changed motor mount - now will not start
 

Today I changed my motor mount and the transmission mount. Successful job once I found a way to get at the bolts on the engine side of the mount. I then git in the car, turned the key and got very short cycle on the stater. Tried again and nothing happened. I only got the clicks from the glow relay. The car acted as if the starter was not energized at all. The rest of the systems seemed to be fine.

My question is could I have damaged the neutral safety switch in some manner when I lifted the engine to change the mounts. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Before this episode, The car has not had any problem starting.

It is a 1985 300TD with 280,00 on the clock. Thanks.

well the neutral switch would not have allowed any clicking if it was malfunctioning.

so i would suggest looking at your battery cables. check for looseness, clean them and look for loose grounds. perhaps jacking up the motor loostened something there. also look at the engine to chassis ground strap.

good luck

tom w

well i guess i can help you from my experience. i did the same thing, and was listening to music while i was performing the work. after i had finished the job, lowered the car, and wanted to see how it sounds... it was dead just like yours. just clicked. somehow i had run the battery dry, after only about 45 mins of radio use(just the last strech). it clicked and turned over like yours. so i just had to pull up with my other car and jump it.

this is probably just the fix for your situation, but not the answer as to why it happened.

Also check out the shift rod bushings. Now that the engine and tranny are sitting in a somewhat different position, it is possible the shifter isn't fully in Park. Try starting in neutral and after pushing the shift lever all the way forward into park.

I'm on my way back outside to try it! I had the charger on the battery and also tried the jump. There was no draw down at all when I turned the key so I imagine it is not the battery. Somehow the starter circuit is not engaging.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Tried the shifter in all positions and some inbetween. No Luck!

Is there a relay that controls the starter? Perhaps its stuck.

well ya got the starter to run once- so maybe you should look real close at the grounding of it and the cable connections to the battery.

Ground Cable (between chasis & passanger side tranny to engine bolt) clean connections & make sure you didnt rip the strap jacking the engine up in the air. Take it off & clean it on the wire wheel then put it back.

Parrot,

Yes there is a relay that controls the starter. Its called the starter solonoid.

P E H

try to find the terminals for the starter and jump them
 

First, MAKE SURE PARKING BRAKE IS SET!:eek:
then, follow the wires from the starter to the terminal block and jump the large wires with a pair of pliers. should bypass the key and eliminate neutral saftey. if it starts one of those is the culprit.:rolleyes:
have fun.:silly: :D
John

:rolleyes:

Went under the car and cleaned and replaced the ground strap. No luck!! Symptoms the same! I have also tried jumping directly to the engine frame.

I will not be able to bypass the start cicuit until the weekend!

Where is the neutral safety switch? And what is the wire and plug located at the rear of the trans near the mount?

Any other ideas! If not, I will need to have it towed and repaired!

Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions.

300TD,

Try to jump the small terminal to the hot lead (the cable from the battery) on the solonoid. This will eliminate any wire, key switch of nuetral switch not working. Or jump the 2 high current leads on the solonoid. This should make the starter spin but not engage.

There is also a wire that comes from the solonoid to a terminal block on the inside of the right fender. That is the main current lead from the battery to the car. Check if is broken due to jacking up the engine.

P E H

Whack the top of the started solenoid with a broom handle and see if it will turn over.

there is also a engine to chassis ground strap. and sometimes an auxiliary ground running from the batt to one starter bolt is necessary in an older car.

tom w

Any help for me? I've confused the two big cables that attach to the starter and I'm not sure how to determine the right way... just hooked them up how I thought was right and nothing happened, the car was dead, no lights no nothing. Is there some damage I should check for for crossing them up?

I'm swapping engines and I'm almost ready to start the new one... just hooking up the starter now. Got the driveshaft, shift links and tranny bracket sorted out, just need to attach the exhaust and fill the radiator, I hope! Thanks for the tip on the starter connections, I feel silly for mixing them up, but I've been waiting on parts for a long time. Cheers!

Ash

Did you reconnect the engine mount sensor switch?
 

Sorry for the dumb joke. The only thing you could have done is disconnected something electrically. Please think it out, dont tow it, we will help you solve it---take a look at your wiring starting from the battery to the starter motor and look for something loose

duh!!!! The motor mount sensor! Who would have figured it was that!

Tomorrow, I get back out there and start searching again. Thanks for all of your help and I will let you know what I find! Hopefully that dang motor mount switch just had the wire knocked off!! LOL

Thanks!

driad,

I only know of one heavy gage wire that goes to the starter solonoid. This is the one directly from the battery. There should also be a lighter gage wire connected to the same solonoid terminal and the opposite end is connected to a terminal block on the inside of the fender. This wire supplies battery current to all of the car's electrical system. If that lighter gage wire is connected to the wrong terminal on the solonoid, everything will be dead.

P E H

Yeop, looking at the differences on the wiring diagrams, I see where the confusion is. Thanks for reading!

The answer is!!!
 

I finally had the car towed. When I picked it up, I asked what I did. The answer was that when I moved the engine to install the mounts, I bent one shifter rod enough that the car did not fully engage park and subsequently the neutral safety switch! $50 and a lesson learned.

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions.

i bet you felt lucky it wasnt worse.

tom w

Diesel Giant,

In your post I couldn't figure out if the starter solonoid or the the broom handle was supposed to turn over. Pronouns, pronouns.

P E H

........it was the broom handle, Paul. The starter solenoid doesn't turn.

Brian,

Thanks for the information. But U see what I mean about pronouns: the subject (engine) of the pronoun wasn't even in the post.

P E H

I only use amateur nouns. :)

..........is this a grammar lesson from a fellow who can't spell "you"??;)

Brian,

I can spell YOU but I can't spell IYI.

P E H

I have this exact same problem due to an oil-soaked transmission mount-I bypassed the neutral safety switch, it also will cause the park pawl to "jump" and allow rollaway on a hill!!!