i had this problem it was the key switch

Fixed it! After all the troubleshooting, it was a bad connection to the solenoid. Cleaning it out did the trick. Phew! Now to solve the no-upshift problem.

Turns out this wasn't so simple. It's actually intermittent, and I don't know what is up. Any other ideas?

make sure uhave a clean battery connection, even with power it might not be a good enoughconnection to start. i hadthis problemon anold f150 and a jet ski.......... worth a shot?


T

The voltage only dips to 11.8 when I try to start, so I don't think that is it. I found another perplexing piece of evidence today. I measured the voltage on the small wire that goes to the terminal while it was disconnected.

After putting the key in and turning it to ACC, voltage is 6.6 volts.
When turned to on, voltage is 9.6v
When turned to start, voltage is full system voltage.
When turned from start to on, voltage drops back to 9.6v.
When turned from on to acc, voltage stays at 9.6v for several seconds, then drops to 6.6v.

Why would there be voltage on that terminal in any position other than start? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Also, when I try to start, sometimes I get a clank but no starter motion, sometimes I get nothing. What does that indicate?
Could someone explain in detail the working of the starter and solenoid? I know three things need to happen:
-The gear teeth on the starter need to be pushed into mesh with the gear teeth on the flywheel.
-A set of contacts needs to be brought into contact for a large amount of current to flow.
-The starter needs to spin.

If I replace the starter solenoid, will I fix errors with the first two problems, or just the second one?
Thanks!

The solenoid is an electro- magnetic coil, that when energized by the small ignition wire does two things. It pulls a plunger back that engages the starter drive gear(sometimes referred to as a Bendix) to the flywheel. The second thing that happens is that a thick copper disk is pulled back connecting two sets of contacts which engages the the starter motor (the big positive cable that is bolted to the large terminal on the solenoid). Sounds to me like you have a bad set of contacts in that solenoid. If you hear a clunk and the starter does not spin that is usually the case. (The plunger is getting pulled back but the contacts are left in an open state for one reason or another) sometimes the copper disk gets eaten away from arcing or corrosion prevents a connection in the solenoid. In a rare case the windings in the starter motor itself can be burnt out, causing the motor to not move.

If you want to isolate the problem, use a jumper wire to jump from the large positive terminal to the ignition terminal. The starter should engage. If it does not, then the problem is in the starter/solenoid. Be sure that the Montero is in nuetral before attempting that one of course..

Justice is right.

Diagnose a starter on the ground with a pair of jumper cables. Black to motor frame. First, red to upper solenoid terminal, then jumper wire to small contact. gear should jump out, then motor runs. If one and not two, solenoid is bad in motor contacts (most common starter failure). If no gear out, solenoid is bad in windings (rare). Test for a good motor by going straight to lower solenoid terminal which is connected to motor windings and motor should spin, but gear will not extend.

Most common fault is arc corrosion on copper disc in front end of solenoid, caused by many contacts with hot battery current. This is why whacking a reluctant starter works, as it gets the tiny fragment of corrosion out of the way and lets motor current flow. The solenoid clicks, but the motor doesn't turn. Almost all starter failures can be fixed with a new solenoid, and cheaply...

Great! It sounds like this may be my fix then. Any ideas on why it may sometime not even clunk? How about the varying voltages on the ignition wire? I will test this tonight.

Can the solenoid be salvaged with new contacts, perhaps? I have heard of that being done on a Toyota truck. Also, can the solenoid be removed without taking the starter off? According to the FSM, it is necessary to drain the transmission and remove the tranny cooler lines to take the starter out. Ouch!

Thanks a lot!

I just went out there and tried to jump across the two heavy terminals on the solenoid. I got a healthy spark, but no starter motion. I suppose that means that the starter itself is bad, right?

I took the starter off today and took it down to the parts store to be tested. It wasn't too healthy. I've got another on order. We'll see how the new one fares.