240sx will not start PLEASE HELP!

[concreteroots]

Ok im new so please no bashing to hard, anyways. my girlfriend has a 89 240sx with the single cam motor. it is completly stock and is a automatic. the car runs great and she has driven it really gently, shes owned it for about a year and NO problems. so one day she drove to homedepot and went in and poof went back out and no start, it just clicks and when i try to turn it over you can hear the sound coming from the starter and a slight hum but nothing else...so heres were she calls me and i go check the normal things. i make sure the battery is connected and i check the fuses. then i was told it was the starter and i pull that out and get it tested and it checks out fine so i was still convinced that it was the starter so i take out my friends starter that he drove over to my house with and put it in her car and still nothing...then i was told to manually turn the crank so i do and still nothing. so then someone told me to check the starter relay...i have no idea where that is on a automatic. but testing parts isnt to hard because i have a SR and my friends have KAs to switch around parts to find out problems. if you can guide me in any way with your infinate wisdom i would be most greatful because the car is STILL at home depot lol. thanksChris oh and if you want hell you can call me idk im kinda despret because she's asking to drive my SR in the mean time...661-565-3984 thanks!

[redtop91]

Is there ignition in the cylinders?

[rogoman]

If you're getting clicking at the starter, then check for a weak battery, corrosion on the battery posts, connectors on the battery cables.

[concreteroots]

i put my battery off my other 240sx on it and no start, ive cleaned the cables and all the conectors. also how do i tell if there is fire in the ignition?

[vancouverbc]

zerothread?id=140879

second last post in above thread shows location of inhibitor relay for auto transmission cars. its is in relay box next to battery. you might find the same relay to do substitution.

the original starter was clicking and humming which obviously means it is getting power which suggests weak battery or dead starter. you should have tried hitting starter as that wakes them up if they are bad. bad starters are intermittent.

i guess you could have a weak connection in the ground or 12v+ circuits.

supply 12v positive directly to small wire at starter. that will tell you if the complex positive circuit is working ie inhibitor relay, inhibitor switch, wiring, ignition switch, etc

[concreteroots]

OK just to get this right, i run a + wire off the battery to positive termanal and touch it to the termanal on the starter that you take off to pull the starter out, because theres two termanals, one that you take off and on the has a plug, which do i use. then when i connect them do i turn the key or what? thanks for the info

[concreteroots]

oh yea by the way, i took the starter out of my friends working car and put it into hers and nothing. but ill swap out the egi relays and a couple other ones.

[vancouverbc]

You unplug the connector close to the starter and connect it directly to postive battery terminal. It should be a small wire (black with yellow stripe)You are bypassing ignition so it should start without key. Only connect for few seconds. transmission in neutral, obviously.

OK just to get this right, i run a + wire off the battery to positive termanal and touch it to the termanal on the starter that you take off to pull the starter out, because theres two termanals, one that you take off and on the has a plug, which do i use. then when i connect them do i turn the key or what? thanks for the info

[concreteroots]

ok ive tried EVERYTHING you guys have said to try and STILL nothing. PLease help, I cannot afford to take it to a mechanic so please help with other problems people had or something anything.

[vancouverbc]

ok ive tried EVERYTHING you guys have said to try and STILL nothing. PLease help, I cannot afford to take it to a mechanic so please help with other problems people had or something anything.

You hooked it up directly to postive of battery and it didnt start? Check the ground.

[concreteroots]

yea i hooked it up directly to the battery with the + to + and it just clicked. ill just run a ground from the starter to the frame see if that works.

[vancouverbc]

if you can, double-check the overall ground with mulitmeter. one probe on negative of battery and one probe on engine chasis. should be low resistance. Find any grounds and clean them. Also, check the second positive line to starter.

The solenoid connects the starter to the engine so if that is bent it wont engage.

[concreteroots]

I FIXED IT!!!! It was the battery termanal on the + side where the 2 other cables connect to it and in my anger and frustration of taking these things off 100 times i jammed them in as hard as i could and poof it started. so in conclusion, anger in the work place can sometimes be a good thing as it helps solve some problems Thank you who gave me good imput and i knwo what to look for it my SR ever wont start. PEACE!Chris

[vancouverbc]

Nice work:) Thanks for reporting back your success.

[ydlee]

I just purchased a 1991 and mine does the same clicking and I noticed two cables next the positive one is not connected should they be connected then?

[concreteroots]

Yea the two positive cables that connect to the big one should be connected. If they dont make a good connection, cut them off and go get a new battery tie and put both the raw cable in the top along with the big positive wire.