I had an indy replace my clutch for cheap recently because I'm too damn lazy. Then it developed a starter problem. And the battery was having a hard time getting charged up. Hmmmmm. So I charged the battery overnight and figure I'll diagnose it. Not even a click, and the power is oddly intermittent. Crawl under to check the starter /wiring and the solenoid is HOT to the touch and the key isn't even in the ignition. That's odd.
So I remove and test the starter with jumper cables. Dead dead dead, not even a click. I install a new starter. As soon as I reattach the battery cables, it starts cranking - again, no key in the ignition. I did notice when I took the starter out that the metal protective elbow that insulates the trigger wire and power from starter to engine was NOT attached to the top of the engine/bellhousing. Apparently the indy who did my clutch wasn't bothered. So out comes the new starter.
Multimeter finds continuity between the starter trigger wire and the heavy power feed wire to the rest of the engine which share this short elbowed harness. So apparently the heat from the turbo/manifold melted them together inside the unsecured metal protective elbow so the starter trigger wire was always seeing voltage. This kind of carelessness could easily result in an electrical fire. Eff me.
Located a replacement harness on e-bay for $25.00. It basically contains the trigger wire and the power FROM the starter, around the back of the engine, then forward to the alternator. Quick question, anyone BTDT? What is involved in extracting this wiring from the back of the engine? And if you are having funky starter issues, don't forget to check for continuity between the trigger and the power lines at the starter.
Thanks,
Brian
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