greens14bomber

Hey Guys,
So I have a 96 S14, and I was going in to wire in my subs. Everything was fine, then I go to turn the car over, and nothing but a clicking noise. Check out my vid of what's happening please. Any ideas?
S14 240sx won't start - clicking noise - YouTube

Rich260z

Did you unplug the battery before you started?

greens14bomber

I probably should have, but the answer is no. I checked all of my fuses, and they are good. Also, I replaced the battery last night.

Silvias14.5.0

have you by chance had you starter tested clicking usually means that your started has a bad solenoid try tapping the solenoid and turning the key at the same time see what happens or if at all possible take it out and go to advanced or autozone and get it tested

greens14bomber

Have you seen the video? It doesnt seem like starter clicking, its something else inside the dash. It starts clicking when the key is put in the on position. It only stops when I'm trying to turn the car over, but nothing happens when I turned the key over, just that the clicking sound stops.

Silvias14.5.0

ok yeah sorry that sounds like your ecu clicking try unhooking your negative terminal on your battery for around 10 mins and the hooking it back up see what happens then, if that doesnt work check all of your relays i forget what caused mine to do it but i know i didnt have to replace the ecu try those things and see what happens

greens14bomber

Ok, So to test the relay's, I can go in and just put a wire in where the relay would normally be right? Also, is there a special way to take out the relays?

Silvias14.5.0

no they should just pull out and by test the relay i mean take a 12volt battery and run a positive and negative to the relay itself the positive on the hot prong and negative on the ground prong when you get the power to the relay you should hear a click it will be a quick one but it will click if it doesnt than its a bad relay

Silvias14.5.0

if you cant get it your pretty close to me let me know and i can see about coming and looking at the car

greens14bomber

Ok thanks man. I'll try that and let you know. If not, I have beer and gas money over here, so that'd be cool if you could help. Thanks

Silvias14.5.0

alright man you still in my juliet

mechanicalmoron

You have a bad battery.

They don't come fully charged, and you might have forgotten the key on while you installed your sub or whatever.

That under the dash clicking is a relay without enough power to stay connected.

Try jumping it.

greens14bomber

Yep, I'm on Benders Ferry.

And Yeah I thought it was the battery too, so I replaced it with a brand new one so that rules that out.

blkvrtswp

Loose wiring, probably grounds. Take the battery back and get your money back.

greens14bomber

Ok guys, so I tested all the relays and they all work, fuses look good too. I'm really at a loss here.

Silvias14.5.0

did you mess with any of the wiring in the car at all other then running your sub cables

greens14bomber

No, that's the thing, I just installed the sub stuff, which I've done a hundred times without issue. How do I "Jump the Starter" I'd like to see if it will turnover if I put the key to On, and jump the starter, but I don't know where both ends of the cable should go.

joe3180

Id just try to push start it, let it run for awhile or drive a little, turn it off and see if it starts back up. You will have a good answer on a few things if it dies after the push start or wont start back up...if it even turns over at all.

mechanicalmoron

The starter is at the back of the engine on the passenger side. Make sure you have your polarity right, and run wires from the battery to it. It's also got a plug you could use, or you could do it at the clutch interlock relay by the battery.

Just be careful, it pulls a lot of juice, it will throw sparks and such, make sure that you are NOT a part of the circuit.

greens14bomber

Good Info guys, thank you. I will try these tonight and let you know.

greens14bomber

Ok, so If I push start it, it runs. Then, I turned it off, turned the key and nothing. Again, I have all lights and everything works, but it doesn't even try to turn over. Also, I couldn't find the starter to try and jump the starter. What do you guys think?

Silvias14.5.0

you sure thats a brand new battery

greens14bomber

Yes, I went to Wally and got a $100 MAXX+ battery. It did this before I got this battery, and of course now too. I really don't think its the battery.

Silvias14.5.0

if it push starts it could still be the starter if your infront of the car if you look under the left hand side under the intake manifold you can see the starter i would honestly take that out and get it tested if not that maybe altenator

greens14bomber

ok, I think its the starter. I had my wife turn the key while I was under the car looking at it. I can hear a noise like something is spinning and not grabbing. I'll take it off and bring it in. Thanks for the help I'll keep you guys updated.

greens14bomber

Update: It's not the starter, I had it tested and it sounded good, he even put up a new one just to make sure they sounded the same.
So, I don't know what is going on. Also, when I turn the key to the crank position I can hear a relay by my foot click, but still it doesn't try to turn over. Then, I tried this" Take a wire you have lying around and run it from your battery to your starter solenoid lead. The third, and only small wire connecting to your starter. As long as you have a good ground/lead to your starter it should 'hotwire' your starter. That will tell you if your problem is somewhere in your ignition." So I put the key in the on position, stuck it in Neutral and tired it, And it turned over. So, there is a problem in the ignition switch /signal wire or something? I'm thinking about wiring up a switch or start button to get this done.
Anyone have any other ideas?

Silvias14.5.0

its probably just the ignition switch i would just get a new one its like 20 dollars i think

maverickmotorsports

clean your battery terminals. make sure the battery cables don't have any breaks in them.

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33jrod33

So what was the issue...lol.
I have a similar problem. Except when I push start, it runs super crappy like its misfiring

mechanicalmoron

If you hear it spinning and not grabbing.... yeah, it IS the starter, or the solenoid that jams it out to enguage with the flywheel. Unless it's gears, or the flywheel gears, are totallllllly ruined/missing.

Nevertheless, there's some sort of phantom ignition problem that's got my car, and I've read about at least a few other people with the same problem. Good relays, just haven't bothered to trace the wires. I have a pushbutton in a direct circuit (no relay) from the positive battery terminal, to the button, to the starter. (it is fused, and needs to be, directly after the battery with an in-line fuse)

Turn the key all the way while using a push-button start, because the computer changes the injector order when you crank, and it won't want to start at some temps if you don't. (it fires sequentially, if you turn the key that changes to 2 at a time, to prime it properly to start)

Obviously though, that only applies if you did NOT hear the starter whirring - as it is, you need a starter with a powerful enough solenoid to pop the gears where they need to go.