OBD1 m52 no crank, no ICV hum, no nothin'

[Roysneon]

So my setup is

OBD1 M52, using the same harness and DME that I had on my old m50. I labeled everything as it came off the m50 and hooked everything back up the same way on the m52.

I have power to the big starter wire
The relays on the wiring harness have power
The harness is grounded on the strut tower
The engine is grounded off the motor mount
When I turn the key to 'on', the fuel gauge moves but when I turn it to start I get no change at all

Dafuq

[Kingb]

Could be your ground. Even tho the cable is hooked up it could not be poviding enough ground. Take some jumper cables and hook one side to the engine and the other to the body. I've had issues like that.

[justin_l_]

Your pump prime when you turn the key on?

[Roysneon]

Your pump prime when you turn the key on?

Not a thing.

[justin_l_]

You sure all the grounds are connected and you didn't ground a power wire that is black? Also.... how is your battery?

[Roysneon]

I have power to the starter terminal and to all the harness relays. Even if there was a sensor not installed or plugged in correctly, the starter should at least turn. I have the fuse box to the positive terminal and the harness ground is securely grounded on the strut tower.

[Roysneon]

So I finally decided to fuck with this thing again.

Jumped power from the main stud on the starter to the lower stud with the smaller wire and the bitch started up. So yay.

Now what would cause it to not get power to that wire when the key is turned? Bad starter relay?

[justin_l_]

Could be, is it getting signal from the ignition to the relay? Anything from the relay when you turn the key? Trace it back from the starter and see where it stops.

[Habla]

Do you have a 3-post starter? If so, make sure the terminals go to the posts that are closest in size. The big post is obvious, but the two smaller wires go to their similar sized posts. I forgot to hook up the 2nd biggest wire (which activated the starter solenoid), so the starter didn't engage the flywheel.

[Roysneon]

I am 90% sure that I have both wires hooked up and that they are on right. Mine were two different sizes so it wasn't possible to put them on wrong. I'll try to get a helper to turn the key while I check for power with the multimeter.

I'm just happy to have this bitch make some noise.

[Roysneon]

Also the fuel pump only primed or kicked on when I jumped power like that. Could a bad ignition switch or relay cause that?

[Habla]

The DME wont power the fuel pump if the engine is unable to start. When I tried to start it with the starter wired incorrectly, there were only three relay clicks, no icv hum or fuel pump hum.

[Roysneon]

I'll take it off again and double check, then. At least I know all the other wiring is good now.

[Roysneon]

Is there anything else besides the unloader relays that supply power to the starter solenoid?

I switched the wires and nothing. There is also no voltage to either of the smaller two wires.

Also, before the swap, the starter would sometimes spin, but not engage the flywheel, so I think a relay somewhere was slowly on the way out and quit while it sat.

[e30austin]

I would try a new starter.