negative battery cable

Jul 26th, 2002, 11:03 AM

Greetings,

I need some help. The negative battery cable deteriorated and broke off at the thermostat housing grounding point. I bought a new one, not oem, at the local parts store.
The oem cable grounds on the fender below the battery tray, and then again just to the right of the thermostat housing. The parts store cable has one main cable, then a smaller lead coming from the terminal clamp.
I grounded the main strap on the new cable to a transmission bolt, and used the second smaller lead to connect to the grounding spot on the fender where the stock cable attached.
Still nothing but the 'click' of the starter and sound of the fuel pump. I checked the clutch switch, but still nothing when held in with finger. The headlights shine brightly, radio works. I've tried three batteries.
Any help is appreciated.

Jeff

martin_g34 · Jul 26th, 2002, 12:31 PM

Have you checked all of your fuses? When you turn the key and hear the "click" do the cluster lights turn off or do they stay on. If they stay on, then check the fuses and it might be your starter. If they turn off then you might need to check the connection to your battery again and make sure its nice and tight.

coachflip · Jul 26th, 2002, 12:37 PM

Starter man, starter. That is a pretty common thing amongst the forums. If you swith batteries, battery cables and check the switches and nothing, then it is the starter. Look for new or used ones from www.jgycustoms.com he is a good guy and can usually locate one for you for cheap. I got one from him for 45 shipped.

Brent

Jul 26th, 2002, 12:48 PM

D'oh! I didn't want it to be the starter. Not for the cost, cause of the location!

Cool, thanks everybody for getting back to me so quickly.

Jeff

SE-R Kid · Jul 28th, 2002, 12:12 PM

Starter's on SR20's are easy work without removing anything, really.

I got mine swapped out in about 20 minutes.. just make sure to have someone there to start the bolts fromt he top while you hole the starter down below...

Flashlight is a MUST, and amke sure to disconnect the battery before starting.

toolapcfan · Jul 30th, 2002, 02:51 PM

Yeah, and when you hook it back up, don't connect your ground to the starter as well as the positive, when you try to hook the terminals back up to the battery posts, the posts start to melt. (I'm not retarded, I was just very tired, clutch swap took me 10 hours)

Aug 4th, 2002, 02:49 AM

I had to remove the air box and two coolent hoses to get at the bolts on the transmission housing.
from underneath, there's a nice window to the starter where you can easily get to the battery connection. The starter then can be wrangled down through the steering.
Jason Young says $48 and tested before it ships. good deal as new one is 169.99.