I'm parting out an R50 and have disconnected and sold a few things, non of which are engine related. After a few months, I have a buyer for the engine, and he wants to hear it crank before he buys it. I shot a video of it running to avoid this scenario, but he still wants to hear it in person.

So.. With the driver's seat, steering wheel/airbag, headlights, rear view mirror (which recognizes the fob), right airbag sensor, and a few other things removed, it wont turn over. The battery is in good shape, and I've tried jump starting just in case.

When I insert the key, and turn to position 2, something winds up and whines very loudly. The wipers and windows dont work right away, but as the whine goes away they start to work.

I want to say its something simple, but I'm baffled. Honestly, I never kept track of things I unplugged because I never planned on starting the engine ever again, but I want to say nothing important was disengaged.

Ideas?

 

If he just wants to hear it crank, couldn't you hot wire the starter and get the engine to turn over?

 

Those kinds of shenanigans worked on my old Jeep CJ5. I’ve never tried that in a modern car, but seems logical. I said he wants to hear it crank, but I meant run.. I don’t think hotwiring the starter allow the motor to run, correct?

 

Running and cranking are two different things for sure. I would not even want to think about what type of hot wire harness you would need to get the thing running.

 

I shot a video of it running and included the odometer, which reads the exact same mileage today when you stick the key in the ignition. I dont know what else you could ask for from a parts car. He's going to have to take a leap of faith.. I'm not going to problem solve this one.

 

I would refer him to your great reputation on this site

 

If the mileage is the same today as when the the video was created, IMO the guy has problems, not the engine.

 

LOL! Thats what I thought! I showed him service records and the video. Its not like vehicles spontaneously die at idle. Its a part out car, and there are hundreds of reasons why it might not run at this point. I dinked around in the garage till 1am trying to hook everything up with no joy.

I'm done, he can take a leap of faith or find another engine. I'm not spending another minute trying to get this running. Dont most people who sell engines have them sitting pallets??

 

You could jump the two poles on the starter with a piece of wire, actually! As long as the battery is good, it should turn the starter over.

Edit: Ope, I'm dumb. You want it to start, not crank. Hmm..is it turning over with the key at all? Are you sure everything in the bay is plugged in--coil pack, grounds, injectors, etc?

And yes, they do. I've gone to look at 3 or 4 that have just been sitting inside of tires/pallets/etc.

 

Getting the starter to turn is the easy part, the question is whether the fuel pump, coil etc are all going to function.

 

 

If you aren't getting a click, the starter solenoid isn't getting power.

Eliminate the starter first, because they seem to go bad from just sitting. A wire across the two poles will make it spin, if the solenoid is functioning.

If the starter works via hot-wire, then try fuses.
Next, check all your grounds.
Finally, double check all the wires are plugged in. I know it's silly, but who knows?

Also, the high pitch whine under the motor you hear when you turn the key is the P/S pump. The quiet low-pitch groan behind you when you first turn the key to pos2 is the fuel pump. Saw your comment earlier, just figured I'd clarify, for science