Gee, since the solinoid contact actually fell apart when you removed the
starter, I would have guessed that the problem would have been corrected once
that was replaced. I am assuming
here that you know for sure that the battery is good. A nearly dead battery can
give you the click, but not enough juice to turn the engine over.
After that I would suggest putting a wrench on the big bolt in the center of
the crank shaft pulley and see if the engine still turns (don't worry, it
probably will). If you can turn the engine by hand, I would say that even
though rebuilt, maybe that starter just isn't strong enough to do the job (i.e.
they didn't do a good job on the rebuild). I have had that happen more than
once. You might take it someplace else for the test.
If it doesn't turn, take the belts off and see if it will turn without the
belts installed. The water pump on those cars can lock up (although rare), and
is enough of a drag to keep the engine from turning over. If it still doesn't
turn, take the plugs out and see if you can turn it then. If you can't, well,
lets not go there yet.
If all else fails and the engine does turn, you may have a problem with the
wiring, but I doubt it since the car started when you originally got it. The
wiring insulation on that car (unless it has been changed) is subject to
failure and could have come apart allowing two wires to come into contact with
each other in the area of the starter of the starter relay.
This is a real long shot Jeff, but it is also possible that the distributor is
loose and that it moved, causing the timing to be too advanced, and then hard
to crank, but this would only normally result in a no crank situation if,
again, you had a weak starter, and the engine was warm but it is worth checking
if you still can't crank the engine.
Paul
>
>
> Thanks to everyone who has chimed in on the mysterious black knob. I hate to
> put you all in suspense but that question has taken a back seat to a more
> important concern - getting the car started again.
>
> After the car was delivered last week I drove it twice for a total of about
> 20 miles. After the second trip the car refused to restart (fortunately it
>was
> parked safely in my driveway), giving only that infamous clicking sound of a
> dead starter. I checked contacts and the battery to be sure and then pulled
> the starter. The solenoid contact broke during removal so I took it to a
>local
> rebuilder on Monday. Got it back this afternoon and installed it. Same
> clicking. Removed it again and had it bench tested at the local parts store
>-
> works like a charm.
>
> So now what? I'm guessing, with some advice from the parts folks and a
> rather knowledgeable neighbor, that the problem is one of two things [or both
>of
> them :-( ]
> 1. Starter relay
> 2. Ballast resistor
>
> I've measured the resistance across the resistor - ~2 megohms which leads me
> to believe it's dead although I couldn't find a definite value in the service
> manual.
>
> Questions:
> - How can I determine the condition of the starter relay?
> - Where can I get replacements for either/both of these components?
>
> Thanks
> Jeff
> Trenton, NJ
>
>
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