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Old 05-08-2011, 03:08 PM
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marthur marthur is offline
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I agree that you should definitely check the wiring / connections. The starter solenoid my stick intermittantly, but it checked out in your bench test.

Especially look for corroded wire / terminals and dirty connections. Consider the ignition switch itself (they do go bad). Keep in mind that wire can break or corrode inside the insulation and this will be tricky to spot.

Some people use a multi-meter to help diagnose starter issues. The easiest way to do this is to use it to check for contintuity (e.g. through the ignition switch and each wire) and voltage drop. To check for voltage drop, hit the switch and use your multimeter to check the voltage at the starter terminals. It should be the same as the voltage at the battery or just a little lower. If it is significantly lower, check the voltage drop across any suspect wire or connection. You shouldn't see anything bigger than .1 or .2 volts.

I had a car with a bad ground cable, if you moved the wire it ran like a champ. Naturally touching the wire during the troubleshooting process made the problem go away. It took a while to figure that one out!

Using your jumper cables to jump the ground wire, big wire to the starter and wires from the ignition cables can also help spot a bad one.

If the wires check out, the starter solenoid is much cheaper than the entire starter and more likely to go bad. It would explain why you have no click.

Good Luck!
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