Here is a good one for all of you electrical masters. The starter on my car went out when the bendix stayed engaged. SO. I put in the new starter, new battery. This is a 75 1.8 with the 2.0 starter (the one with out the shaft).

New starter installed the car turned over well. Cranked 5 or 6 times while the fuel pump fed the injectors. Immediately turned the key to start the 2nd time and nothing happened.

Basically what i have is a car that will start 5% of the time on its own. 95% you just hear the feul pump working. Tested all the wires with a friend who seems to understand more than I do. The yellow wire on the starter shows 12.7 volts when the key is engaged. Under a load it drops to 9.7 volts. Is this enough to close the circuit on the starter? Does the Yellow wire go direct from the key switch to the starter?
I thought about replacing the entire harness. We bypassed the ignition and the same results. How is it possible for the car to randomly start perfect, then nothing for the next 20 tries?

Has anyone had this experience? I am out of ideas and tests to perform. Or does anyone want to buy a clean 75

Any help will be greatly appreciated

Mike
925-705-2030

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Sorry, I have no suggestions, but had to chime in that your car is gorgeous!

If all else is good then the ignition switch is next on your list of things to test. By-pass it with a switch and see if it starts fine. Otherwise.

- Are all of your grounds really good?
- Is there already a starter solenoid (ie. Bosch or Ford type) in the circuit? The Ford solution is the most bulletproof IMHO.

An ignition switch shouldn't have to put up with that much current for an extended period of time.

Your problem doesn't sound like the dreaded "hot starter" problem.

Ground. Or the lack of.

Check and double check your transmission ground strap. Try to run a large ground cable directly from the starter to the battery ground and see if that helps.

Andy

Double relay?

You can send your car to me! I can't pay any thing for it now, maybe next year. Just kidding. Your car looks great. Wish mine looked half that nice.
With the starter working sometimes, other times not, I would say you have some bad connections somewhere. Have you checked all of the connections from the ignition switch to the solenoid? Remember the seat belt relay under the passenger seat. Also as Andy said, make sure that trans ground is good!
Electricity is funny, no load and under load readings can mislead you. If you are getting battery voltage on the yellow wire when you turn the ignition switch to the start position, then the voltage is OK under no load conditions( large yellow wire disconnected fron the solenoid)?.
If that is true, then hook up the yellow wire to the solenoid and take the reading again. If the under load readings are too low, the solenoid may not work. Try to eliminate the long circuit by using a jumper wire from battery( the cable from the battery to solenoid would be OK as long as it's connections are good) to the spade terminal where the yellow wire went after disconnecting the yellow wire. Be careful when doing this as you will be under the car!! If you have access to a remote starter switch that would be best. If the solenoid works and starter starts, then you have some bad connections in the long run from fuse panel to ignition switch to seat belt relay to 14 pin connector on relay board to 12 pin connector on relay board. Any connection in this path can be dirty,corroded enough to drop too much voltage. If the connection is so bad that it is droping voltage, it certainly will not allow enough current to flow to activate the solenoid.
Hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you have questions.
Tom

i had same problem, it was the ignition switch, i used a push button to test it, as mention above and it started everytime

Second on the ground strap. Even if you think its ok, remove it and wire brush everything it connects to. Makes a huge difference. I do believe you have a bad ignition switch, or, did you buy a FLAPS starter? I went through 4 of them with various problems before they gave me a Bosch. None of them have the extended shaft, all use the short bendix starter. Thats why I asked about the Flaps thing. The computer they use is wrong, and they try to give you the VW style starter.

The problem with loose-corroded connections is with a meter they may seem good enough but they won't carry enough amps-current to make the device work. The easier-hard way if you have a helper is to wiggle each connection while the helper is operating the ign sw and when it turns and energizes the starter you have found the one thats the worst. There may be more than one though. All of the connections need to be visually looked at and inspected for corrosion and signs of overheating or looseness. You may need to jumper the relays involved to check them also. Another alternative is to use a long jumper wire from the battery to each connection to operate the starter and see where the open connection is. It probably won't be just one connection, it can be the total of them all thats creating a large resistance. I don't think 10 volts will operate the starter, I could be wrong, if it does it won't for long.

could be a bad cell in the battery or bad connection/ corrosion on connections. I have had the exact same thing happen on 2 different vehicles, an Austin Healy and a Motorhome. Turn key to on, looks ok, tests voltage ok, but when you try to turn it on, the connection may not be good or grounded properly, or a bad cell in battery would do same- try changing out the battery just for fun- i bet that does it.

how much?

Could be the seatbelt interupt relay under the passenger seat. A bad relay or contact here could cause your problem. Jumper the two big Yellow wires with a paper clip and try to start.

We did bypass the ingnition and the same results. I have been told to try the ford solenoid. The grounds have all been checked. The wiring is in great shape and all the conections have been triple checked. I have been able to find a good wiring diagram and at this point it may not be worth spending any more time and add the ford part.

I will try the ground strap tonight. Not a bad idea thanks, I'll let you know

Check the batt. Min. Voltage under load should be 9.6. And that is the min.
If not the batt it is probaby loose or coroded pos cable connection

Ignition switch or seat switch would be my guess. Leaning more tword the ignition switch as it could have been the cause of the run on starter issue also.

BTW: your car is sex!

Dang...where have you been hiding that beauty! I love the color and I can tell from the engine pics, that thing is immaculate.

Beautiful car!

It's never a bad idea to check and clean grounds in a 914 when you have an electrical issue. Based on what you've said here though, it sounds like the electrical portion of your ignition switch. As someone already mentioned, turn the key on and get a remote starter switch and see if the car starts. If it does so consistently, replace the ignition switch.

Look to the starter(solenoid)!!

Pretty baby!
(and other points mentioned)

"This is a 75 1.8 with the 2.0 starter (the one with out the shaft)."

Please tell me what you speak of. I have never heard of different starters for different size engines.

Wow...that's beautiful Hope you are able to sort it out.

we could probably start a poll of how many 914 owners recieved the wrong starter (the shaft poking out) at some point or another. Seems like a pretty common mix up.