New motor - starting issue

[protpibe]

Due to reasons I won't get into in this thread, I needed to drop a new motor into my car. I found one out of a wrecked twin locally, so it wasn't that bad. The donor motor was running fine when it came out of the car in December.

Anyways, the swap over was fairly straight forward and not even that time consuming, but there's now an issue when starting the car. You can hear the starter solenoid click, but the starter motor does not turn.

Things I've tried:
-Removed starter from car and used jumper cables on it (the starter motor turns fine)
-Checked 7.5a ST Fuse in engine bay
-Tried swapping ST relay out
-Checked both 80/120a fuses on top of the + terminal
-Pulled starter out of the back of the motor and tried to engage it while connected to the car (solenoid engages, starter does not turn. Ran a 4ga ground wire from the starter housing to the - term on battery)

I'm all out of ideas. Does anyone know what might be the issue? It seems like the + lead to the starter motor is a direct shot to the battery. Does anyone know what the second pole does? The one with the black rubber cover on it?

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

[gramicci101]

How's the car's battery doing? A dying battery can sometimes have enough juice to engage the solenoid but not enough toactually turn the engine over.

[protpibe]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

How's the car's battery doing? A dying battery can sometimes have enough juice to engage the solenoid but not enough toactually turn the engine over.

I tried boosting it

I also tested the starter by boosting the small post and solenoid. It extends and spins

[G-Man]

pull the starter take it to autozone to get tested, they have things to run diagnostics on it.

[protpibe]

Originally Posted by G-Man

pull the starter take it to autozone to get tested, they have things to run diagnostics on it.

I tested the starter at home and it's fine. Grounded the starter itself then jumpered the solenoid and + pole. Engaged and turned fine

[G-Man]

just because it can spin freely without load doesnt mean the starter is fine(but its a good start) I am not sure what fancy things their tester does or if its worth it. but the next options I have would be

1. turn the crank by hand a few times to make sure the engine didn't seize
2. double check the wiring? make sure its getting the proper power to the starter?

this looks like a good list of things to try http://easyautodiagnostics.com/misc-...on-car-tests-1

[GT86drifter]

check grounds to starter

[DelayedBRZ]

You've pretty much isolated the starter and seem 100% that it is good to go (you may still want to take it to a parts store for a load check, battery too). There is another check to do that may likely cause your gut to curdle. Turn the motor over using a proper size socket and breaker bar (or ratchet as you prefer). If the starter turns freely out of the block, then there is the disappointing chance that something internal may be keeping the starter motor from turning the engine over.

[protpibe]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I took the starter out of the block and tried to start the car. The plunger activates but it does not spin. This is out of the engine block but wired in.

[spitfire481]

both ground straps attached?

[protpibe]

Originally Posted by spitfire481

both ground straps attached?

Yeah, that was one of the first things I checked.

There aren't any "anti theft" or "immobilizer" parts on the engine harness itself, are there?

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by protpibe

Yeah, that was one of the first things I checked.

There aren't any "anti theft" or "immobilizer" parts on the engine harness itself, are there?

People are giving you advice and you seem to be ignoring it.

It spinning not under load and it not spinning under load are two different things. Both can be true.

Have you manually turned the crank yet to see if the engine is seized???

Trouble shooting is a process of elimination, not guessing till you get it right.

Jaden

[protpibe]

Originally Posted by Jaden

People are giving you advice and you seem to be ignoring it.

It spinning not under load and it not spinning under load are two different things. Both can be true.

Have you manually turned the crank yet to see if the engine is seized???

Trouble shooting is a process of elimination, not guessing till you get it right.

Jaden

I've already checked if the engine is seized

The starter motor *does not* spin when it is connected to the vehicles electrical system, both INSTALLED and NOT INSTALLED into the engine block. It does spin when I remove it from the vehicle and test it with a battery charger.

I've put the car in higher gear and pushed it in my garage and heard the engine turn. It is not seized.

[protpibe]

Originally Posted by spitfire481

both ground straps attached?

Are there only the two ground straps under the car?