fix it, what could it be !?

Did you try jumping the starter? That will tell us a lot.

[240teghan]

No lights. Tried jumping the starter and nothing

[S14jake]

I dont know about the light thing, never looked at that but if you tried jumping the starter (and you did it correctly) then your starter is bad.

You disconnected the spade on the starter and ran a wire directly from the positive battery terminal to the spade on the starter and it didnt try to turn over?

[240teghan]

Yep, thats what I did, and no turn over. goddamn could I get it rebuilt? Or just buy a new one

[Kingtal0n]

he said the dash lights turned off. that to me sounds like a faulty battery terminal connection.

[S14jake]

you can give it a go for a rebuild, you'll need a working sohc ka starter for parts

DYI -Rebuilding your SR starter. : SR20DET Forum (rear-drive) (http://forums.nicoclub.com/dyi-rebuilding-your-sr-starter-t385938.html)

I've actually got an sr starter for sale, not sure what shipping would be but if you need it I'll give you a deal

[S14jake]

he said the dash lights turned off. that to me sounds like a faulty battery terminal connection.

could be but hopefully he's checked that by now

[mr.nismo.]

No. It's fine. That's what happens when you turn it over. Cuts off all electricity so all the juice go to the starter. Now...
If no lights are on the ecu you are not getting power to it or its not grounding. Before you say "well my clock is on so the ecu is on" Your clock on the cluster is on the body harness not the engine harness. I had a turbo timer on my swap and had to diag a bunch of electrical shit.

[240teghan]

What would you want for the starter? And battery terminal is good. Just relocated to the trunk made sure it was good. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean about all the lights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C3zQ8DuOlo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[240teghan]

How could i test the ecu?

[S14jake]

What would you want for the starter? And battery terminal is good. Just relocated to the trunk made sure it was good. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean about all the lights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C3zQ8DuOlo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I dont have an s13 but that looks normal. I'll let other people chime in on testing electrical stuff, not my area.

Starter for $85 for you plus shipping, like we already know that can get pricey going to bc. I'll see if any of my family up there has a box in oroville but I dont think so.

[mr.nismo.]

yepp your vid is exactly what my car was doing until i realized that my ground wire on the ecu wasnt connected. look for a black wire on the edge of the ecu harness and add a ground straight through the chassis. when you turn the key to on you should hear the fuel pump prime and the fuses click in your bay. if you hear nothing and dont see a red or green light in the ecu(the little hole on the opposite side of where the harness plugs in) then something isnt connected where your engine harness meets the main fuse box in the engine bay. ill be able to get pics of these things in the morning for you. also did you wire up the dash harness? its a realllll bitch laying like that but its worth doing

[Kriskouki]

The background information of the car can help people diagnose the problems easier.....It is we have to know that either the car has just been freshly swapped in the new motor....Or, it was healthy running before.....We need to know that info......

In the case that the motor swap has just been done.....I would say that you have to look for so many things because there are a hundreds of things you have done on the swap and you can just missed one tiny thing.......

But, if the car has been running healthy before the problem happens, then, from a video you posted, I would look for either the battery or the stater...... But, if it was the battery, you can start the car by jump starting the car will definitely pinpoint the problem.....However, if the problem is the starter, push starting the car will help telling.......

[240teghan]

when i turn the key i can hear my fuel pump prime, and the fuse box click, the groynd will be on the harness itself somewhere correct? ill go through my harness again and look. Photos would be awesome. the engine was just freshly rebuilt and swapped in, this is such a pain knowing that its probably just one little thing that i missed !

[Kriskouki]

when i turn the key i can hear my fuel pump prime, and the fuse box click, the groynd will be on the harness itself somewhere correct? ill go through my harness again and look. Photos would be awesome. the engine was just freshly rebuilt and swapped in, this is such a pain knowing that its probably just one little thing that i missed !

First of all, remove the starter from the car.....Then, bench test your starter......If you don't know how to do, learn it from youtube.......Make sure the starter is 100% working......

Then, if you starter is working, put back the starter into the car.......Then, try to start the car again.......At this point, even though the car isn't stated, the engine must turn......If the engine doesn't turn........It means that you have a lose connection between starting circuit.....Go check the Factory Service Manual: FSM on the starting circuit topic........

[240teghan]

was going to remove the starter but thought id jump the starter again for the hell of it. this is what happens now.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_QjpbTRaB4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[mr.nismo.]

That click doesn't sound fast enough to be an electrical issue unless there's no juice in the battery. Do you have a battery charger?

[240teghan]

battery is fully charged, yeah i have a charger

[mr.nismo.]

Hmm. Did you double Check your trigger and ground wires on the starter are hooked up correctly? If not you may have multiple issues. Bad starter, bad harness connections, etc

[Kriskouki]

was going to remove the starter but thought id jump the starter again for the hell of it. this is what happens now.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_QjpbTRaB4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Just do whatever you can to make your car started......If not, you have no idea what went wrong.......Don't care about that click sound.....if I am not wrong, it might be the soleniod clicks sound of the starter......Don't worry....Just put the positive and negative cables on and jump start it.....

