Re: When It Rains, It's Dead!

["Allan Ericson" <lowvolt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The voltage to the starter motor itself is the positive battery cable. If
you aren't getting enough voltage/current to turn the starter when the
solenoid engages, there are four possible reasons.

1. The starter is defective. Possible in this case.
2. The battery is defective. Not likely in this case.
3. The battery cable is defective. This could be the negative or the
positive cable.
4. The solenoid is defective. Also possible in this case.

If the solenoid is not engaging, it could be the following:

1. Voltage not getting to the "S" terminal on the solenoid. This could be
from
  (a) a defective key switch (not likely in this case)
  (b) neutral safety switch in the safety position or defective (possible if
this is an automatic)
  (c) starter relay defective (sounds like it's clicking)
  (d) intermittent or broken wire (possible intermittent in this case)

The fastest check is to jump the S terminal to the BAT terminal on the
starter.

This is most easily done if you have wired the starter terminals to a place
where you can reach them. For this reason alone, the remote solenoid fix is
worth the trouble. The parts are under 12 bucks total, and it can be done in
less than an hour if you have hand tools and a way to mount the remote
relay.

The reason this is the easiest way is because the %^(*%&^* terminals on the
starter are hard to reach. They are located under the exhaust manifold,
above the exhaust pipe, and hopefully, behind the heat shield for the
starter. By running these wires up to where you can reach them, you can test
the entire circuit with a volt meter and know EXACTLY what the problem is,
in worst case conditions, in less than a minute. Furthermore, you can wire
around or repair any problem except a defective starter with this setup in
far less time than with the conventional setup.

I have several of these setups. Two of them are using starters with sticky
solenoids. I don't have to fix the solenoids because they lose voltage when
I let go of the key. This throws the starter motor back away from the
flywheel, hence no grinding.

The list of reasons goes on and on, but the auto industry's wiring standards
are pretty lame, and this is an excellent way to improve the wiring on
nearly all vehicles.
>
> My problem was just not getting a strong enough signal to the starter (the
> problem the remote solenoid fixes, I know).  I'll go remote solenoid
> whenever I do have to get the starter rebuilt, but I think bypassing the
> relay is a much quicker test at least to see where the problem might be.
>
> -Ryan