p2r

Its snowing like mad right now, so I can't get pictures.

I replaced the transmission ground with a LARGE cable (from the frame rail -to- the transmission). I also replaced the ground going to the Valvecover with another OEM ground strap.

p2r

We've got power at the Thermostat Ground (3.1v max), so I think that we are leaking power to the chassis or engine.

I need to pick up my new longblock, and drop it in with my BRAND NEW Engine Harness, and see if that clears it up. If not, I'd imagine the problem isn't in the engine bay.


Thanks For EVERYONE'S Help !!

WheelPowerRacin

One word for you.....Karma

Fabrik8

Ok, so here's the deal. You have a fresh battery, and the car won't start on its own. It sounds like everything is most likely working properly in the control circuits of the starting system, which usually means that there isn't enough current getting to the starter motor, etc. This is usually caused by a power or ground problem between the battery and wherever the connections for the starter motor are, like the engine block, etc. I've troubleshot many cars (including my WRX) that have had things like ground cable corrosion or a broken battery terminal or something similar that exhibited the exact same symptoms as your car.

The way to troubleshoot this is to get someone to try and start the car while you look for voltage drops. If you check from the negative battery terminal and some point on the engine block (it really doesn't matter where, because the whole block will usually be at the same potential) you should see almost no difference if everything is working properly. So that's looking between one ground and another ground. If you have ground problems, you'll see a fair amount of voltage difference between the block and the battery, which means there is a decent amount of resistance limiting the current flow. Do the same thing with the positive battery terminal and the lug/stud/whatever on the starter motor. Like I said, you won't necessarily see a voltage drop unless there is current flow, which is why you need someone to try and start the car.

If the battery is fresh, the engine doesn't start, and you're confident the starter works, you WILL find a current delivery problem somewhere.

The reason I specifically say to use the battery terminal (and not the battery cable clamp, etc) is that you want to look at the entire chain at once. If you look from the battery cable clamp to the block, you may be completely ignoring a bad connection from the battery terminal to the battery cable clamp, etc. So you want to look at as much stuff in the chain as possible, and when you see something abnormal than you can then start looking at individual things.

When you say you have power at the thermostat ground, what were you referencing that voltage to? Were you measuring voltage between the battery terminal, or where?

I don't think a new engine harness is going to solve anything if the problem is what I think it is, because it won't be replacing anything that is causing the problem.

I'm really trying to help you here, but it's very difficult without proper details on specifically what you're testing and where.

p2r

I replaced both battery terminals, and inspected the cables. There was minimal resistance in the Ground from Battery to Chassis. Same with the power from Battery-to-Fusebox & Fusebox-to-Starter.

We've done this, which is how we found 3.1V on the engine, but we haven't done it in reverse. We are only getting power around the Distributor, but not anywhere else.

I'm not 110% sure the Starter is working properly at this point.

Yes, we are going from Battery Ground -to- Anywhere around the area previously described. Also the Valvecover Ground & Transmission Ground strap both read properly. It is reading power around the Vtec Solenoid/Distributor/Thermostat housing.

After moving around the ends of the harness AND unplugging the Large plug on the Driver Side of the harness / the Large plug on the Passenger Side we were getting 0.3V, not 3.1V -

We are only seeing this issue with the key @ 2 clicks (position2).

I will try to be more specific.

Fabrik8

Hmm. I'm still not drawing a complete picture of what's going on. Make sure you test the ignition switch and see that it's working consistently. That doesn't sound like the problem you're having, but that would be something to check just to be thorough.

p2r

Its fucking FREEZING right now, but I am going to spend some time in the garage tonight. I will take notes as I go along, so I can hopefully paint a clearer picture for you.

Sorry again for lack of detail previously - I've just been running in a million directions and I get a little burnt out sometimes.


Thanks again!

p2r

I ran out of Kerosene lastnight, so I didn't stay in the garage.