Oh no! No start

[Reichert]

I'm sitting here in a parking lot, with the dreaded no start condition. Been starting and stopping a few times this evening without trouble. Now, nothing. *Sigh*

From reading about this previously I don't recall any quick fixes, unless I missed something. I might have enough incline and room in front of me to clutch start it if I have to.

-Stephen 1990 #2288

[Reichert]

Killed half an hour at a bar nearby .. came back and it cranked right up!

-Stephen 1990 #2288

[lfalzarano]

Sounds like you really weren’t inconvenienced! [emoji482]


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[lfalzarano]

What was the temperature that day?


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[Reichert]

It was in the mid-60's. I had been driving quite a bit so the car was hot.

Spent some time digging back through the forums on this issue, and I think this thread is probably the most informative overall, including links to other threads.

http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11727

I will be installing a starter relay as described very soon.

[RussMcB]

It's been a while since I went through that. I think the final correction was the "Purple wire mod", which sends a stronger signal directly to the starter. When I did that mod, I also added a terminal to make it easy to zap the starter directly from the battery's positive terminal, but I haven't had to use it.

That was five years ago. I think there has been once or twice it didn't start immediately (of hundreds of starts),, but it always started after a minute or so.

Maybe the best plan is to turn off the car only when near a bar.

[Reichert]

Yeah, maybe it's a feature, not a bug!

-Stephen 1990 #2288

[Reichert]

So I added the relay to the circuit, which worked .. briefly. After a relatively short drive (but up to operating temp) it's not starting again. So now I'm thinking the starter solenoid itself is the problem? Hopefully it will start again after a short cool down. No bar in sight this time unfortunately!

-Stephen 1990 #2288

[RussMcB]

OK, two suggestions: 1) Maybe carry a cooler. :-)

2) (Forgive me if I mentioned this before) - Make up a short (2') wire, about 10-12 ga., and make it so you can touch one end of it to the battery positive terminal, sending 12v directly to the starter. I think one of your wires from the relay goes straight to the starter, right? (the purple wire?).

This 'emergency' procedure bypasses everything - Ignition switch, VATS, clutch switch, ...

Important note: Make sure the car is in neutral ! ! !

[Reichert]

Originally Posted by RussMcB

OK, two suggestions: 1) Maybe carry a cooler. :-)

2) (Forgive me if I mentioned this before) - Make up a short (2') wire, about 10-12 ga., and make it so you can touch one end of it to the battery positive terminal, sending 12v directly to the starter. I think one of your wires from the relay goes straight to the starter, right? (the purple wire?).

This 'emergency' procedure bypasses everything - Ignition switch, VATS, clutch switch, ...

Important note: Make sure the car is in neutral ! ! !

I did try to jump it with a piece of 12 gauge wire, though I did so at the relay terminal with a short wire, not from the battery directly, which is functionally equivalent I think. I made a few sparks but got nothing from the starter.

-Stephen

-Stephen 1990 #2288