hiya my car still isnt on the road and my patiance has come to the end..just fitted my new engine whent to start it and the fist starter motor just buzzed at me then with a spark plus a bit of smoke died.the second motor which came of the same car as i brought the bottomend out of and was a perfectly running car just goes donk as it engajes but dosent turn the engine over..just want to double check there is a ground straight from the battery to earth it..its bolted via one of th gearbox bolts ....or could it be my battery but personaly i dont think it is because we tryed jump leads and a jump pack and still no joy..plese help meis it to much to ask just a liittlle drive in my first rs after 4month of ownership

 

arrrgghhh this is bugging me so bad..i think it must be the wireing..is there soposed to be a groung bolted to the gearbox thru the starter?

 

The main starter earth is indeed a massive cable normally attached to a belhousing bolt etc, make sure it is tight.
There will be other earths from the battery also that need to be in place, some down to chassis.
It just sounds like a lack of power at battery to start with, so make sure it is ok and fully charged.
tabetha

 

im going to charge it all day then try again with my mates jump leads aswell

 

Id have a thorough check of the starter wiring assembly as they can wear out. I had similar problems on my RS1800 and swapped the starter wiring for new and all was fine.

 

charged the battery for 10hours on quick charge and still wont start

 

is the current getting to the starter??? You could manually bypass the ignition circuit with a wire to check if the fault is in the wiring circuit or the starter itself. Double check the battery figures to check it can produce enough amps to start her up. Double check wiring!!! trace it all the way back to the ignition if needs be!!

The battery could well be duff!! CAn you borrows a mates battery for an hour???

 

is the batt light working on the dash? is it clicking or anything?

 

As I said make sure the battery is ok, put a digi multimetre on the battery as you try to start, if no drain when trying to start, put a 50 coin across the power in and power out of the solenoid, this will take the starter solenoid feed out of the circuit, see if it then spins(it won't turn engine over as it is not engaged), if it does you have a solenoid feed problem as this shows the motor part works.
You could always put a jumper cable directly onto solenoid carefully to try as well, or take off the solenoid feed and just put a live from the main battery input on it with a little bit of wire.
If you are getting serious volt drops ie 6/7/8 volts upon trying starter you have either a massive electrical resistance(very unlikely) or your battery is no good.
tabetha

 

i wouldnt have the first clue in where to look for the solinoid but iv been charging the battery on slow charge nor for about20hours so ill try again later if that dosent work ill get a new battery friday...if that dosent work ill go down to euro parts and get a starter for her............if that dosent work im goin down b and q and buying a sledge hammer

 

check the engine will turn over with a spanner on the crank pulley I know you said the engine was removed running ok but somethin during installation could have locked it up ?

forgot to add this would give symptom of flat batt/dodgy starter

 

The starter is pre engaged so the big blobby bit on the starter is the solenoid, where the wires go to.
Just make sure you wear eye protection if you use a hammer!!
tabetha

 

plus being a new starter unit you would hope the solenoid would be working

 

the last starter worked once when we hit it with a hammer but wouldnt work second time around

 

i to have an escort series 2 rs turbo my story is a little sadder ive had it for ....3 years slowly as a project putting it together as it was a lime green(meant to be diamond white) wrck on my best buddys front garden his dad bought it from brand new and ran it into the ground until his engine just broke then left it for 5 years i bouht it as book value would be pretty good with just one previiouse owner,anyway to cut it short i got an engine, rebuilt it slowly , got a good turbo and i had to source each damn part individualy , well now i have complete engine apart from one hose for rad but no worrys i cant get starter to engage at all , there wires are correct as i took the 'how to wire starter ' from this site , but ive noticed on bottom of starter motor theres a square conection hidden away, my friend says it needs to be conected but i already have .- live -- alternator live . and then that blue plug on cap thats on,,,is this square conecter the reason theres nothing when i turn the key , thanks guys i hope you have your problem sorted to, just you sound like you have something like me going on ;p danny

 

I sell hammers

 

The only connections needed are the main live from the battery to the 13mm terminal on the solenoid, furthest from the actual starter motor itself, then opposite this there is another 13mm nut/terminal that has a tiny length of braided/covered wire that goes into the starter motor body.
Placing a 50 pence piece across these two will make the starter motor spin, but NOT turn the engine, as it is not engaged into the flywheel teeth, I'll explain.
There should be another wire, sometimes a round connector, sometimes a spade connector, when this one is fed with a LIVE(through ignition switch) the solenoid(the bit that the cables go on) moves a piston assembly inside, this engages the starter motor teeth with the flywheel teeth, just before travelling a few mm more and bridging the two large 13mm nut terminals inside the solenoid housing and causing the electric to flow through to the starter motor itself and so turn the engine.
tabetha

 

thank you very much i will try this in the morning the 50p test , will i get a shock ? lol

 

No 12v can't shock you, will just get a spark or two.
tabetha

 

i had problems with my starter on my escort went through 4 before it worked all new.