OKIEMUSTANG

Hey guys fairly new here..


here is the deal

1995 5.0 when trying to start all i get is a click... battery is 5 months old...
thought it was solenoid.. pulled starter and hooked up power and grounded it it worked fine... put it back on the car and just a click... so took it off and took to parts store and they tested three times and said its fine... wth! sure can hear my fuel pump kick on (t-rex) when i turn key forward and lights and radio and electric seats work... what do you think???

its making me crazy...
i push started it and did fine... killed it and just a click when trying to start again.

barstowpo

Ignition switch? Assuming you ruled out the solenoid.

OKIEMUSTANG

I feel like it's solenoid... but solenoid is on the starter and oreillys said it tested good... could they be wrong?? Something I can do to test it myself?

any ideas on a test I can run to narrow it down... taking battery to be tested now..

Gravydog316

Could be a bad battery (?)

scottyboy1

check your grounds, clean, tight. maybe try to jump it, easy way to test batt. check easy stuff first.

OKIEMUSTANG

Battery tested good.....

just a click while installed while pulled out and hooked up and used jumper jumper cables to ground the starter works..

if its not grounded good I don't think it will click or anything

88 orangepeel notch

Inspect both cables for cuts and internal corrosion. Inspect and clean all connections from battery to starter. Your not getting full current for some reason.

This happened to a friend's older Camaro. It ended up being a small cut on the positive cable down by the starter. Internal corrosion ate the copper wires over time and one day all he got was a click no matter what he tried as you explained.

Good luck

ucinn

That would be an incorrect assumption. A dirty ground could cause everything to work fine until it needs the big draw of amperage that a starter requests. So a click would be perfectly expected with a dirty/bad ground. Easy way to check that could be to take a jumper cable from ground post to a known good ground and try restarting, if you still get a click, then more than likely your ground is good.

dawson1112

Well lets look at what we know its not..

Ignition switch, since your getting a reaction from the solenoid as an audible click.

Solenoid since it correctly engages on a bench test.

Since they do a load test on the starter and it tests OK Id say the starter is fine.

Things that need attention,
All grounds, cables/connections cleaned checked, starter connections tight
Starter mating service,, clean of oil/debris
Insure no binding of starter drive on flywheel when engaging. Inspect starter Drive gear for wear.