Got back last night and I am not feeling 100% so I didn't get to it till this morning. I tried starting again and the issue remains. Fully charged battery but when I try to start it will not turn over. I hear the solenoid kick in but the motor does not turn. It also feels like there is a short because the whole car electrics die and you get the reset noise when you reconnect the battery.
So I have whipped off the intercooler and taken out the starter motor. All the pos and earth wiring looks ok. I dont know if there are any earths under the car but the one which goes direct to the starter motor seems good. I put the motor on a bench and tested it. Solenoid kicks in nicely and the motor turns.
So I am a little stuck. The engine turns over manually in gear (tried pulling several feet with the towbar and no lockup). The starter is fine. Clutch engagement/disengagement is fine (visual check anyway). My only theory is that the engine mounts are worn (fits with something else) and when I was joining the DC I must have changed gears too briskly and caused the block to move on its mounts. This in turn may have knocked the motor a few mm which would prevent the teeth from engaging on the flywheel and a short in the motor. Or that the motor just needed manually turning a bit because it was in a dead spot.
Thoughts?