I had a long and torturous battle with my starting circuit. The problem was intermittent, but always the same: turn the key and nothing - no click, no crank - nothing. But the vehicle had power. First, I thought the battery was dead. So I replaced it. Then I had the problem reoccur. I replaced the starter. And a few weeks later, no start. I finally traced it to the ignition wire that runs to the starter solenoid (small, blue wire that slides on the little spade terminal). There was enough corrosion at the terminal to keep the solenoid from engaging. That's why there was no "click" sound coming from the starter when I turned the key. This is actually a common problem, and one frequently misdiagnosed. I chose to fix the problem by installing a 30 amp cube-type relay (Bosch type) to receive the power signal from the ignition and then relay power directly from the battery to the solenoid's staring terminal (S terminal). The reason I did this is because the starter solenoid will not engage if the input voltage is low - like in the 11 volt range. It does pull some amps to fire the starter solenoid. However, a small 30 amp relay requires less amperage to trip. Though I measured good voltage on the circuit/battery (12 volts), the draw of the large solenoid combined with the corrosion in the wire dropped the circuit down to 11 volts, sometimes as low as 10, which seemed to create an intermittent problem that quickly became constant.
I recommend checking your wire first, especially if your solenoid isn't engaging the starter when you turn the key (you'll hear a click from under the hood). If that's the case, you can measure the voltage drop at the wire/terminal to see if it's getting low while the key is turned - it will come back up when the key is released. So you have to get the value with the key turned to the start position. If it's low, you can trim off a few inches of the blue wire, splice on a fresh bit of wire to extend it and crimp on a new female spade connector. If you don't want to or can't measure the voltage, there's no harm in just adding the new connector to the wire. It might fix the problem, and in short order. If you feel gung-ho, you can install a 30 amp relay. If the blue wire isn't your problem, then it could be the battery or the starter.
That said, the easiest way to access the starter is to jack up the right front end and remove the wheel. The starter can be reached through the wheel well and from directly below the starter. If you have to pull the starter, you'll need to work from both positions. If you're only working on the blue wire, you need only go through the wheel well. Trust me. I've fiddled with my starter so many times, I can remove it and replace it in 20 minutes - blind folded! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" /> Yep, I'm that intimate with the starter... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />
The blue wire is the easiest and cheapest place to start trouble shooting. It is also possible that you have corrosion in the negative battery cable. But that blue wire is often the culprit. I hope my diatribe makes sense and sends you in the right direction. Keep us updated on your progress. We are all happy to help.
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