Jump start or Push start....do whatever you can to start your car......I am sure that if what you are facing is the battery or starter problems, it will figure out.....

Again, you have to start your car. Otherwise, we have no idea who is the bad guy.........

[240teghan]

wont jump start. dont really wanna push start it for the first start on a fresh rebuild. but i guess ill have to. ill get back to you tomorrow after i figure out a way to start it. is there any other way i could start it without the starter? in my garage though

[S14jake]

hows it coming?

[240teghan]

well today i put a brand new battery in and it cranked. but while cranking a puff of smoke cane from the starter. have a extra sohc one so ill rebuild and try again. tried bomb starting it down the hill but i didnt have a big enough hill

[S14jake]

These motors and cars are old so a bad starter and a bad battery isnt unheard of, hope that it's the only major thing. At least you're on the right track

[Kriskouki]

well today i put a brand new battery in and it cranked. but while cranking a puff of smoke cane from the starter. have a extra sohc one so ill rebuild and try again. tried bomb starting it down the hill but i didnt have a big enough hill

You don't need a long hill road or anything.....Just 5-10 km/h roll with out without your buddy's help....you are all good......

Here is how I did to push starting my car...

1) Key on....
2) Put the car in 2nd gear with left foot on the clutch....
3) Then, wait for the right moment when you have 5 km/h or faster......
4) immediately lift your left foot off the clutch (you have it do it fast as you can) .....Then, the car will get a little hic-cupping but stepping on your gas pedal, the car will start and run......

Jump starting works every time on all of my cars when I got my battery drain out at night and cannot ask anyone for helps......

And, if you jump starting cannot start the car, then, it is 100% sure that the problem is not relating to battery or starter.......

Hope this helps

[240teghan]

Yeah pussh starting is pretty straight forward... Could it be my harness isnt done right? Thats why my ecu gets no power?

[S14jake]

Yeah pussh starting is pretty straight forward... Could it be my harness isnt done right? Thats why my ecu gets no power?

Very well could be. I had a guy do my harness a while back and it was giving me all kinds of crazy issues. I took it into an actual expert at a shop and he said it was the worst he had seen. Took him a week or so to fix it and fired the motor the first time I tried, the motor turned out to be blown but thats another story for another day.

If you have checked with a multimeter and you are sure you're not getting power to the ecu, take your harness to someone that knows what they are doing.

[240teghan]

Very well could be. I had a guy do my harness a while back and it was giving me all kinds of crazy issues. I took it into an actual expert at a shop and he said it was the worst he had seen. Took him a week or so to fix it and fired the motor the first time I tried, the motor turned out to be blown but thats another story for another day.

If you have checked with a multimeter and you are sure you're not getting power to the ecu, take your harness to someone that knows what they are doing.

uh oh! that sounds like an interesting story though! how could i test to see if the ecu is getting no power. Im assuming the ecu is good, i bought it from you :p

[S14jake]

uh oh! that sounds like an interesting story though! how could i test to see if the ecu is getting no power. Im assuming the ecu is good, i bought it from you :p

One of the reason I'm interested to see how everything turns out :coolugh:

Worked for me!

I'll let a wiring guy chime in but there has to be some sort of trigger wire for the ecu. Power coming from the battery to the ecu. Once you figure out what wire that is then you can test it to see if its getting power. If its not then there is an obvious issue with the harness.

If it is getting power to the ecu that doesnt necessarily mean that the harness is good, just one more thing to check off the list.

Who did your harness?

[Kriskouki]

One of the reason I'm interested to see how everything turns out :coolugh:

Worked for me!

I'll let a wiring guy chime in but there has to be some sort of trigger wire for the ecu. Power coming from the battery to the ecu. Once you figure out what wire that is then you can test it to see if its getting power. If its not then there is an obvious issue with the harness.

If it is getting power to the ecu that doesnt necessarily mean that the harness is good, just one more thing to check off the list.

Who did your harness?

One thing I recommend is check your wiring.......In my point of view, bad ECU is something not really being seen that often..........Another comment from me is maybe the worse case is buying a pre-wired harness from wiring specailist.....I think you can send the ECU to them to have them run to see if it's working or not......

Just ask them so maybe they could help.....It may be harder for you since the engine has been overhauled....so be patient......It can be just more than one thing I guess

[240teghan]

ill probably just end up buying a premade sr swap harness, i wish i knew what wire was to test the power going to the ecu.. itd be so much easier.

[S14jake]

ill probably just end up buying a premade sr swap harness, i wish i knew what wire was to test the power going to the ecu.. itd be so much easier.

There is lots of information on that stuff. Do some digging and you can find wiring pinouts and diagrams of everything. Premade harnesses are expensive since you are paying for the ka and sr harness and to have it converted. If you have a harness already then 9 times out of 10 it will be cheaper to have someone repair that. I don't know anyone in that area personally but there has got be someone. Maybe one of the drift safari guys can help out.

The closest wiring expert to you that I have experience with is Eric at UP Garage in Tacoma, WA. I'm not sure if he is still with UP but if get in contact with them they will point you in the right direction.

[mr.nismo.]

One of the big plugs by the main fuse box that go from body to engine harness supplies power to the ecu