my 300ex wont even try to start..no connection. HELP!!!

[chargercalvin]

well it wouldnt start before but i seem to have made things worse. i have to roll start my 99 300ex because of a starter problem. i tap the starter with a hammer while i tried to start it to see if the brushes are bad. and sure enough that was it. i kept messin with it and touching a screwdriver to the solonoid and stuff wich helped it turn over. after a while of this i lost connection with the battery...the neutral light wont even come on. all my basic connections are good and i and jiggled everything around to see if it is a connection thing. did i blow some kind of fuse? maybe one of the black boxes or something? what should i do and where do i start? i can still roll start it but i need to get it starting the right way asap. any advise will help i dont know where to start....:(

[JohnT_98300EX]

pop the rear plastic off and you will see a small square off white box. it says fuse on it.
one is the fuse for the wheeler and the other is a spare. start there. they are 15 amp

[chargercalvin]

i will check it out when i get home.

thanks

-calvin

[chargercalvin]

fuse is good. i dont think i can use a dmm if nothing has power can i???? this is sucky. i am really lost here.

[dirtdawg]

a dmm or dvom is a digital multimeter or digital volt ohm meter. they check for how many volts or units are at the source you are testing. you hold one of the 2 probes to a part you may think is a conductor and ground the other probe. they run on their own batttery separately from the quad. you keep testing the wires and you need a manual to figure out which wires are which. check to see if any wires are rubbing and the insulation is gone on the wires and look for broken wires. if you don't have a dmm or dvom, a dvom is like 100 bucks and the dmm is around 50 or less. you can get them at a hardware store or any automotive store. hope this helps you out man.

[chargercalvin]

thank you. that does help. im just worried because the battery doesnt even spark when i touch the cables to it. its like the switch is off. with it like this can i still test everything? i would think everything would just read 0

[dirtdawg]

in order to accurately test, the battery needs to be fully charged. use the volt meter or a battery charger to check the voltage the battery puts out. should be around 12.6 volts. if it isn't, you need to charge it. if it does not keep a charge then you will need a new battery. if you need a new battery, go to walmart. their everstart batteries are really good and you don't have to wait forever for it to be shipped to your house. hopefully your battery just needs to be charged. how old is it btw?

[dirtdawg]

if it isn't the battery you may have a bad solenoid. you can't check that though until your battery is charged. i think your battery is the issue though fom what your saying that it won't even spark. test it and tell me what you're getting for a reading.

[chargercalvin]

nope battery is good. soleniod gets power on the battery side only(test light) fuse is good. cant cross soleniod with screwdriver though???

[dirtdawg]

a good way to test the solenoid is to disconnect it and put the battery cables to the battery so it will crank without stopping. the solenoid is like a switch. i did it before on accident and i scared myself.

[chargercalvin]

i took the solenoid off and touched the cables that attach to the top of it together. is that the same thing? cause that just grounded out.

[dirtdawg]

no. turn the key and touch the battery cables to the battery after removing the whole solenoid or disconnecting those cables from the solenoid so the starter gets power right away because there is no relay. the thing i'm referring to is the stater relay, which is the same thing a as a solenoid. it will turn over like crazy until you take the cables off of the terminals. if you are confused, the solenoid is under the seat towards the back.

[chargercalvin]

i tried that and it just grounded out without the solenoid. i checked it wirth test light. as soon as i touch the cables that go to the solenoid it grounds out. it might just be because the brushes in the starter are goin bad. i can cross the solenoid with a screwdriver and sometimes it will try to start. the neutral light and stuff doesnt work even when i cross the solenoid. is that normal? they worked before the solenoid went bad.