Pushed start.. didnt start
 

Hey guys im trying to troubleshoot my car not starting issue. Im rebuilding this car from a crash so i dont know what previously went wrong.
But it was running when the previous owner crashed it!

So heres what ive done.. removed all the shit blocking any of the mechanics of the motor.

Replaced almost all the relays ( they were damaged ) with new subaru relays.

Put a new(ish) battery in it from my other project car.

I jumped in it last night, hit the start button once ( foot off the break ) and the dash lit up nicely, and i put the car into park.

Pressed my foot on the break and pressed the button again, and the tach needle wend all the way up and down ( doing its fancy thing ) and some things changed in the dash, but no engine turning over tried to happen.

I kept seeing a key icon flashing strangely in the dash, so i got outa the car and tried my kefob for the trunk and the doors and it didnt seem to do much, so i replaced the battery in the keyfob and it is working.

Got in the car today, exact same thing, lots of flashing shit in the dash but no car start, and still no engine trying to turn over.

In the first stage of start, this icon blinks and theres a little lock icon close to it that is blinking as well.
http://i.imgur.com/hbfNmEZ.jpg

In the second stage its looking a little more like this.
http://i.imgur.com/8zx5PiB.jpg

Heres a youtube video i made of me attempting my first start, it might help diagnose.

[ame]http://youtu.be/Ha2K1T2TaiU[/ame]

Is there a hole i can stick the physical key and try to make it start?

Ahh after reading a little more, before i hit the start button, the "Engine immobilizer indicator light" was the one blinking.. Is that normal to blink when you hop in your car?

No sounds like a dealer programming required.
DO you have the original key?

Yes i do, thatd be pretty shitty engineering if you had to reprogram the car because it got in a wreck..

Just got in my BRZ to do a couple quick tests - the flashing green key basically is saying that it sees your keyfob in the car. Was the braking system damaged in any way? Maybe it's not detecting the brake as being pushed down or something.

Or damaged neutral safety switch for the trans being in PARK to start?

I can't be sure about the AT version of the car but on a MT after I hold down the clutch the green key light is solid and no longer blinking - "ready to start" per say. I would assume on an automatic that holding down the brake should cause the light to become solid.

Huh subb'd for info. Is the push start back lit?


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push to start button is back lit. Does anyone else have the flashing immobiliser light in the dash?

Did you try moving the steering wheel around a bit before starting? IIRC, there were some folks that had issues with the push-to-start not working and that seemed to do the trick.

Ok to add a little more strange to the mix here..

The wheel has full range of motion, i can turn it left and right alot.
The immobilizer light goes off once i hit the start button the 2nd time with my foot on the brake.

I wonder if the car thinks its started?

My shifter is able to shift around, and when i hit start the second time, then switched the shifter into reverse, it beeped at me alot. Would that happen with the car off? It shouldnt let me shift, but i assume the safty mechanism to not let me was disabled when the car was crashed so they could get it out of drive and into neutral.

Whats this?
http://i.imgur.com/hbZtxKN.png
I dont have a empty hole here and theres a button below it..

also where do you stick the key on a keyless start? I have the little backup key, where does it go?

Pushed start.. didnt start
 

That hole is to release the gear when you do not have the keys so the car can be towed. It also works if for some reason your car doesn't detect the key. A kind of manual over ride.
The key you have is to open the trunk.

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Have you checked all your fuses?


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Couldn't be this since without the brake you can't take it out of park. I'm really interested to find out what's causing this.


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im gonna go check and see if my steering wheel is ever locking.. could be something around that.

http://i.imgur.com/IOLvhut.jpg
Heres a diagnostic video. Steering wheel locks, car notices the brake is being pressed down. Strangest thing is probably the beeping when i turn it off.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WonZHYzVfXo"]brz no start diagnosis - YouTube[/ame]

Pushed start.. didnt start
 

Does your dome light turn on ?
Beeping is normal that's because the door is open.

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brb ill find out, also i tried pulling the ecu fuse for a few minutes and putting it back in, that didnt help anything.. i have some time tonight, is it worth going through and checking all the fuses?

No dome light at any point. Seems quite strange. And no stereo power.. any ideas on what might cause that?

It's one fuse. I know exactly which one it is because I've replaced it on mine. Let me go out to my car and get you a picture. Does the car have a radar or anything ?


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Check this fuse.


