[Mk2] [Turbo] MR2 turbo won't start/turn over at all.

[Dean_82]

Hi guys, bit of background info:
Car has been sat around for about 6 months. A friend of mine disconnected the ignition wiring about 5 months ago as a few cars had been targeted around my area at the time and this was suggested as safety measure. Same friend then reconnected everything today.

So I went to start it earlier and.....nothing. It's not even trying to turn over. All you can hear is a clicking from the relays? No sounds from the starter, even after a few 'taps' .The battery seems fine and all the ignition, dashboard lights etc seem to be working.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Tsia]

It sounds similar to a problem that happened with mine. If it all seems well, then there's a chance the cables to/from the starter may have corroded. Mine were so bad that it only had a few mm of contact to the actual terminal. An easy way of checking this would be to power the starter from the 12v in the engine bay, as long as you're careful.

Edit : If all else fails, bump start might be worth a shot to get it into the garage.

[Johnr32]

This is sort of worrying me now as I have done exactly the same, I have disconnected the battery and left it in dry storage for the past 6months now. I havent had the chance to see if it still fires up but I hope it still does!

[T.F.S.]

make sure the spade connector is fitted to the relay, its easy to pull off when messing with the wiring...done it a few times myself!

[Nails]

when you say the battery 'seems fine' have you checked it? chances are its went flat if its just stood for 6 months

[Dean_82]

Sorry for the late reply fellas.
Yeah the battery has been fully charged - I forgot to mention.
I used a multi meter earlier and it appears that the starter is getting power. So is it safe to say that the starter is busted/seized?

Thsnks

[Peter Gidden]

I used a multi meter earlier and it appears that the starter is getting power. So is it safe to say that the starter is busted/seized?

There are two terminals on the starter:

1) Large M8 stud with main 12+VE cable and a smaller wire attached by ring terminals. Should always be battery live.

2) Brown spade terminal on front side of stater. Unplug, and should be 12+VE when key turned to cranking position.

If both as above, and engine has good earth, starter is goosed in some way.

[Dean_82]

I used a multi meter earlier and it appears that the starter is getting power. So is it safe to say that the starter is busted/seized?

There are two terminals on the starter:

1) Large M8 stud with main 12+VE cable and a smaller wire attached by ring terminals. Should always be battery live.

2) Brown spade terminal on front side of stater. Unplug, and should be 12+VE when key turned to cranking position.

If both as above, and engine has good earth, starter is goosed in some way.

Thank you!
The main 12+ very cable is showing power/battery live.
But the brown spade connector is not showing power when the key isturned to crank.
I then went into the boot to access the starter motor relay. I unplugged it and tested for a current and there is power there!! - So this must mean the relay is goosed???

When it's in place you can't hear it click at all.

[Peter Gidden]

I used a multi meter earlier and it appears that the starter is getting power. So is it safe to say that the starter is busted/seized?

There are two terminals on the starter:

1) Large M8 stud with main 12+VE cable and a smaller wire attached by ring terminals. Should always be battery live.

2) Brown spade terminal on front side of stater. Unplug, and should be 12+VE when key turned to cranking position.

If both as above, and engine has good earth, starter is goosed in some way.

Thank you!
The main 12+ very cable is showing power/battery live.
But the brown spade connector is not showing power when the key isturned to crank.
I then went into the boot to access the starter motor relay. I unplugged it and tested for a current and there is power there!! - So this must mean the relay is goosed???

When it's in place you can't hear it click at all.

OK, so there are 4 wires at the starter relay in the boot:

1) White wire - from main M8 starter motor terminal (main feed into relay)
2) Black & white wire - the other end of the wire on the front of the starter you tested (main feed out of relay)
3) Red & white wire - from igntion switch (signal feed to engage relay coil)
4) White & black wire - earth (earth feed to relay coil)

Check the white wire is always 12+VE

Then check for the red and white wire going 12+VE when you turn the key to cranking position.

[Dean_82]

There are two terminals on the starter:

1) Large M8 stud with main 12+VE cable and a smaller wire attached by ring terminals. Should always be battery live.

2) Brown spade terminal on front side of stater. Unplug, and should be 12+VE when key turned to cranking position.

If both as above, and engine has good earth, starter is goosed in some way.

Thank you!
The main 12+ very cable is showing power/battery live.
But the brown spade connector is not showing power when the key isturned to crank.
I then went into the boot to access the starter motor relay. I unplugged it and tested for a current and there is power there!! - So this must mean the relay is goosed???

When it's in place you can't hear it click at all.

OK, so there are 4 wires at the starter relay in the boot:

1) White wire - from main M8 starter motor terminal (main feed into relay)
2) Black & white wire - the other end of the wire on the front of the starter you tested (main feed out of relay)
3) Red & white wire - from igntion switch (signal feed to engage relay coil)
4) White & black wire - earth (earth feed to relay coil)

Check the white wire is always 12+VE

Then check for the red and white wire going 12+VE when you turn the key to cranking position.

ok, the white wire was, like you said, 12+VE constant. But the red and white wires were NOT showing 12+VE even when the ignition was cranked!?! So it's not the relay?
I'm totally lost?.....

