new starter. no cranking

[Zforce]

Could be an open circuit on the armature,commom problem with cheap rebuilt starters. Your are better off getting an original starter from a wrecked car at the junk yard.

[yoshi_w]

I haven't tried the wire test yet, but I bought new battery cables and I now have a problem and a question. First, the problem is on the ppositive cable, for some reason I cant get off the nut that attaches the positive cable to the solenoid, it just spins and doesn't come off so maybe its stripped, how can I get it off? The other question I have is about the negative cable. It has a smaller wire attached to the rocker valve cover, and the thick cable isnt attached to the base of the starter, but to a bracket thats at the front of the engine near the rocker valve cover. Is it supposed to be attached like this? Because the new cable doesn't come with a smaller wire capable of being attached to the rocker valve cover. Thanks!

[5thhorsemann]

So your neg. cable doesn't have a lug on the end that bolts to an eng ground?/! If this is the case, you need to correct that first. It looks like someone cut it off at the fuel rail bracket, WTF.

Secondly, if the solinoid post is spinning in the housing its likley trashed, the sol that is.

That ground strap to the valve cover is someones lame attempt to fix the unterminated ground cable, get rid of it.

Make sure you add a ground strap to the body of the car as well, if you don't have one in place already.

Edited April 21, 2011 by 5thhorsemann

[yoshi_w]

The solenoid post isn't spinning, just the nut that holds on the positive cable won't unscrew. As for the negative cable, it is bolted in where it is shown in the picture. And for the ground on the body, where on the body is easiest to attach it? The starter, I tried with the headlights on, and the headlights slightly dimmed, this means its a problem with the starter and not the ignition wiring, correct? And how can I tell if its the starter or the starter solenoid that's bad? Thanks!

[5thhorsemann]

I'm not seeing a bolt, can you take a pic of said bolt and post it?

[Zed Head]

The solenoid post isn't spinning, just the nut that holds on the positive cable won't unscrew. As for the negative cable, it is bolted in where it is shown in the picture. And for the ground on the body, where on the body is easiest to attach it? The starter, I tried with the headlights on, and the headlights slightly dimmed, this means its a problem with the starter and not the ignition wiring, correct? And how can I tell if its the starter or the starter solenoid that's bad? Thanks!

It sounds like the threads on the solenoid post are stripped, or the nut itself. You might be able to get the nut to grab again by sticking a thin bladed screwdriver under the nut and prying it away from the solenoid while you unthread the nut. I hope that you have the positive at the battery cable disconnected so that you don't short it out while working on the solenoid.

[FastWoman]

The solenoid is part of the starter, at least on the Z. I don't think you can replace just the solenoid. The whole starter, rebuilt, is about $70 at autozone, with a lifetime warranty. It's a cheap rebuild, but it's also easy to replace if it goes south. I'd remove the nut as Zed Head suggests. If that doesn't work, you can use a nut splitter or perhaps just saw/drill the nut off. (I think they'll still take it as a core.)

And your last question: No, you haven't yet confirmed that you have a problem with the starter and not the ignition wiring. You really need to do the wire test for that. You MIGHT have a situation in which the starter wire (the little one) is shorted or has a bad connection. Or perhaps you have a fusible link that's out. Or perhaps your ignition switch is going bad. Or perhaps you have a bad cable or bad ground. There are a few possibilities that happen with some regularity to other Z owners. The only thing you're ruled out is that a weak battery is not to blame.

To test the starter, you're going to have to touch a wire from the (+) of the battery to that little spade connector on the solenoid. If the starter works, then it's definitely something in your wiring. If it doesn't work, it could either be a bad starter or something in your wiring. (For instance, perhaps you have a bad battery cable.) Then you'll have to do some additional tests to figure out where the problem is. A multimeter will be invaluable for this.

But considering that you have a stripped post, you need to address that situation first. If you're able, back off the nut using the method Zed Head suggested. If you find your starter is good, you might be able to replace the nut and use washers to space the nut onto a portion of the post that still has good threads. However, the easiest thing to do is to replace the starter and see if a new one works. Then again, I know $70 can be a lot to a student -- perhaps less so nowadays, compared to when I went to school.

Edited April 22, 2011 by FastWoman

[5thhorsemann]

I still say after looking at his ground cable that there is no proper engin ground. I know the pic sucks, but that cable looks cut off to me.

[yoshi_w]

Ok,so I did something really dumb. In an attempt to get the nut off, I absentmindedly in a moment of frustration forgot to disconnect the battery cables, and the solenoid sparked. Is it likely this damaged the starter? As for the cable, there definitely is a nut there attaching it to where the red circle in the picture shows. I also looked up solenoids and there are solenoids sold separately, so I am assuming I can replace just that part, but is it more logical just to replace the whole starter? On the wire test, the spade connector is where the starter wire attaches, correct? Thank you for all the help so far, I'm getting super frustrated with this problem, and your help is keeping me sane!

[Zed Head]

If you just had a small spark from the main batter cable to ground you probably didn't do any damage.

I would just remove the starter from the car with the big cable still attached, so that you can work on it, and see what you're doing. It's just two bolts and it drops out. Then you can take it to a parts shop and have it tested. Worst case, they can test it with the cable still attached. If it's bad, you can just cut the stud or nut off off with a hack saw and not worrt too much about damage. If it's good you can take more care in getting the nut off.

[yoshi_w]

Hi, so I worked on the car a little and took the starter off and had it tested. The starter is fine and in working condition. I also replaced the cables, but I still only hear one click when I turn the ignition key, and nothing else. Any ideas?? I am also attaching pictures of the bolt that attaches to the engine on the negative cable's ground for 5thhorsemann. Thanks for everything so far, but please help, I appreciate it!

[FastWoman]

Yoshi, I'm guessing the click you're hearing is not the starter solenoid. It's probably the ignition relay or something. Does the click happen when you switch the key to the "on" position, or do you have to turn all the way to "start" to get the click? Is there any way you can have a friend turn the key, while you lean over your engine and listen to make certain the sound is coming from the starter? You might also want to put your hand on the starter's solenoid (the smaller protrusion on the starter with the spade connector on it -- the only connection with a little wire) and see if you can feel the solenoid click. If this happens, your starter is still suspect.

The wire test: Yes, pull off the only little wire on the starter. Clip a small wire to that same connector on the starter, and touch the other end to the (+) post of the battery. Don't touch any part of the wire that isn't insulated. Make certain your transmission is in neutral. When you touch the wire to the (+) post, the starter should crank.

Alternative to the wire test: Put a multimeter in the V mode at an appropriate scale for measuring 12V. Pull the little wire from your starter, and touch the (+) probe of a multimeter to it. Touch the (-) probe to ground. Have a friend turn the key to start. The meter should read approx 12V. If the starter doesn't turn when this same small wire delivers that 12V to it, then you've got a starter problem. This assumes your battery cables are as good as you believe them to be. (I don't see new cables in your pics, so I don't know which ones you replaced.)

BTW, you can indeed find separate starter solenoids, but they're for old Fords and such. I doubt you can buy a separate solenoid for your 280Z, but I might be wrong. I've just never seen one.

Edited April 24, 2011 by FastWoman