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:popcorn: On the edge of my seat over here. I SO want this to work out. :popcorn:

OK, i pulled that fuse out and it was blown. I grabbed the 20 in the spare section, that one was blown too. I pulled the other 20 from here:
http://i.imgur.com/Q6btSub.png


And put it in there, the second i seated it i heard a little pop, and i checked it, and it was dead.

I looked at the positive connection to the battery and the left side looks a little fucked, are those fuses in there? And is that one on the left/bottom blown?
http://i.imgur.com/ydAzkuC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WMriMW4.jpg

Also that fuse is for the dome light, do you think fixing the dome light is going to help my problem?

You have a bad ground somewhere. I'd have to have the car here to help out anymore sorry. Try changing that pswd jdm bolt to a standard bolt. I can take pictures of that too if needed. Remove your dome light and check the wires.


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Not a bad ground, a short circuit to ground.

Pushed start.. didnt start
 

Yeah I bet it's from an improper install of a radar detector or a cord coming loose during the crash. Maybe even the previous owner ripping shit out without caring. Unplug your battery then start searching for the short so you don't blow a bunch of fuses. Replace the ones blown and check all the other ones. Normally when you blow that specific fuse under the hood you'll blow these 2 as well. Well I did. Check these wires to start. There's also a connection behind the headliner where the arrow points check those.


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I bet OP will stumble across a wire or wire bundle that has been pinched as a result of the collision. It's great that you have real-world experience with that part of the harness. :thumbsup:

I picked up a multimeter and blew it up almost instantly, went back this morning and got another.

When I put the pos and negative on my battery terminal, getting a clean 12
When I put it on where the fuse is that keeps blowing, I'm getting this negative 12
http://i.imgur.com/d6q6LzN.jpg

is that a sign of the short? should this be zero when the car is off?
I'm just trying to figure out how I can tell when I fix the short, I can't keep throwing fuses in and hoping they don't pop

Did you check the spot I mentioned above? Remove your battery and start searching visually.


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I didnt check those fuses yet, also i really dont wanna pull my headliner out if i can avoid doing that.

I have a ton of wires in the front im going to clean up and double check, also ill look at those fuses once i find the fuse box for them.

Knowing if that voltage is expected would be a big help.

After reading this, I'm getting a strong vibe you're in over your head. Stick with looking for physical evidence of damage.

Someplace in all that wiring two or more wires have got mashed together in the accident. I would pay special attention to any wires running close to the damaged areas From the little that can be seen in your pics it looks like there was some substantial damage so the search may be large. Look for bare, sharply bent, stretched or abraded sections. They could be hidden under any of the covering looms though.


Oh, and stop putting in fuses and "hoping they won't pop". The best case scenario is you are wasting your time. The worst case is you burn up the car.

i second this

OK, time for a good update.

ZOMFGAARON i checked all those fuses and the light, everything looks good.

Ultramaroon i now know that the multi-meter was on backwards and thats why i got negative 12.. woulda saved me some time if you told me that, but oh well, im learning.. electrical isnt my thing, but im never over my head if i have the internet at my disposal.

Its so fucking hot outside here, the car is about 110 inside and i cant stay out for long periods. I cleaned up all the outside wires and visually inspected them and didnt find anything, after checking the interior fuses and that came up blank. I started testing all the grounds i could with the multi-meter and didnt find much, i continued with the visual inspection and i ripped the tray part of the fuse box out of the plastic bottom tray part.

I looked and tested all around the fuse thats giving me fits and didnt find anything, but then while looking around the other wires i found something !!
http://i.imgur.com/K8mYVtvl.jpg

it looks like during the wreck a piece of metal gouged up through the bottom of the fuse box and into these wires. Like i said its too hot to stay out for long periods, but after i cool down im going to try and free up some more space to work around there and look at/fix these wires. I imagine it will be hard to wire them back into the fuse circut but ill figure something out.

oh cool yeah thanks for the input, tell people not to try and learn anything, pack it up and head to the dealership.. thats the spirit..

learning to use a multimeter and misreading a meter measurment is different. Misreading it opens the door for a host of problems that can be complied on top.

Didnt say pack it up, either. Ultramaroon mentions to stick to physical signs of shortage.

From the looks and sounds of it someone was trying to fix this long before yourself. Hence the blown fuse in the spare location and the what appears to be electrical tape on those wires. Good luck!


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The butthurt is strong in here. How much time would it have saved if, instead of googling to prove me wrong, you put away the multimeter and started digging around like I said?

BTW, You're welcome.