A few months ago my son and I picked up this car as a fun project for a very good price because it had a blown head gasket. Before we started to tackle the head gasket, I decided to charge it up and see if it would turn over. The guy I bought it from said he had turned it over about a week prior for another guy who was interested in the car. After charging the battery I put the key in and everything lit up on the gauges but when I turned the key I got absolutely nothing. We removed the battery and had it tested and it wasn't able to charge to the full amperage so it was decided that the battery was bad. At that point I didn't mess with the battery any more because we moved on to replacing the head gasket. After replacing the head gasket I purchased a new battery. Again I put the key in, everything lit up and then when I turned the key I got absolutely nothing. We have checked all fuses and relays and they appear to be good. Next we removed the starter and had it bench tested at a few different places to confirm that it was good. The car had an aftermarket alarm in it (I do not have the remote for the alarm) and I wondered if it had a starter disable function so we removed any wires that were tapped into the ignition wires. I wondered if something was wrong with the chip in the key but it does chime when it is near the ignition ring once it has paired with the car. I'm not sure if that means it is ok or just that the car knows it is there. Based on my research here and around the web I think the next thing we are going to try is to test the clutch pedal switch. Based on this information is there anything else that we may be missing? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or if I can give more info to help figure out what the issue might be, please ask. Thanks!

 

Have you verified that the engine ground strap is tight?

 

Thanks for your reply r53coop. Yes, we removed the engine ground strap during the head gasket replacement and cleaned it up before reattaching. If that is the ground strap on the passenger side in the engine bay directly above that crash tube. If there is another ground strap I need to check please let me know. Thanks!

 

Below is the wiring schematic for the starter. The power comes directly from the battery with the key routing to the solenoid via the immoblizer. The first link is the battery to starter schematic and the second is to the immoblizer page (there are allot of stuff involved.)

It is a process of elimination for you that I don't envy.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/r...-motor/dEiukZv

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/r...c-immobiliser/

 

Wow, great info. Thanks! Yeah, I think it’s down to the process of elimination. Thanks again.

 

There is allot of information that includes links to stuff as above in the Gen1 FAQ section.

 

After checking several things this weekend, it appears to be the EWS is not working properly. Now I just need to figure out what my options are for getting that sorted out.

 

I just went thru a similar no starting issue for my r53. It ended up being an issue with the key throwing codes and the ingition switch starting to fail. The key is a dealer item as they will have to ordered it and program it. The switch from what I'm hearing is just a plug and play item. I haven't done the switch yet myself as getting a new key and having it programed got me back up and running.

 

Just to wrap up this thread, I ended up sending the EWS, DME and key to RPM Motorsports and those guys were great. They replaced the chips in the EWS and key, resynched those and updated the software on the DME. When I put everything back in it fired right up. My new issue is that the alternator is not supplying any charge back to the system. Both the battery and alternator are new and I just had the alternator bench tested this morning and it’s good. So that will be my next thing to get sorted out. Thanks for your input r53coop.

 

Pretty sure the voltage regulator is behind the alternator, did they replace it when they did the alternator?

From days past you need at least 13.1 volts for the alternator to charge the battery.

 

Thanks for the lead. I replaced the alternator with a new one but did not mess with the voltage regulator. I will look into that next.

 

The regulator is integral to the alternator. What brand alternator did you install? We have had cheaper aftermarket alternators give us problems right out of the box.

 

The alternator is new from DB Electrical. This might be a very dumb question but the voltage regulator is mounted to the back of the alternator under the silver cover correct? When I had it bench tested and everything checked out good would that not be testing the voltage regulator as well? Or does that need to be removed and tested separately? Thanks for any additional advice or info.

 

They only test for alternator output, the regulator isn't tested.

It could very well be a regulator fault, I've never heard of DB Electrical, and not to jump to conclusions on their quality, but we have seen quite a few rebuilt units that are just faulty out of the box or they reuse the regulator but rebuild the bearings, windings, etc.

 

It's the folks like Nick at Detroit Tuned that make NAM what it is. Yes I turn a wrench and do some of the work on my car, but I cannot hold to candle to a shop like his.

 

Thanks for the info. Is there a procedure for just testing the voltage regulator? Thanks again.

 

I know from the past that a battery will not charge unless the voltage is over 13.

 

I know I chimed in about the key. Since then I've also replaced the ignition switch which was giving me all sorts of weird power issues. If you have a spare I would consider doing a swap to see if there is any issues there as well. After I installed my new one all my power issues were resolved.