[Peter Gidden]

But the red and white wires were NOT showing 12+VE even when the ignition was cranked!?!

So now go to the other end of the wire at the ignition switch and see if that end goes 12+VE when key turned to cranking position.

[clarkson23]

hi mate , have you checked to see if starter works with a power supply straight from battery?

im having this problem i get power to all wires, and i connected starter to battery and nothin , starter motor is goosed, going to swop it tommorow, this is the second mr2 ive had that this has happened!

[Peter Gidden]

hi mate , have you checked to see if starter works with a power supply straight from battery?

im having this problem i get power to all wires, and i connected starter to battery and nothin , starter motor is goosed, going to swop it tommorow, this is the second mr2 ive had that this has happened!

His starter works - check his post above, engine fires up.

Starter motor failure is unusual. Have you checked the brown spade connector is plugged in at front of starter, and that it's going live when key at cranking position?

[clarkson23]

oh didnt see it!

yes i have mate checked everything, my mate came round in his 2 i checked all voltage on wires, on mine and his, all the same, then sent 12v straight to my starter and nothin, sent 12v off same battery to his stater and his turned over, ive come to conclusion motor is goosed

[Dean_82]

Firstly apologies for not following up this thread. Some personal matters have meant the car had taken a back seat, but now it is a priority again.

My brother helped this evening and we started where we left off. But he decided to bypass the ignition and put the straight to the starter. The starter cranked but the the car failed to start?
Also one thing I rememered - I had an immobiliser 'removed' a few years back, is it possible that is playing a part?

[Peter Gidden]

I had an immobiliser 'removed' a few years back, is it possible that is playing a part?

Bypassing the ignition is fairly pointless, since the ignition circuits pass through the ignition switch and need to be energised in order for the car to work.

The immobiliser is unlikely to be playing any part if it was removed. Or 'removed'.

But if the wires that were cut when the immobiliser was installed were not correctly reconnected, then that would be a problem.

Simple question: has the car run properly at any time since the immobiliser was removed? If answer is yes, then that is not your problem.

You say you've checked everything. So you're 100% happy you'regetting power to ECU, coil, igniter and starter relay with ignition switched on? And when cranking, fuel pump is live too?

You never did answer my question earlier in the thread regarding the starter motor wiring.

[Dean_82]

I had an immobiliser 'removed' a few years back, is it possible that is playing a part?

Bypassing the ignition is fairly pointless, since the ignition circuits pass through the ignition switch and need to be energised in order for the car to work.

The immobiliser is unlikely to be playing any part if it was removed. Or 'removed'.

But if the wires that were cut when the immobiliser was installed were not correctly reconnected, then that would be a problem.

Simple question: has the car run properly at any time since the immobiliser was removed? If answer is yes, then that is not your problem.

You say you've checked everything. So you're 100% happy you'regetting power to ECU, coil, igniter and starter relay with ignition switched on? And when cranking, fuel pump is live too?

You never did answer my question earlier in the thread regarding the starter motor wiring.

Right here we go-
The ECU seems to be showing power constant (We checked the WHITE wire wth a RED stripe)
Didn't check for power at the coil or igniter as you said but we did check for a spark at the plugs and there was no spark!
And there doesn't look like there is power to the fuel pump (We checked the wires at the connector block at the gear stick?)
No power at the starter motor relay nor the spade connector on the starter.
None of the wires at the ignition are showing power at crnking position although the BLUE wire at the ignition is showing a drop in power at cranking, is this correct?

Neither my brother or myself are elctricians or mechanics so I apologise if I seem a bit vague.

[Dean_82]

After this afternoons tinkering I've finally got power going from.
The ignition to the starter! Somehow the ST1 wire was live on one end of the switch and not the other. But with a bit of fiddling that seems to be working.
But there is still no spark and after testing the fuel pump wiring under the gear stick
that is not showing power. The fuel gauge was showing power.

[Dean_82]

Anyone?

[b16hbg]

Definitely no spark at all? Check for spark to the distributor with the king lead. Does the rev counter move when cranked? If you've got nO fuel pump and no spark then you could be looking at engine speed sensor, not sure how or where the speed sensor is taken from on the engine on these but there very easy to test once found.
If you think of it as a process, ecu has to know where engine is in relation to TDC, ecu sends pulse to injectors and energises ignition coil and also switches fuel pump relay.
So working back, test for spark to distributor, if no, test for live (12V) at ignition coil, if no, test for injection pulse at any injector on cranking(disconnect a plug and connect a test light to the two pins) if it flashes on cranking then you must have a speed sensor signal. If not, then you need to locate the speed sensor, check that for resistance on cranking, should be around 400 ohms switching to open circuit rapidly, you can also check if it produces an AC voltage on cranking, should fluctuate like a sine wave around 0.5-1 volt ish