8ballz73

was running fine till today when i dropped off my son at school, when i open up the key i usually hear the fuel pump activate but now i can't hear nothing. it doesn't do nothing like if it didn't have a battery.by the way it has a brand new battery i bought a month ago. what would you guys recommend to check first cause it's still parked on the street by my son's school? thanks

well was able to pull it to the house being it was just around the block!! was able to test the relays & fuses inside the power distribution box and they all turned out fine. The starter relay did click when i opened up the key but there still was no other sound so i decided to remove the starter cause according to a diagnosis in the manual by putting a jumper wire from battery + to the starter relay the motor should start but it didn't so it said to replace the starter solenoid. will do that tomorrow and see how it turns out. oh, also with the starter motor removed,i opened up the ignition key and i was able to hear the fuel pump activate now which i wasn't hearing before!!!! so do you people think i have a bad starter solenoid??? thanks

Corky

With the starter on the ground, you can test it with a set of jumper cables. Attach the neg cable to the case & positive to the big lug on solenoid (usually labeled "BAT"). Use a small jumper wire to go from big lug to "S" terminal. NOTE** the starter will torque quickly if the solenoid engages and the starter turns - be careful it doesn't knock the cables off or twist out of your hand.
Corky

8ballz73

well i went ahead and took the starter to autozone and it failed,was going to replace just the solenoid but after thinking about it,i went ahead and purchased the complete starter w/solenoid for $114 lifetime warranty so took it back,installed it and is running fine now. thanks corky for your input!

Corky

Smart move replacing the starter. The only time I replace a solenoid is if I am rebuilding the entire starter - brushes, bushings/bearings and Bendix drive. If that was the original starter in the vehicle, then you got your money's worth. Glad the starter fixed your problem & thanks for posting back.
Corky