Expert: Roland Finston - 7/23/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi Roland.
Really appreciate your work by the way.

So I'm having an issue with my starter I guess.
It starts like half of the time, Battery is fine, i have power everywhere but when i trigger ignition nothing happens.
I've checked the fuse links, and battery, twice.

Have to change my starter right?

ANSWER: You might want to verify that the brown wire that goes from the relay to the starter motor solenoid switch is reliably reading 12v when you move the key to start position If it does and the starter doesn't respond then either the motor or the solenoid switch is bad (which typically means replacing the motor/solenoid switch as a package. If the brown wire is intermittent, then you have several possibilities: a weak starter relay/shift safety interlock switch/ignition switch any of the three could be flakey.
So check the brown wire
Roland

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The brown wire you told me 'bout is chopped where it enters, in the stem thats seems to be yellow. ive tried replacing the wiring by splicing, but space is really limited. still nothings happens. Just wont start.
May the wire failure have damaged anything else?

I'll have to bypass ignition to bring it back home.

anyways, thanks a lot for the attention.

Answer
Hi Jim,
If you can get the starter to respond by jumping 12v to the post of the solenoid switch where the brown wire attaches, then the starter is OK. I wasn't clear what you meant "bypass the ignition switch" so I ask.
The issue is, using a volt meter or even a neon 12v glow light, when you hit the start positon of the ignition switch is 12v showing up on the brown wire at the solenoid switch end, and if not is it showing up at pin 79/D of the starter motor relay socket (sneak a piece of wire into the socket to test for voltage). The brown wire is either 'open' or there is a reason that the relay is not putting voltage on the brown wire at 79/D socket. We can go from there once you know for sure which is the situation. If the wire failed and instead shorted to ground it would have blown fuse 8 (20 amp) in the power box where the relay is also located. That fuse is labelled fuse/ign./starter.
Roland