[JohnBN]

2000/1 3.3V6 auto

Starter wouldn't engage, not even loading.
Jumpered solendoid start wire to hot - no go. It did load though, you could tell by the spark when releasing.

*** Happy Note Super Tip ***
The solenoid drive wire has a connector right behind the battery! Disconnect it and touch it to the B+ terminal and your starter SHOULD engage. If yes, your problem is NOT starter/solenoid related.

Tested out of vehicle and the solenoid was not throwing, but the starter motor would run if jumped manually. OK, bad solenoid. Grabbed the starter from the the parts truck (What do you mean you don't have a parts truck in the back yard!?! Then why are you driving such an old vehicle!?!), tested it out of vehicle and it did fine. Installed & it ran fine, that easy. Well... it's a bitch to get in and out... but it worked fine!

Well, it worked fine for 2 days. It's now doing the same thing it did to begin with - the solenoid is not engaging. I haven't ripped it out again, but knowing where the solenoid wire is quickly narrows the problem down!

Odds of 2 solenoids from 2 engines burning out within 48 hours? Remote (although they are both 12+ years old). It's a simple circuit... one big wire from the battery to send juice, one small wire to tell it when to go, and ground through the tranny. What am I missing? Not exactly rocket science!

My only other issue is the rear crank seal leaks, to there's a fair amount of oil around... but that shouldn't effect the starter after it's removed?

Any ideas, or am I just having a crappy week?

 

[xtacular]

Man before I read your line about the oil leak, that's exactly where my mind went. You hear about it from time to time. I bet the oil seeped into the starter and that's why it doesn't work outside the X now.

 

[JohnBN]

The starter was pretty clean when I took it out... and really, why would oil stop the solenoid from firing - if anything, it should make it move easier! It is sealed, and motor oil, even used, isn't conductive.
Still have to take it apart and do forensics to figure out what the failure was really caused by. Kinda weird it happened twice in two days after working so long without a hiccup.
I think I'll have to find a solenoid though... that should be fun!

 

[JohnBN]

Out - rebuiilt - in - failed again after 2 days.

Connection from starter to solenoid was very corroded, so I took it to the local shop and he rebuilt it. Said except for the brush wires it was fine, passed the load test with flying colours.
Ran great for 2 days - now it seems the solenoid isn't pulling in hard enough to engage the starter electrically or mechanically... I loathe to take it out again, but now I think the solenoid has had it's life. It's not fun - I'm considering re-routing the tranny cooler lines just so I can get the damned thing in and out without so much trouble!
How likely is it 2 solenoids would fail in a row (actually 3 times, one was rebuilt)?
Any ideas on what could be the reason?
I don't want to put in a 3rd to have it fail in 2 days too!