Starting Problem

[daveav8s]

:( Hi, im new to these forums and this is my first post. I have a 1992 sc400 that I bought last october. it had 44000 original miles on it when I bought it, And I just now turned 50000 miles. the last couple of months I have had intermitant starting problems. usualy very slow and slugish starts and some times needing a jump. when trying to leave work today the starter just clicked and would not start. tried jumping it and it still would not start. had my brother in law bring a new battery out and still have the same prblem just clicks when you try to turn it over. also i noticed that the negative side to the battery termanal gets very hot to the truch after trying to start the car. any advise would be very helpfull, to be honest im very worried because I have heard that it costs a small fortune to repace the starter, and I dont make that much money. the car has been wonderfull otherwise, though I kind of hoped for a little better accelaration off the line. :(

[SKperformance]

get a new battery or terminal

[eatingupblacktop]

Welcome to the LOC. If you use the search tool, you'll find many threads on your problem.

Here are a few things you can try in the meantime.

If you hear no click at all, check the tranny shifter position. Try pushing the lever up in the park position while trying to start the car. If it starts, then the shifter linkage is worn and not making good enough contact to the starting system.

Another possibilty if you hear no click at all, is the security igntion kill. With the car locked, try inserting the key into the driver's door and turning it clockwise and counterclockwise several times to see if you can reset the ecu.

Check the starter relay. Have someone try to start the car while you listen to the relay.

If you hear a click at the relay then it is good. If you don't hear anything then test the relay or replace the relay with one known to be good. If the engine is still not cranking with the good relay, then your problem is not a not a faulty relay.

If your cables are good and you're getting multiple clicks, likely the battery is discharged or bad. If it's a single click with a good battery, I would suspect the starter or starter ground. Good luck.

[john denninger]

Welcome to the LOC. If you use the search tool, you'll find many threads on your problem.

Here are a few things you can try in the meantime.

If you hear no click at all, check the tranny shifter position. Try pushing the lever up in the park position while trying to start the car. If it starts, then the shifter linkage is worn and not making good enough contact to the starting system.

Another possibilty if you hear no click at all, is the security igntion kill. With the car locked, try inserting the key into the driver's door and turning it clockwise and counterclockwise several times to see if you can reset the ecu.

Check the starter relay. Have someone try to start the car while you listen to the relay.

If you hear a click at the relay then it is good. If you don't hear anything then test the relay or replace the relay with one known to be good. If the engine is still not cranking with the good relay, then your problem is not a not a faulty relay.

If your cables are good and you're getting multiple clicks, likely the battery is discharged or bad. If it's a single click with a good battery, I would suspect the starter or starter ground. Good luck.

[john denninger]

I think the most obvious problem would be bad battery connections. Clean both connections by removing them from the battery. If they do not look substantial, replace them. Brush and clean the connections and the terminals and install tightly. The heat you are noticing is from resistance which seems to be a telltale of a bad connection. John Denninger