hi again, i have a couple more questions regarding my car. background is, its a sa22 with an rx4 13b in it, which i've just finished putting in after the 12a gave up. the car has had a pretty mixed history, the wiring under the dash is atrocious, and will probably be bought up later...

anyway, i went to do the grand crankover with the new engine today, and got nothing. i can hear the starter spinning happily, but there's no cranking

my first thought was oh crap, despite checking, i've somehow got the wrong flywheel. however, i also noticed there's no sound to indicate that the pinion gear is getting pushed out to meet the flywheel (no solenoid click). when i bridged the start wire and the positive terminal on the starter motor, i got a bunch of sparks, but nothing else. the starter was working fine when removed, but that was a little while ago.

what would be the next step from here? what does spinning but not clicking indicate from a starter?

the second issue is one that's been bugging me since the day i got the car. when the key is on, but the car is off, the tacho reads up around 5000. once i start the car, it reads normally. seeing as all the wiring behind the dash has been tampered with, i wouldnt be surprised if it has something to do with that. just wondering if there's a common fault for it.

thanks in advance

 

the battery is a bit old and sad, would that be a major factor?

i'll try posting the tach question into 1st gen tech as soon as i have enough posts

 

I would say you have your starter wired up wrong underneath somewhere . the fsm's http://foxed.ca are essential to learn to troubleshoot download what you need and read .
As far as the tack goes Just a guess but the tack is really just an electro magnet being fed a tiny bit of power to make the needle register RPM. the faster the engine the higher the field build up . It is possible that with the key in the off position there is a minute bit of power feed back causing the tack to register . The amount of feed back might not even register on a meter . Or there is a lot of power making a field in the very close proximity of the tack . It;s not uncommon for gauges to rest somewhere other than 0. For instance I have a vehicle no matter how much fuel is in the tank it always goes to the 3/4 mark when sitting and registers proper when the key is on .
I would think with all the electronics on these little cars there is bound to be a little power feed back here and there especially if it has been molested . JMO Gerald m.

 

well i havent changed anything with the starter wiring, but in retrospect it was a little bit sluggish to start sometimes.

followed the starter wire back to the ignition switch, and i see it's a direct connection without a relay or anything. battery voltage is around 12.2, but voltage at the starter wire (with the starter disconnected) is around 10. i'll install a starter relay, obviously i'm getting a fair bit of drop through my 30 year old components

as for the tacho, i'll have a look up there, see if i can see anything thats been obviously messed with. so you reckon the problem is (probably) wiring related, rather than an issue with the gauge itself?

cheers

 

I don't think there is a relay on the main power cable to the starter , there might be a connection to power fuse box etc. the ( SOLENOID ) is the only relay I know of and that is on the starter . If you only get 10 volts at the starter and 12 at the battery get that dealt with and go from there It could also be the starter bendix drive just not engaging into the ring gear . The starter bendix gear with starter removed should turn by fingers with some resistance one way and lock up immediately and not turn in the opposite direction . Clean all your connections up good on the battery cables make sure the crimps are tight .

 

brap brap brap!

turns out it was a weird half-assed wiring job on the back of the starter, stripped wires wrapped around the terminal etc. put a proper connecter on there and she fired straight up. double relief, because that confirms that the engine is good too! took less cranks than my piston daily to get started

thanks for all the help guys (sorry it turned out to be such a silly little thing!)