rmr25

I've just replaced a rear main seal (Many thanks to Bill Ball for his exceptional write-up and some extra-curricular guidance Bill gave me himself!) After hooking up the ground strap at the hatch wingnut location, there was nothing. No courtesy lights (hatch open), no power at ignition switch, no start. Prior to the starter removal, the power and starting circuits always worked fine.

I then searched the Forum and found an earlier long thread started by Tomcat a year or so ago with the same problem. I checked several things suggested there, including the one saying:

1. Disconnect main cable at starter.
2. Check between unfastened cable and ground. Should be battery volts. In my case: 1.7 v.
3. Test starter at battery cable lug and ground. If 0 ohms, there's the problem. In my case, infinite resistance: open circuit.

So, with that, I then tested the battery-to-starter cable. It showed 0 ohms, which I think means it's ok. I have two ground straps and both tested good.

I'd cleaned all the grounds about six months ago, and also removed and cleaned all the fuses and relays as part of routine electrical maintenance.

So where should I go now? (Other than off the nearest cliff!)

Garth S

re. 3) .... the B+ post on the starter solenoid should read infinite resistance to ground with the battery supply cable disconnected ..... for when the key is turned to the start position, the solenoid closes and connects the B+ to ground through the starter motor: I would be concerned about a major fire had you read 0 ohms

Re. 2 ....if the DMM reads 1.7V, either the battery is truly @ 1.7v, or there is a severly poor connection in either the ground or B+ ( supply line to the starter). A resistance test will tell you nothing unless there is a clean break in a wire - for one intact strand within a large cable will still read 0 ohms. A voltage drop test is far more telling.

What does the battery read at both terminals? Then, what does it read at the cable connectors to both terminals? What is the voltage drop from the -ve terminal to chassis ground? etc ....

Mrmerlin

I would disconnect the battery and charge it while thats happening clean both of the battery posts and terminals as well as the ground connection also disconnect the hot post connection including the 11mm bolt that holds the wires and the 14 pin connector clean these with a pink eraser. Also clean and make sure the starter power stud is not messed up ,IE when you removed the strter did you wind up turning the 13mm nut and see the whole wire bundle turn? You may have damaged the solenoid.
After cleaning the wires and charging the battery attach a wire to the hot post and touch it to the small wire connection on the starter( you did refit the small wire to the correct small post on the starter ??) this could also be your problem as there might be 2 small posts that you could fit the small wire to.
Anyway by touching the 12 volt hot to the small post the starter should engage, make sure not to touch anything else with the hot wire as it wont be fused.

rmr25

Guys:

Power is back. Quite frankly, I have almost no idea where it came from. Overnight I charged the battery. It read 12.93 v. I got 12.73v at the end of the black battery-to-starter cable to ground. Which was not the case before. I then hooked up everything at the starter terminals. Then, remembering something Alan or somebody said, I tapped the starter with a hammer a couple of times ("to make sure the solenoid wire is floating"), whatever that means. With the rear ground strap in place, on came the lights and now the starter turns fine.

Thanks for helping me.

Bob