Hello,

For the past we month, I have had a strange problem. Occasionally, when I try to turn the car on, all electrical components i.e. radio, lights etc come on, but the engine doesn't turn.

I wait a few minutes, and try again the engine turns on again. This started to occur more and more often, so I checked for an error codes, and a crank shaft sensor error came up. So I had that sensor replaced, but the problem did not go away.

So then I thought it would be a starter motor, but replacing the starter motor did not help.

Now the problem is worse, where I have to wait a lot longer before the car starts up, and sometimes what seems to help is if I keep turning the key on and off and after a few tries, it starts up. Sometimes it cranks slowly, and other times normally.

Any suggestions?

 

Manual or Auto?

 

I'm betting it a manual, this sound like it's tob related ..... again

 

could possibly be a neutral start switch going bad if a manual or a neutral safety switch if its a automatic...

 

if it's manual it should crank in neutral...even with a bum clutch...

 

If it's manual I'd bet a nut it's TOB related. I battled the same problem for months.

 

And the victor? Tell us of this epic tale......Ralliartize it

 

I don't see how the TOB could possibly keep the engine from cranking over. There is some underlying electrical problem, not a bad bearing.

Bad switch, bad sensor, bad wire, bad starter.

Battery's fine, otherwise it would not start minutes later. Starter's already been changed, so rule that one out. Crank sensor has also been changed, making me lean toward a bad switch. Either clutch safety switch or ignition switch. The easier of the two to test is the clutch switch.

If it's a manual, try disconnecting the lower clutch switch under the dash. You should be able to start the car without holding down the clutch then, just MAKE SURE THE CAR IS IN NEUTRAL.


EDIT: Love the avatar, lanzerralliart. I want one of those stickers to put on my machine at work.

 

Hello,

Thank you for your input. It is a manual and I will try your suggestion and try starting it with the lower clutch switch disconnected.

Tonight after work, it just wouldn't start, had to take the bus home!

So I am hoping when I get back in the morning, the car is still there, and it decides to turn so that I can at least drive it home.

Where do I find the switch under the dash? I am sorry, but I really don't know and would appreciate your help.

Thanks again.

 

should only be one electrical connector going to the hinge of your clutch pedal...should be easy to spot...and yes, make sure you're in neutral...

 

No, there are two. One at the top of the pedal travel (deactivates the cruise control) and one at the bottom (safety switch). Let me see if I can find a pic...

EDIT: pic from a car audio thread about where to find a hole in the firewall. The black bar running through the pic is the clutch pedal. Get your head down there, and follow the pedal up to the switch. The blue thing in this pic is mine. It's been disco'd since before I drove the car home from the dealer. If someone really wanted to mess with my head, they'd plug it back in.

 

Hello,

So I checked under the dashboard, and found that blue switch and disconnected the white cable going in to the switch.

The car did not turn. Since last night, the car is not starting at all. Before it would start if I waited a few minutes, or kept turning the key. But now, the radio and such comes on, but the engine does not.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

oh, ok...i just had a quick look at the diagram, i didn't actually look at the car...is the saftey switch normally open or normally closed? are you sure you don't have to short the circuit?

 

I had the same issue.

Replaced:

Starter
Neutral Safety Switch
Secondary clutch switch
Crank Sensor
Cam Sensor
A bunch of relays

etc etc etc...and the problem still existed.

When I would crank the the car multiple times it would eventually throw the crank/cam sensor code. The way I discovered it was the TOB was if I tried to start the car and it didn't crank if I pumped the clutch a few time it seems the TOB would finally "catch" and the car would start right away. Took me a long damn time to realize it was the TOB. I Was so frustrated one time I just started mashing on the clutch.

Anger FTW that day.

 

but in neutral, the clutch does not need to be physically disengaged for the motor to turn freely...