Dead - click click click click

[AndreaH]

My main question is can I use a 95 starter in a 92? 4 cyl. Unfortunately the dealer is off til Monday so I can't ask them.

For those interested here's what happened:

So my car sits outside for 4 days in nasty cold and ice, fires up like a champ when i go start it. I drive to one location, starts up again no prob. Drive to another, boom it's dead.

Try to jump it. No go.

Give it a good hillbilly pop the clutch jump and it fires up so I can get it home.

My positive battery terminal is trash so I go get a shiny new one. Still no go.

Take battery in to auto zone, it's putting out 10 volts, I don't have time to let it charge for 30 minutes to test it (there's 12 inches of snow in the driveway so I can't push start it again) so I just buy a new one. I needed one anyway from the looks of it.

Still no go. Damn it.

Soooooooo all the connections look as good as they can for a 92 that's obviously never been maintained. Filed down the negative terminal some just in case, positive is new. Everything comes on in the car.

I'm getting constant clicks like the damn battery is dead. Nothing else.

I've seen some folks have strange things going on other than bad starter so thought I would ask for thoughts before I go purchase one. It seems odd to me it was sudden death with no warning.

[Ryan]

Thats def your battery. Depending on HOW cold... here, sometimes it gets cold enough to freeze the acid and push the bars apart, effectively killing the battery permanently.

It it can be boosted, definately battery.

[SuperK]

Check ALL your grounds! If your starter isn't grounded correctly, it's not going to work!

On the drivers side of the block, make sure the grounds are clean, clear and properly connected!

[projectzemx3]

get a new battery, or one you know works from another car. disconnect both pos. and neg. from the mx3 and with jumper cables connect the new battery to the mx3's terminals. if it starts then yes its your battery. i had this exact same problem with my RS too. i wouldnt go changing the starter. how many volts does your battery read? it should read 12.500 or in and around there.


this problem happened to me when i accidently touched the pos and neg together with a 1/2 inch extension. woops!

[SuperK]

Guys, he said he already got a new battery.

[johnmx3ze]

Guys, he said he already got a new battery.

yeah thats what i was gonna say? i guess it would just be the starter... mine just stopped working like yours did so i changed it and now it turns perfect...

[AndreaH]

*she* got a new battery

I also replaced the terminals just in case before I did.

I checked the grounds before I got the new battery. All my wires look like s--- mind you, so everything could use an update, but they were clean and connected. All the leads from the battery are in tact. It's salty out tho, my first winter with this one, could be corrosion up under something. If the ground was bad though I don't think any electrical would work no?

I found a protege at a junk yard I'm going to go pick apart Tuesday and grab a starter from. 15.00 - can't beat it!

I posted because I read a couple of posts from others who had strange things going on like fuses being blown but still getting the same symptoms. This is my first foreign (well, that needed worked on anyway I had a celica once *sniffle*) so sometimes I wonder about little strange things that could happen. I also truly thought starters slowly died, or at least gave you one start that sounds like hell before they die.

[SuperK]

not battery grounds, starter grounds. It attaches to the block of the engine

[AndreaH]

I know I checked everything going in and out of the battery and starter... I'm running out to check again though just in case.

I have to get it in the garage before it snows again or Ill never get it fixed LOL!

[wytbishop]

not just on the starter. there are a couple of grounds that go from the head to the chassis. check them as well. Check your new battery's output as well. If there is a problem with the charging system it may be draining fast. A new battery should charge for 12 hours before applying a cranking load. If you didn't you may have compromised it's ability to hold a charge forever. Try returning it and tell them that you charged it overnight and it wouldn't turn the car over. Get another one and put a charger on it overnight. You can get a trickle charger for $20. If the car still doesn't start...I'm stumped...maybe it seized.

[colinf004]

its your starter, hands down!!

[AndreaH]

I completely forgot to post what the issue actually was....

The ground wire was completely rusted out. Not sure if they all go the same way but mine went in this order:

-negative battery cable to
-right side (driver) firewall to
-starter (or near it) to
-behind the block where I could no longer see it without taking things apart to
- left side firewall

How did I find this? by jumping the negative terminal to the block with jumper cables

It was a real "duh" moment for me... once I figured that out it was just a matter of replacing a 5.00 battery terminal and using a wire brush to clean up the connections on the ground.

My dad has been a mechanic for like 40 years, I call him when I am stumped, and he always comes up with these solutions that make me feel like a total retard. I am SO glad I didn't go fooling with the starter over this. Thought that tip was important to post because it's so easy!

[SuperK]

I am glad SuperK didn't suggest that exact thing!

[AndreaH]

lmao thats too funny... I completely missed that post somehow!