B210 won't turnover

[stb210thegreat]

Hey ya'll

 

My 74 B210 showed me a slow starter once, but has otherwise never given me any troubles. Went to start it, one click, no turn over. Replaced the starter, got rid of the corrosion on the negative battery and its ground and still no luck. Battery is showing 12.7 volts.

 

The engine is an A14 from a 77 Datsun. The wiring is a mess in the car from the kid who owned it. Any thoughts on what I should start looking for?

 

Thanks!

[ggzilla]

Could be a lot of different things. Common things are:

 

* Slightly corroded battery cables

* Bad ignition switch (jump the S wire on starter to test)

* Bad starter

[nukeday]

Is this yours? http://corvallis.craigslist.org/cto/1316947592.html

 

Have you tried to start it with a jump? Voltage on the battery doesn't really indicate the CCA's available. Could just be the battery...

 

I scanned the '78 B210 manual for the starting circuit, not much to it. If the wiring has been 'modified', a remote starter (a trigger) can be helpful. You can always use the screwdriver method too, at your own risk of course.

 

 

Using the remote starter will remove the ignition switch from the circuit. There is supposed to be a fusible link on the hot side to the ignition switch, might want to verify that it's not burnt up. If it's missing, you'll want to make sure your ignition switch hasn't overheated/melted. If the car was an AT from the factory, you should be able to check and/or jumper the inhibit relay if the ignition switch checks out OK. Not sure where it's physically located, but someone here will probably know.

Edited August 11, 2009 by nukeday

[stb210thegreat]

Yeah I have to sell that one to pay bills :blink:

 

Battery is less than a year old. Ill try jumping it anyways.

 

In the kick=panel fuse box, there are 3 fuses that say the their roles and "ignition" is pointing to them. One of these was out and was the wrong amperage. They are now corrected.

 

What is the screw driver method to by pass the starter switch?

 

Thanks!

Edited August 11, 2009 by stb210thegreat

[datsunaholic]

The screwdriver method is to short the solenoid terminal to the battery terminal on the starter. But make sure it isn't in gear when you do that!

 

That at least tells you if the starter works.

[stb210thegreat]

tried that and i still got the click. Starter is literally brand new. Maybe a defect? When I did that, the positive terminal of the battery started hissing/steaming and smelling of surfer. I have yet to clean that terminal though...

[bonvo]

did you connect the correct terminals with the screwdriver? you go from the one with the battery cable connected to it to the one with the little wire connected to it if it still just clicks its a defective starter more then likly

[stb210thegreat]

So I found the issue: the positive terminal of the battery was fubar with corrosion and such. I had spent a while cleaning the negative but never thought of the positive. I cleaned it out, tightened it and now it works. Now is it worth my hassle to clean the new starter up and try to take it back...?

[ggzilla]

Glad to hear it is solved. They won't take the starter back if you used it even once. By the way the positive terminal is *always* the one that breaks th econnection, not sure why but in 25+ years of working with cars that's always been true.

[fastdadd]

tried that and i still got the click. Starter is literally brand new. Maybe a defect? When I did that, the positive terminal of the battery started hissing/steaming and smelling of surfer. I have yet to clean that terminal though...

 

what do surfers smell like.....sea weed salt water and carls jr teriyaki burgers?:lol:

[ggzilla]

yep, when the battery smells like sea weed and salt water, time to clean the cables. Should clean them once a year. Even my wife's one year old car wouldn't start. It was the battery cables needed cleaning.

[stb210thegreat]

sadly (well i guess its a good thing) the sea salt smell is gone...but it does start! hurray!

 

i always thought a bad ground was the cause of these bad starts (i have onky worked on cars casually for about 5 years) i must be amature! always good to learn these things!

 

the auto parts store said if i cleaned the new starter well enough that it doesnt look like its been installed then i could take it back. not sure if its worth my hassle haha

it was $30 tho...

[bonvo]

for only 30 bucks keep it is new vs he old unit thats been in there for god knows how long

[OpelWagenGT]

I think this is a great example of trying the simple solutions first. For example my '73 opel gt was backfiring and sputtering and we had just spent $3,000 rebuilding the engine! No one would work on the car or figure out what it was so we ordered a new carb thinking that when we rebuilt it we scewed it up. After putting that on it was still doing it. Long story short the bolts on the exhaust manifold had just come slightly loose enough to let small bits of oxygen into the engine! :blink: