When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Im working on my buddy's 93 ranger 2wd 2.3L automatic truck. It would start most of the time but once in a while it would make one click and the starter would do nothing, key off, try again... on click. The click was coming from the solinoid on the fender. Hit the started with a hammer and it starts. So today I put a new started and solinoid in the truck. Starts fine 3 times so I send him home with it and he calls me saying its clicking and not starting again. If he tries it enough it eventually starts. The battery has 12.5v when off and 14.4v while running. The battery looks older but as far as I can tell its not bad, it cranks just fine. The connections looked in good shape. Any ideas?
Replacement starter may be defective, maybe a brush or armature problem. Have him thump the starter with a wooden broom handle or the like, when the starter won't crank the engine. If it'll immediately wake up & crank the engine, suspect the starter.
If no joy, maybe the starter relay internal power contacts have a problem, so maybe try thumping it & see if it'll wake the starter up, if so suspect the relay.
If no joy with the starter relay, do a wiggle test on the B+ battery cable feeding the starter. Maybe also do a voltage drop test on both ends of both battery cables, to make sure you don't have an intermittent problem there.