1996 TXT Starter Just Clicks

donnie5336

Is my starter bad? I don't know what else to test. When I press the gas pedal, the starter just clicks a few times. My battery is reading 12.8v, positive side of solenoid reads 12.8v, starter side of solenoid reads 12.8v when gas pedal is pressed. I can only get a reading of about 8v at the positive terminal on the starter when the gas pedal is pressed. I don't know if it's the wire that's bad, or just dirty contacts and not getting a good contact on my meter. I took a pair of jumper cables and hooked the red leads to the solenoid and starter, so that should have worked if the wire was bad. Still nothing, just clicks.

Anything else to try or is my starter bad? Also tried tapping the starter with a hammer while the pedal was pressed. Nothing.

BGW

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guyboy1970

I had the same problem on my 98 TXT last week. Turned out to be solenoid and the brushes in my starter/generator. $140 later it's all fixed

oachs83

Sounds like brushes unless you have a bearing seized up. They are easy to check and replace. I think I spent about $20 for the brushes and took under an hour total for the job on my 88 Marathon.

donnie5336

I can turn it by hand so I don't think it's a bearing. I'll check on the brushes.

kgsc

Check your ground. Take your cables and go from the neg post of the battery to the starter frame and try again.

oachs83

You can also bypass everything by taking jumper cables (the kind you jump a car battery with) and using what you know is a charged battery and connect the jumpers to your battery. On the other end ground goes to ground on the starter and positive to one of the positive posts on the starter. If she spins you now know you have a wiring or ground issue and not the starter.

donnie5336

Thanks for the tips. I'll check ground on the starter tomorrow.

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donnie5336

Ok, I jumped the starter straight from the battery and it turns. I tried cleaning the ground good but didn't have time to get it all the way off and clean as good as I want. It still just clicks when I press the pedal. With my voltmeter I'm getting 12v out of the solenoid when the pedal is pressed, and jumping the terminals on the solenoid will not turn the starter, so this sounds to me like the solenoid is good. Does this still sound like a grounding problem or could it still be the solenoid?

Edit: Also, the starter ground and battery ground go to the same point on the frame. If the starter ground is good but the battery ground cable from battery to frame is bad, would this still happen? I didn't check the battery ground.

kgsc

If you run a jumper cable from the battery ground to the starter ground does it work ? If so, there is your answer.

donnie5336

I ran my jumper cables from + and - posts on battery to + an - terminals on the starter and it turned over. I didn't try a jumper from the battery post to the frame grounding point or from the starter to the frame grounding point. That's what I'm asking. Could it be the battery ground that is bad and not the starter ground?