Very weird no start, almost about to give up.

[DrifterE]

Well, I really must get my daily driver to work, because my second car just failed, and i'm really screwed. I have an s13 hatch with an sr, and it wont start even if I jump it, battery reads 12.5v, I get the same at the starter, which I replaced already. Tried giving the starter 12v directly but all I get is a click, but it cant turn the engine. I turned the engine with a breaker bar a few times and tried to crank it with the key, and it only moved for about 2seconds, then I haven't been able to crank it over since. All I get is the click from the starter. I haven't changed the battery yet, but I can't see that being the problem, maybe, because I have unbolted the starter from the tranny and it spins fine. Is there a relay or something I haven't checked? I've read it might be something with the ecu not getting power or having a ground, but idk since it still acts like the starter can't push it. I'd REALLY appreciate some help.

[Tantwoforty]

if you can turn it by hand this my money is its a bad starter.
if you gave it straight 12 and it just clicked, then the solenoid in it is probably bad. it would still spin fine. take it to autozone and get it checked. ill bet its bad.
are all the lights dimming to death when you crank it?

are they fully dimming when you have your car hooked up to another car thats running?

if that's the case it may be a short, make sure all your leads are correct, nothings touching or anything..

it wouldn't really be a relay of a fuse, because those type of things just break, you wouldn't even get a click.

also, sine this is your supposed second starter, have someone else check that your installing them correctly. not to be a dick, but you never know.

[DrifterE]

also, sine this is your supposed second starter, have someone else check that your installing them correctly. not to be a dick, but you never know.

True, lol. Two heads are better than one.

I had the original one rebuilt, I could have just had bad luck with the shop rebuilding it, i'll take it to an autozone to get checked. I never actually paid attention to my lights dimming or not now that I remember, I should try again when jumping it. The part I think is weird and funny is that if I unbolt the starter and just have it wired up, and crank it, the starter motor spins. Bolted to the tranny it does nothing. I know this is gonna end up being something dumb, and maybe being my fault, but I cant seem to find it. Thanks for the help. I still haven't checked all the wiring on the starter side though, i've only had spare time in the afternoon when its dark, gotta look closer.

[jacobs13]

are you sure its not your battery? you can have 12v but it wont start, take it somewhere or check the amperes yourself if you have a amp clamp or battery tester

[DrifterE]

are you sure its not your battery? you can have 12v but it wont start, take it somewhere or check the amperes yourself if you have a amp clamp or battery tester

I only checked the voltage on it, it is an option, you could be right. I'll have someone let me borrow their battery tomorrow.

1. Battery
2. Have starter checked.
:hsdance:

[Tantwoforty]

thats why i asked him to try to start it with another car hooked up with jumpers giving it a solid 14.5 volts while that car is running that would point more towards the battery or charging side

oh oh oh oh oh..
also try this...

get 3 of your friends.
and push start it. it should start and run just fine if just the starter is the problem, you said it never moved again after you cranked it? maybe it seized or something...
at the shop we had a ttz32's flywheel break, the ring around the lightweight flywheel snapped from the wheel itself, so the starter just spun the ring making a awful noise, it took a few steps to figure out and your starter problems reminded me of that, i had to push start that heavy bitch myself every day for like a week while we waited for the new one to come.
^random story, sorry.

so try those things asap, jump start it with a revvig car, try to push start it, and get the starter tested.

maybe when they rebuilt it they didnt do it good job, it kinds sounds like the noid dosent have the power to push the flywheel.
as a shitty example, ever had a old house fan that got all slow and crappy, and you could stop it with your hand really easy and it wouldn't really feel like it was pushing hard... but it would spin freely..
something like that, maybe the motor is just weak and shitty and dosent make enough toruqe if you will to spin the engine.

idk try that shit and ill ramble more if its not fixed.

[Tantwoforty]

oh hey...
my high friend just had a good point.. maybe it needs shims, maybe its too close to the flywheel and its just smacking it and stopping..

if yur feeling dareing you can unbolt it fromm the block and crank it and see if it actually pops out and spins fast and hard..

/rambleing.

[DrifterE]

Thanks for the major help, my starter worked, and I got it to turn the engine. But now I have spark, and fuel, but it won't even try to turn over. I'm thinking its the CAS, maybe I need to reset it? How would I be able to tell if its gone out? I checked the ECU for codes but I got 55 so the CAS might be good? I will try resetting the CAS but I find it weird because I did nothing to the engine before it stopped turning on. Can anyone well me if it might be a bad CAS since I don't have anyone to borrow one from to test before I buy a new one or risk it on used one.

[DrifterE]

I think i've got it down to either my ECU or CAS, since my ECU reads 55, maybe it is the CAS? Can anyone give me some advice on this?