Do this. Using a volt meter check the voltage on the big wire at the starter using the block as a ground. That'll tell u if the battery is grounded properly. Then get back with us

Good voltage is 12.8... but the starter will activate between 11.8-14.4 volts

push start
 

ok before anything..

i didnt think to ask if you have done this...

i dont believe your problem is with wiring...

push start your car!
by this i mean.. you sit in the driver seat and have your dad or brother or whoever push the car down the street while doing that have the car in neutral(duh), and start the car like normal..(as your getting pushed)

if it starts then, its mostlikely your distributer or your starter..but IIRC, you replaced your starter, so it could be your distributer

Hahaha.... The distributor wont stop the engine from turning over.... and what u described is not how u push start a car..

Have the car in first gear and the clutch pressed in while getting pushed, or pulled even better once u get some speed drop the clutch with the key in The on position. Not the cranking position

I have found it less traumatizing and easier if you use the 2nd gear instead of the first gear when push starting the car... This method also works if your alarm has enabled and is keeping the car from starting. Oh yea, and do make sure before doing this that your EFI fuse is back in...

my dude...the distributer sends a spark to the spark plug at the right time..
especially when starting the car... its the main purpose of it...

me and my friend just recently couldnt get his car to start, so i hopped in it threw it in neutral, and rolled down his driveway.. held the clutch in as i got speed(comin out of his driveway and rolling foward at this point)..threw it in first, turned ignition.. and dropped the clutch..it started right up.. noticed a ticking sound on the distributer. my friend of mine is a well-trusted master mechanic, does all tune ups on nascars...i believed him when he said it was the distributer... the starter had volts, battery, wiring, and as well as amps to start it up and it didnt turn over....

i may be wrong...it might not be the distributer but this is a forum for opinions..and in my opinion, this may be it... he has been saying that "everything" we told him to do; all the volts and amps were good..soo my only other guess is that...

not saying its directly involved in ignition but it aids in correct timing of the spark..IE combustion..

if you got the car running and it doesnt respond at high rpms as well as low, this will also result in a faulty distributor, as well as leaks..(mostlikely the leaks, bad distributors are not likely, but are sometimes a missed thought of correction)

YEAH I know what a distributor does...

He has a problem with the car not CRANKING OVER so how could it be related to the distributor if its not even turning??????????????

THE DISTRIBUTOR IS NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM RELATED TO THE STARTER CRANKING OVER!!!! The car will crank over with the distributor not even installed in the car (u shouldnt do this though)

choose your own answers and diagnosis, use us to help aid you
 

this is an informed opinion...this guy has told you multiple times that the big wire holds volts, lil one to, and the starter is replaced, battery is good...grounds are connected, positive and negative the whole cha-bang.

i merely said to push start the car to see if it will turn over, check for a ticking sound by the ecu and distributor, (he already has a ticking sound by the ecu, i think its a ignition wiring problem) if the car is running but at high rpms it loses power (spark) its the distributor. like i said.. many times you dont look at something becuz ppl believe its not the problem and listen to them...
THIS IS A FORUM, THIS HAPPEN IN MY EXPERIENCE AND THIS IS WHAT I DID TO GET IT TO WORK..ONLY AN OPINION. believe or not

just push start the car to see if it turns over..if it runs, pop the hood and listen for a ticking sound and locate the sound. believe travis or me about the problem, its an opinion and you have to choose your best answer by yourself.. dont believe just one person..take everyones answers and figure it out..

but like i said this happened to my friends car not to long ago, i had no idea what the problem was, i thought it was a dead battery and we were stuck in del taco. so we called his dad(master mechanic) he came down, we told him what happen and we popped the hood and heard a ticking sound on the left side of the engine.. he came over and located it as to the distributor.. we pushed started the car.. it ran we took it home and the next it ran again but we needed to change the distributor...after that never had a problem again...he told us just to keep our IGNITION COMPONENTS on watch becuz they can go bad anytime..this happened again to another friend and i i immediately did what my friends dad did before and it ran fine..

and again.. this may not be the problem.. but in my experience..push starting the car helped and we were able to find out the real problem once we got the car running..

