help ...car wont start

[fcruz3r]

been chasing a rattle from the engine bay at higher revs and after looking behind the engine found a metal bracket holding a bunch of wires that was zip tied to the brake lines. after trying to find where to bolt the metal bracket and not finding any bolt holes decided to remove the bracket and just zip tie the wires.

anyway I must have moved the wires around too much and when i tried to start, couldn't start and only hear single clicks from the starter motor. I jiggled the wires and saw some sparks ...and upon further inspection saw a main wire connector that was just hanging loose (explains sudden loss of electrical power when i was tracking the car a couple of months ago). Think this may have been an oversight by my mechanic when i had the clutch replaced

can someone please tell me from the pic below if the connector is supposed to slip over the top bolt on the starter motor??

thanks

[emily_mx5]

yes, that is the constant 12v draw from the battery to the starter motor.
disconnect the battery before trying to do it up again, you will easily short out metal tools touching the body etc.

I dont mean to sound condescending but you should never play with a cars wiring unless you know 100% what the wires do.
or the car wont start lol.

[fcruz3r]

Thanks. No offense taken lol. Had no intention on touching the wiring, but previous owner had zip tied a bracket to the brake lines. The metal to metal contact was causing bad rattle. I just removed the bracket and used zip ties to secure the conduit.

The last mechanic that worked on the car must hv slipped the constant 12v over the bolt but didnt secure with a nut. Too dark now to work on the car, will attempt this tomorrow.

[geofiz]

If you need a new nut for the starter motor,let me know, I have a couple of spare starters in teh shed, so I can grab the nut if you dont have it anymore.

[fcruz3r]

thanks geofiz. I've secured it with a 12mm nut for now. Appreciate if you could help me check whether the OEM uses a flanged nut for better contact


Cheers

Roy

[manga_blue]

Normally it's a special copper nut for that fitting. I'd take geofiz up on the offer.