modifry

Just the one starter relay and the solenoid.

Seems to me this is the problem, as this wire should come straight from the battery and through the Aux under-hood fuse box. I assume your voltage check was done when the start button was NOT pushed. If it has no voltage without a load then there is an open somewhere, so trace it back to the battery.

NOTES relating to other troubleshooting tips:

• If the battery or terminals were bad you would see the instrument lights dim when you tried to crank. I'm sure you would have mentioned this and since you didn't, we can rule out a bad battery or terminals.
• If the clutch switch was bad you would not have heard the solenoid click, so we can rule that out too. Also, there is an easy way to verify the clutch switch is good - Turn the ignition switch ON, turn on the radio, and then hit the START button. If the radio turns off when you press START (trying to crank) then the clutch switch is good, as the clutch switch provides ground to the starter relay and the accessory power cut relays. If the clutch switch was bad the accessory cut relays would not engage and the radio would continue to play while you crank the engine (or tried to crank).
• I don't think it's a wise idea to short the solenoid wire to ground as a test. There is NO FUSE between the battery and the big fat wire on the solenoid, so there should be hundreds of amps available at that terminal. If you are shorting that terminal to ground and you do not get a spark big enough to weld your wire to the chassis you have a problem (bad connection or resistance in the wire). If you do get a spark big enough to weld the wire to the chassis you also have a problem, but it's a different problem. Call the fire department to deal with that problem.
  
  

I don't think it's your problem, but sometimes rebuilt starters are not "fully rebuilt". Last time I had trouble with a rebuilt starter that would not crank properly (not an S2000) I got a 2nd replacement and it had trouble cranking too. Turns out the "re-builder" did not think it was necessary to put all 4 brushes in the starter, so some of the rebuilt units had 3 and others only had 2. I ended up taking brushes out of one of the rebuilds and putting them in another so I had a starter with all 4 brushes, and voila! it worked.

chris_barry

Try bridging from the thick 14mm cable to the smaller solenoid terminal on the starter itself. That will provide good current to the solenoid as it bypasses all the cars circuits.

glenstrum

great. well written. next warm day, i will continue till it is fixed. i need a break to gather my thoughts. radio test is excellent. my battery is only 2 yrs old, but i may change it. i am hoping to find another bad splice in the thick battery cable made by previous owner. i unrap all his shit electrical tape to find fine hairs of copper barely touching thick hairs of copper of original harness. at this time solenoid only clicks, and with repeated tries it stops working as if i can't get the amperage.

glenstrum

good idea, but i can barely get my hand in there. i will try with my spade terminal wire i have. before i put the new starter in, i did this test (using 60A battery charger setting) to the new rebuilt starter and the old starter and they both engaged and spun.

murd0x

try this DIY out and see if this will work for you, couple minutes and easily reversible https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/619...switch-bypass/

glenstrum

i will . you guys have all been super helpful. got too cold now out in my flushing queens garage. i really think previous owner butchered the heavy copper cable under hood wiring. i have to redo every splice, as the car was cranking weakly when working before it gave out and battery is good. after done with that (wish i could just go back to stock wiring harness), i will try your test.

Mr.SweetRoll

I am glad I found this thread... I am experiencing the same exact problem. I was driving around and made a stop. Came back out about 5 minutes later and car would not start. I ended up push starting it to get it home. I too assumed it was just the starter. I have spent two weeks slowly replacing the starter because I broke the knock sensor and ended up removing the whole IM for good measure. I just finished putting everything back together today and still the same thing. Attached below is a video of the problem. Tomorrow I will start tracing wires and check voltage. For now

http://s22.photobucket.com/user/Peps...2496a.mp4.html

Mr.SweetRoll

glenstrum- I know you said the battery and terminals are like new, but I would suggest having them check it if you haven't done so already. I had checked mine with a voltage meter in which it read 13v (good). It wasn't till I took it in that it only had 11 CCA (cold cranking amps). My battery was only a year or so old. Thankfully my problem is now fixed. I wish you the best of luck with yours!

glenstrum

do not beat yourself up: everyone i spoke to thought it was my starter. if ever u need a good used starter, we both have one now. the copper wire splices are suspect, but worked well till now. i strongly suspect i am not getting enuf amps to the starter. when i souldered the first splice, it actually turned over once. still too cold for my liking, but when i get out there, i will try battery from my accord. you have convinced me too fix this car myself!! for 60 bucks i think i will just replace battery since it is 2 years old. how do i test the cold cranking amps? i was warned about the knock sensor in one of these threads; sorry for that. what is the whole IM? induction manifold i guess--plenty work. like i said before, my 62 xke was a dream to work on compared to an s2k!!

glenstrum