400mv is not holding voltage... The power on the big cable NEEDS TO BE A SOLID 12 VOLTS. OR 12,000MV. IF IT HAS THAT AND A GROUND THEN CHECK THE SIGNAL WIRE WHEN THE KEY IS BEIN TURNED...AND AGAIN THE DISTRIBUTOR IS NO POSSIBLE WAY YOUR PROBLEM! IT WON'T STOP THE CAR FROM CRANKING.... THAT'S BASIC MECHANICS.. I don't care who's car its on... I m done trying to solve your problem cuz u ain't listening to me.. it would take 1 min to figure if the problem is the starter (i don't care if its new it can still be bad) or wires. A simple 2 wire test..

Alright, that's enough arguing in this guys thread. Ochowdero, Travis89Turbo, your posts in this thread are being edited so that all irrelevant information is deleted and this thread can stay on topic.

OP, please post back with your findings so that we may be able to continue to help

OP, you said that you replaced the big wire that goes to the starter (i'm assuming that this is the one that you said only had 400mv); what is the voltage at the wire now? This wire, at all times (regardless of if the key is on, clutch is pressed, alarm is armed), should always read the same voltage of the battery. Period. It is a direct connection to the battery, there is nothing inline that can cut the power to it.

Do this in the order listed below:

1. You said it's a new battery, have you verified that it still has a charge? Use your volt meter and check the voltage of the battery between the positive and negative posts. If this isn't around 12 volts, charge the battery.
2. Check the voltage of the big wire at the starter to the negative post. If this is not the same as #1, inspect the positive battery terminal. If it is, continue to #3
3. Check the voltage of the big wire at the starter to a clean spot on the engine block. Voltage here should still be the same as the above two bullets. If it is not, inspect your negative battery cable for damage, corrosion, or poor connection at each end.

If your voltage is still the same, then your problem lies in the circuit leading to the small wire on the starter, or within the starter itself. As Travis89Turbo said, just because it's new doesn't mean it's good. All parts have a percentage of defects out the box, yours could be one of them.

this website should help,
since were arguing about what it is and dont have very much information on whats going on you need to read this..

it gives your common questions or problems and gives you the answers..

if you found the problem on the troubleshooting list (the link) and the trouble shoot didnt work then come back to us with the correct problem and the best information you can give us...

heres the link
http://www.samarins.com/diagnose/index.html#click

the area you need to look at on this page is in the middle..
starting with "The starter won't crank" - thru - "battery problems"

this info should help you..

Okay, it was just ba wiring in the harness. I replaced it wit a manual harness and got it to turn over but no spark now :( I checked to see if there was power getting to the coil pack (book said 12 volts) and there was no power 0 Volts. I checked the igniter and there wa 11 volts getting to it. So could the problem be the coil pack??

So u just bypassed the harness correct? U need to make sure that ignition signal gets to the ecu as well

No, I just swapped in the manual harness and it turned over. Just no starting all the way.

read that link i gave you..
you replaced the harness,
soo the website should tell you what to do..

i would say check your grounds cause i had the same issue but i didnt do a swap but it sounds like my problem check all the grounds and mine was the ground in the steering colum

Where would the ground be for the steering column?

also does the cam position sensor have to be timed? from what I was told you just put it in and make sure the bolt that holds it is in the middle??

Yes, you have to time the CPS. No, you can't just drop it in. You have to line the gear up with the mark on the CPS, when you install it you have to compensate for the several degrees the whole thing is going to turn. Here is a link to the TSRM on how to PROPERLY install the CPS. Be sure you follow that last step (setting the ignition timing).

So I finaly got to it today, tried the ignition timing and still nothing! :( Any oter suggestions?? if not, time to call a mechanic.