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Starting issue?; Key click!
Topic Started: Apr 28 2014, 02:43 PM (1,389 Views)
POLCAT
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It doesn't always happen, but when it does....

I put the key in ignition and go to start it and it just clicks. Not like a dead battery, just click. I turn it on and off once or twice and it starts fine. It does get frustrating at times.

Any ideas


PS ---still looking for another one...
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banginmetro64
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if you give your starter a gentle tap from a large wrench or hammer will it then start? if so you may have a bad starter
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94RHDRollerskate
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Forum Stud Muffin

Some on here will disagree, but for $15 you can pick up the Suzuki 'Clicky Starter' kit and it will cure your issue like it did mine.
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Memphis metro


Remove and clean the battery ground cable on both ends and tighten back well. If the issue persist, remove starter and have it tested at a armature shop. it most likely will need rebuilt or replaced with a rebuilt starter to correct your intermitten condition.
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geogonfa
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Just my $.02...make sure the grounds are clean, one ground people seem to forget...the starter bolts themselves...had just two this last week with the same problem and after cleaning the ground and the starter bolts, no more problems...not sayin' this will cure it, but hey it's a good place to start...if the problem still persists I agree with everyone else, change/repair the starter motor... :type


ps: if you want to come up and see the black 99 PM me and we can set up a time...
Edited by geogonfa, Apr 28 2014, 05:35 PM.
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dayle1960
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Fastest Hampster EVER

http://geometroforum.com/topic/4798133/

^^This will solve your problem.

The starter is not the problem. The bad grounds are not the problem. The solenoid is not the problem. The clutch pedal safety switch is not the problem. The key cylinder is not the problem.

What is the true problem with this condition? It is the wire which goes from the key cylinder to the starter solenoid. That wire is at the end of its useful life and does not allow enough volts to engage the solenoid. With Scoobs fix, the amount of volts will increase enough for the solenoid to engage.

Fifteen bucks and an hour of time will solve this condition. How do I know? For years my metro would not start on the first turn of the key cylinder due to the clicky, clicky problem. I installed the relay and NOT ONCE SINCE THE INSTALLATION HAVE I HAD THE CLICKY PROBLEM, PERIOD.

It's your choice to chase the "probable" causes, but the solution has already been solved.

Hope this helps.
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Metromightymouse
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Powdercoat Wizard

Some things will fix it for a while. Lots of people have put new starters in and it worked for a month or so and then came back. Clean the grounds, fixes it for a bit, then comes back. A relay is technically a bandaid, not a fix, but it works looooooong term, like permanently. My starter button/ relay is 10+ years old, never had that problem again.
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Memphis metro


I rebuilt my starter and it has lasted long term, well atleast two years now. I wonder how many people that have issues are using these?

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Woodie
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Mine did the exact same thing. After upgrading all the cables and ensuring that all the connections were right, I replaced the starter and it was fixed. Don't know if the starter itself was the problem, or it was the solenoid.

I don't get how a pushbutton, new wiring, and/or a relay is going to help, when the clicking noise IS the solenoid firing. Once it fires, all the ignition switch and related wiring has done it's job.
Edited by Woodie, Apr 29 2014, 07:34 AM.
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

And, once in a while we have a starter that won't turn over so I reach down under the solenoid (feel for the wire) and pull off the solenoid wire, wipe the tab and reinstall the wire. :D

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Metromightymouse
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Woodie
Apr 29 2014, 07:34 AM
Mine did the exact same thing. After upgrading all the cables and ensuring that all the connections were right, I replaced the starter and it was fixed. Don't know if the starter itself was the problem, or it was the solenoid.

I don't get how a pushbutton, new wiring, and/or a relay is going to help, when the clicking noise IS the solenoid firing. Once it fires, all the ignition switch and related wiring has done it's job.
Gonna have to trust me on this one Woodie. Yes the click is the solenoid, so it should work at that point, right? the problem is I had it do it with a brand new starter. I chased wires and fussed with different stuff that might fix it for a week or so, but one thing was always true; if I took a jumper from the battery or good 12v source and hit the solenoid with it, it would crank 100% of the time. Go back to the starter and it might or might not work. Jumper it and it cranks. What is happening is the solenoid is getting enough voltage to engage but not enough to engage hard enough to close the circuit for the starter motor. This is a little bit of a guess since I couldn't see inside to look at the gears (obviously) but I suspect the starter gear would hit the flywheel and not be able to push into the fully engaged position that powers the starter. So the ignition wire, like the headlight wire, appears to be undersized and over time, as resistance builds up, the voltage drops. The relay fix uses a relay that activates with very little voltage and that activates the switch that provides a clean full 12v to the starter circuit and the "click click" goes away forever without having to run a new ignition wire to the ignition switch and possibly to the fuse box{es). I don't think I have read that anyone has re-run the factory wiring to fix the headlight issue either. It's all work arounds and relay fixes.
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mrricky58
Fresh Fish
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could someone please show how to connect a starter button on my 96 geo metro 4cyl? where does the wire from the starter button to the solenoid connect to on the solenoid, thank you for your time :type
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Metromightymouse
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Powdercoat Wizard

mrricky58
May 19 2014, 05:41 PM
could someone please show how to connect a starter button on my 96 geo metro 4cyl? where does the wire from the starter button to the solenoid connect to on the solenoid, thank you for your time :type
Posted Image

Top line that says "tap cigarette line" you want to have a 12v source that is only on with the key.

PBS is the "push button start", The ground connection from there should only be necessary if it has a light.

The 2nd wire from the PBS is connected to terminal 86 on the relay.

Terminal 87 is connected to the small wire to the starter. You can connect it to the old wire and the key will still work to start, or you can remove the old wire and it will only start with the button. If you use both you should run a bigger wire from the relay all the way to the starter and connect the old wire to the bigger wire at some point. This, and the wire on terminal 30 are what fix the problem by having less resistance than the factory wires.

Terminal 85 is connected to ground.

Terminal 30 is connected to a constant 12v source, preferably directly to the battery with a fuse. Use a bigger than stock wire for this and the wire connected to terminal 87.
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mrricky58
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thank you very much :thumb :cheers
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Metromightymouse
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:thumb My pleasure!! The car is much more enjoyable when it starts consistently and you aren't constantly asking for a jump or push starting it. The opposite sex tends to enjoy your company more as well. I've found it a real challenge to maintain a relationship when the car you give them to drive, they have to push to start. :whistle

I suspect my marriage is rock solid since it survived a 69, rattle trap beetle that required frequent push starts when I wasn't around. Drove to Vegas in the middle of the night in December to get married in a 62 with no heat, a poorly fitting hood, and a bunch of holes, that required a quilt spread across us to make the drive, and she had a cold. A 73 Olds Delta 88 that stranded us at a Stuckey's on the way to visit her friends in TN. We were running in front of an ice storm and the AC pulley seized, broke the belt and melted it to the pulley, and blew out freeze plugs in the bellhousing and elsewhere. and then the first few years with the Metro and random no starts.

As Melanie has mentioned, the patience of a saint. ^o)
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