was cranking but not firing, now it wont crank!

Hey I have an 86 ca18et and had to replace just about everything under the hood when i did the JDM motor swap cause i spun a bearing.

Anyway i was trying to get it started when i realized i didnt have the ground strap on the dist. so i fixed that and did some more wiring under the dash for my 500 watts worth of rally lights. The only other thing that changed was that before u never needed a key to start the car, a knife/screwdriver would do it. Now u actually need the key and it works like it should. I checked the igntion switch with my multimeter and it cycles perfectly, all fuses are good. Is there one of those funky fusible links somewhere that might have went? I'm stumped on this because when i jump the starter cable to the solenoid wire it will crank perfectly! This is my winter car and its winter so i need the beast to start! Thanks

Yes, there is a relay for the starter. I couldn't tell you where it is off hand though. My FSM is at home.

Check the wires at the positive battery terminal. There are a buch there that controll everything. One comes from the alt and the supply wire for the car is also there. In front of the batter there is a small rectangular box. Remove the cover and you should see 3 or 4 wires looped. These are fuseable links. There is also one or two (can't remember and don't feel like running outside) on the positive cable. It will be very clear if the are blown. They will burn up when they blow. No middle ground with these.

Might be the solinoid itself on the starter. I had the same thing happen to me a few months ago........I went through 4 brand new starters before I got one that lasted over a week....It ended up being a bad solinoid on all 3 of them. They were also all Bosch brand. I got a autolite one and had no problems since. But yeah..same thing with me. When I touched a screw driver to the solinoid and the key switch it fired right up....otherwise nothing. All three of the bad starters read fine on the auto parts store bench....but the paper work that came with the starters said in the trouble shooting guide that it was the solinoid with the symptoms I had.
If you want to check the relay, it is beside the battery on the fender under a black cover. Not the black cover in front of the battery on the rad. support. There are I think 6 relays in there.....Mine were all fine.

the fusible links are riight in front of the battery under a black box looking thing...if there ok it might be the crank angle sensor

the fusible links are riight in front of the battery under a black box looking thing...if there ok it might be the crank angle sensor
True....but the one that controls the starter signal is a relay not a fusible link and is beside the battery on the fender under a black cover.
Also he said he can start it by touching a screw driver to the solinoid.....so I doubt it's the CAS

hmm guess i should read the post more closely... my bad

hey i just had a bit of an idea.... could i just run a wire from the solenoid and one from the starter cable to a relay-then a momentary switch inside the car? cause when i jump these 2 terminals, it cranks, so putting a switch on there should work.. just turn the key to run, and push the button. VROOOOM! race car style. I can buy heavy duty switches, but how many amps do you think this will pull? thanks

you need to put a relay in place... just hooking up a switch won't do the job safely

Why not do it the right way, and get a new starter?