starting issue help please....

[DanGillan]

so the motor swap is pretty much done. Im using m20 flywheel, m20 trans and m20 starter. trans was all in and it seemed that my starter solonoid was trashed, so i put in a new remanufactured bosch starter, checked all my connections and wiring and went to start. no crank. the starter spins and it seems that the solonoid is trying to engage the gear to the flywheel, but it just wont engage. i turned the motor over by hand and it turns fine. has anyone run into anything like this? im going to work on the car at the shop tomorrow and i guess ill rip off the trans for the 50th fucking time and see whats going on, if anyone has any insight, i'd love to hear it. thanks,

Dan

[equate975]

Ground your engine :P

[DanGillan]

its grounded, everything seems to be grounded properly.

[Ryan Stewart]

Triple check your grounds. One of mine was fried and it caused something similar. The solenoid would engage and then it would crank a half turn or so but not fire. Then it acted like the battery was dying, i.e. it would turn slower and then nothing.

[1990m3]

I ran into this once, you could crank the motor by hand but it wouldn't start. The teeth on the flywheel didn't match the teeth on the starter. It cranks by hand because the starter teeth aren't engaged unless the solonoid is tripped during starting. Did you double check to make sure the teeth matched up before you put it all together?

I was sent the wrong aluminum flywheel by Bekkers and then they wouldn't take it back since it had been "installed." Those fuckers cost me almost $500. A good place to look, but not a likely solution for you since it sounds like you have matching parts.

Dave

[DanGillan]

well, its close to what your saying ryan, but it doesnt sound like the battery is gonna die, and im using the flywheel from the m20 that i removed, and a new m20 starter, so it should match up, but i guess im gonna pull apart the trans again tomorrow and make sure.

i guess i will triple check my grounds tomorrow first.

im sorta glad to hear im not the only one that has run into this :), anyone else?

[Ryan Stewart]

Do you have a good multimeter?

It would be nice to have one that could survive a bit of current? That way you could test the grounds loaded. They might be fine cold but once they heat up....

That is what was getting me. Everything was hunky dory until -12 hit.

[DanGillan]

yea i have a fluke 88, should do the trick.

[NickP]

I had the same issue when I was errr "over generous" while painting the block... As a quick test I just ran a jumper cable from the ground on the driver's side frame rail to one of the bolts on the starter to validate it was a grounding issue.

[DanGillan]

yea im working on the car now, and i tried running a jumper to one of the bolts and still no crank, the starter still spins but doesnt catch the flywheel. i've tested everything with a meter and still got nothing, everything seems to be hooked up and grounded correctly. im going to pull the starter see if i can see anything, then the damn trans again. thanks guys, any advice is definately appreciated.

[DanGillan]

yea, same thing, i just removed the starter and nothing looks messed up, i cleaned the contacts, re-installed it and hooked it up, and still nothing. it sounds like a damn blender. as if the gear is being pushed into the flat of the flywheel instead of where the teeth for the gear are. wtf? im puzzled.

[Ryan Stewart]

Have you R/R'ed the starter with the manifold off? Without the manifold it looks pretty easy to spot whether its gonna line up or not. At least, with the S50 trans/starter it is.

[DanGillan]

im not pulling the manifold for this, too much work. i dont think there's a need. i just pulled the trans and everything seems normal, there are wear marks on the edges of the flywheel almost as if the starter gear isnt contacting it enough to turn it, just scrape against it, but i dont understand why, i was always told m50 block, m20 trans, m20 flywheel, m20 starter would always work. hmm...

[mentaleeill]

im running the m50 with m20 flywheel, trans, and starter and never had a problem. my flywheel is bolted directly to the crank, did you put the ring between the flywheel and the crank, if so it may put the fly wheel too far out. my friend did that by accident once but his starter grinded like a bitch.

[DanGillan]

im 99.9% positive i put the ring after the flywheel becuase i know not to fuck that up, but since the trans is off, when i go back to work on it tomorrow, ill pull the pressure plate and check just to be 100% sure.