I have a problem starting my car... when I turn the ignition, the starter will click as if the starter has gone bad. I have replaced the contacts in the starter and cleaned it all up. My battery voltage is about 12.3-5. When I turn the ignition, I have about 11.5v at the starter signal. The starter will start right up when I jump the signal straight to the battery, I'm stumped, what can it be? Thanks for reading HT!

 

main relay is probably cooked...take it out and smell it to see if it smells burnt
btw main fuel pump relay; also could be a bad cell in the battery even if it tests ok, bad cell can cause odd behavior that you would not expect

 

so the main relay doesnt only control the fuel pump? how would that link to the starter though?

 

does it have a solenoid? check that if it does

 

on the starter? don't all starters have one? my starter starts right up when I jump it manually but not when I turn the ignition key

 

you guys have any other ideas?

 

late night bump for help

 

Voltage seems ok, however i'd test the voltage at the battery while cranking. if it's below 10.5 volts i'd try a different battery. I'd recommend checking all ground straps just to rule that one out(hard to cary any amps over a partially connected ground.

have you tried tapping on it with a dead blow hammer while cranking it? maybe it needs some knockin around

 

the battery is brand new and doesn't drop to 10.5... i added extra grounds from the battery straight to the tranny... the starter starts right up when I jump a wire from the starter signal to the (+) terminal on the starter...

 

that seems bizarre. you'd think 11.5v at the signal wire would be good enough. maybe try tracing the wire and cleaning all connections with electrical cleaner and re-attaching them with dielectric grease.

 

that's exactly what I've done so far... haha... man this sucks... do you think the starter signal isn't getting enough amps from the ignition switch?