260 Stuck at the body shop!

[rivrplay]

So I had a body shop friend of mine fix the rusty rockers on my 260. In the process the hood, fenders and cowl were pulled. The seats came out and the carpet was pulled back out of the way so the welding could be done safely.

Went to pick it up yesterday and it would not start. When you turn the key you can hear a click from around the starter but the starter does not turn over. I used a straight screw driver to jump the starter and it did turn over. Figuring it must be the solenoid we replaced the starter and solenoid. Still have the same problem.

Anyone have suggestions as to where I should go from here?

[SteveJ]

Did you try just jumpstarting the car? You could have had a weak battery.

[rivrplay]

Did you try just jumpstarting the car? You could have had a weak battery.

Yea sure did. As a matter of fact when I got to the shop they had it on a charger thinking it was the battery.

Thing is the body guy does not feel comfortable working on it so I'm going to go back to the shop and do it myself. I would like to know what I'm looking for before I go but on such a simple car I'm not sure what else it could be.

[SteveJ]

Okay, the next thing I can think of is a possible dead cell in the battery. It will show voltage until you try to use it under a significant load. It's easy to check. Put a voltmeter on the battery and try to start the car (or turn on the headlights). If voltage goes down significantly, try a different battery.

Also, have you checked the fusible links? How about the grounds?

[rivrplay]

Dead cell in the battery has not been ruled out. I'll carry a voltmeter with me.

I have not looked at fuses. I'll check them second.

Checked the ground on the battery and all connections on the starter...all good. Is there some place other than those mentioned I should check?

Thanks for your help.

[Arne]

Don't 260Zs have a starter relay somewhere? Could that be the click?

[rivrplay]

The click is coming from something in this area. Not sure what these on the firewall are though.

[Darrel]

Make sure the spade connector that goes to the starter selonoid is not loose or broken.

[cygnusx1]

Did they wash the car? Wet contacts, check the fusible link spade connectors, bring another battery, push start it.

[oldhemi]

The black thing in your picture is your seat belt interlock relay. The other thing is your fusible links - the cover just pops off. When you took the seats out, did you notice some wires plugged into the seats on the floor? There is a pressure sensor on the bottom of the seats that plug into those wires. I wonder if that is what is stopping you? I just unplugged them the 1st day I owned my Z and they never presented a problem afterward.

There should be a red push button thing that was mounted on the firewall that was supposed to be an override. Worked sometimes. Its mounted between the battery and the strut tower.

Edited February 24, 2010 by oldhemi

[geezer]

Was the battery disconnected before any welding was done? When you used the screwdriver to jump the starter, did the engine start? If not, was the ignition key in the run position at the time? Do you have a wiring diagram showing the starting circuit?

Edited February 24, 2010 by geezer

[beezee]

Oldhemi is correct on the interlock relay,locate the black wire with yellow tracer and splice to yellow wire to the starter solenoid. This is a direct connection from the key switch "start" to the starter solenoid.

Edited February 24, 2010 by beezee