I got up the other day and started my Zuk up and backed it down the driveway to load up for a 500 mile trip. I let it warm up and then shut it off and loaded it up. Went to start it and only the buzzer came on but no the starter didn't engage. It was about 40f or maybe a little colder and pretty humid. This is the first time since I fixed the factory carb that it didn't just start on the first crank.

I pushed it up the driveway and it bump started so off on the big trip I went. I had to bump start it each time to get it going again.

So far, I put in a known good starter I had on hand and then I put a different ignition switch in. No difference. The only thing I get is the door buzzer when I turn the key. I also here a slight electrical click under the hood but not like it's coming from the starter.

I can't think of what else it could be. I think the extra ignition switch is good and hate to have to buy another one to try if it's something else. Is there some kind of a brake or neutral safety switch on these. What else could it be?

Any suggestions?

-Adam

Not being a Sammy owner I can only give general advise. I would first examine the cables to the battery, starter relay, and starter itself to see if there's any corrosion or loose fittings. Look carefully at the cables themselves, checking to see if they're green in color under the  covering. Then I'd check the relay itself, the starter solinoid, and starter in that order. It's usually something simple. Good Luck

You could perhaps try and see if it's got the notorious sammy "clicky starter" problem. Block the wheels, set the brake and take it out of gear(put it in neutral). Then connect a 12g or so wire to the small wire connector on the starter. Make sure you are all clear of any moving parts and touch the other end of the wire to the battery + terminal and see if the starter engages. If it doesn't, then I would suspect a bad starter. If it does, then check the voltage coming out of the factory wire to that small terminal on the starter and see what voltage you get when you turn the key. If you get good voltage, then it might be the clicky starter problem, if you don't get good voltage then I would suspect ignition switch or wiring, possibly the safety switch on the clutch pedal if it's a stick or on the tranny tower if it's an auto... If you determine that it's the clicky starter problem, do a search for "clicky starter" and you should find a lot of info on how to wire in a relay to fix the problem and still use the key...

I'll check this all tomorrow guys. Thanks. Is there away to determine if the ignition switch is bad via hot wiring it. I'm no car thief but since there's only two blacks and two white wires out the back, I would think there would be a way to bypass through the wires on the back of the switch. Then if it started, I would know I had two bad ignitions switches. The starter is a brand new one I picked up for cheap because I wanted to have a spare.

I was looking under the dash for wires coming out of the clutch assembly but I couldn't see any even with a flash light. Are they that hard to get too? If and when I find it, do I just connect the wires together to bypass this feature?

I'm trying to pick the simplest things first.

-Adam

I couldn't tell you about the ign switch wires, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. For the clutch switch, it's usually located right along the clutch pedal arm near the pivot. There might not be one, but if there is, it's probably right along the pedal arm somewhere...

Thanks guys. I got it to work. I will put everything back together tomorrow so I'm not driving around with a bunch of screws loose. LOL. When I went to check the wiring, it all looked good. Then I went to do the jumper wire as suggested. I looked at my old starter and noticed the tab. I looked on the new one and the wire I had to hook to it either wasn't on enough to stay, or I forgot to hook it like an idiot. Hey, I was tired from 1000 miles of driving in 3 days.

The good thing, is I already had the starter so I'm not out any money on it. I got the ignition switch from a salvage yard in Little Rock for around $30.00 shipped with in a day. That included the whole key mechanism. I think I will try swapping the switch alone over to mine so I don't have to have separate keys for the door and ignition.

By the way, Autozone wanted $139.99 for a new switch with out the cylinder assembly. You have got to be kidding me Autozone. I didn't feel too bad putting $30.00 down at all.

Again, Thanks for the help. You two steered me in the right direction for sure.

-Adam