Starter or what??

[gr8bryt]

Hey folks, I've got an issue that I need some help with. I bought my s13 back in June and everything seemed to be fine upon acquisition. After a few runs around the block, the car wouldn't crank any more. I sourced it to the starter and now I've replaced the starter. I checked it to ensure that it works ok but now the car still won't start. The battery is kinda crudy looking but works well too; I even hooked it up to another battery for a jump off just to make sure. When I put the key in the ignition I get the "ding" noise and as I turn the key I also get lights on the dash. The problem comes in when I try to crank all the lights go off, no ding, and no crank. I checked the contacts on the starter to make sure that the pwr wire was making good contact with the post and such. IDK what else to do, any1 have suggestions? I don't really want to take it to a mechanic shop because I really don't have the funds to pay the labor costs Sorry for the long post, but I really wanna get my car on the road and need some help.

[JeromeS13]

Sounds like the battery or the battery connections.

[BoBa524]

check your neutral safety switch...i had same issue with my car turns out the switch was bypassed and had a fuse in the wire that disconnected. Check the wires under the dash.

[chifarmer]

Do yu hear any click at all? I'm wondering if the engine is siezed since all the lghts go out when you try to crank and you tried to jump it. Can you turn the crank manually with a socket/breaker bar?

How did you trace it to a bad starter to begin with?

Have you cleaned the battery terminals? Are you sure the ground to the engine from the battery is clean and sound?

[gr8bryt]

I had no idea to check all of those things. The car is a 5spd and to be honest I've never heard of a neutral safety switch . I don't hear any clicking what so ever which would be an indicator that perhaps the starter isn't getting any current at all right? The battery terminals are probably the original ones that came on the car so I guess I could replace those to see if I can get a better ground. When I first started having the problem, I used my multimeter to check voltages and everything seemed to point to a faulty starter, albeit I'm not really experienced in engine performance and I was taking information over the phone from a friend who is an experienced mechanic. I couldn't really do a lot of diagnosis based on the limited resources of working in my unlevel front yard and basic hand tools. It sucks because I've got a whole mechanics tool set @ school but I can't get to them except when I am there.

[gr8bryt]

IT'S ALIVE!! I replaced the battery terminals and she fired up, Silvia lives! Thanks everyone for your inputs.