Elec idiot needs guidance..

[OverlandZJ]

I dont have a good solid understanding of electrical stuff.. point me in the right direction please.

93 ZJ with 5.2L

Vehicle wont start, wont turn over. Slight audible click at solenoid occasionally.

Amp gauge showing at upper level of red scale.. although battery will easily start another vehicle. My fully charged Optima will also show lower red on gauge and will not turn over.

Clean battery posts, installed new terminals. The cheap kind..

Cleaned grounds at pass side inner fenderwell.

Replaced this starter last October... it went and i warrantied another several months ago. Slight rapping on starter has no change.

Swapped starter relay with ABS relay.

I'm thinking i have a bad neg or positive cable somewhere from batt? Am i on the right track?

 

[old_man]

I would not rule out the starter. Get a pair of jumper cables and run them down to the starter. Connect the ground to the starter case, then with the vehicle in neutral or park, route the positive side of the battey directly to the starter. If that fixes the problem, you have a cable problem. If it doesn't, you have a bad starter.

 

[OverlandZJ]

I dont think i can hit the pos stud on the starter with the harness there.. i'll take another look.

Last time i pulled and tested it on the bench.

Thanks Tom..

 

[OverlandZJ]

OK. Batt is out of Jeep, ignition switch on and vehicle in park.

Jumper cables to the starter, ground to casing where it bolts up, pos to large stud on solenoid. Just an arc and audible click as before.

About to pull the starter and test again on bench.

This will be my third starter in 10 months. I'm going to get new batt cables as well and install them later if the new starter has it running.

 

[OverlandZJ]

Took the starter back to AutoZone and it tested good.. wtf.

Guess i'll be replacing cables when the storms let up.

 

[Keithmania]

I wonder if your starter is binding against the flywheel? Alternately you may check just to see if you can get rotation in the crankshaft by turning through the harmonic balancer nut. I had a friend who was forced to use shims on his starter cause it would bind or it would shear off the teeth on the start due to a misalignment.

 

[ehall]

It sounds like the solenoid is getting inconsistent power. I would start by measuring voltage at the small center terminal when the key is cranked. This is the ignition supply wire that causes the starter solenoid to engage, and if that supply voltage is no good then the starter won't do anything. If there is a problem there, then you need to check your starter relay, NSS, ignition key cylinder, etc.

If you get consistent voltage at the small center post, then disconnect the ignition wire and touch the battery positive to the terminal (you can use smallish wires for this test since it's not carrying much draw). This should force the plunger to eject, pushing the starter gear out. If you don't get a consistent result, the solenoid is bad.

If that works, use a multimeter to measure continuity across the two large terminals and repeat the test above. The plunger in the solenoid has a bridge piece that touches the large terminals together on the inside, connecting the starter motor to the battery source. You should have continuity when the solenoid is engaged, and if you don't have it then the solenoid is defective.

If that works, apply direct battery power to the large terminal that connects to the starter motor. The motor should spin up (the plunger will not eject however since the solenoid is not getting power). If the motor doesn't spin, you have a defective starter motor.