Well I changed the batteries and after installing it started right up. I heard a small pop on start up so I turned the engine off. It did restart just fine. The next morning it would not start at all, just one click noise when I turn the key. Any thoughts?

 

First, check all your battery connections and grounds.

How old is your starter?

 

Several things could have gone wrong:

No power to fender solenoid
Fender solenoid ground is bad
Fender solenoid is bad
No "start" signal to fender solenoid
Starter solenoid is bad
Starter is bad
No power to starter solenoid terminal

...and there probably are a few others.

A voltmeter or test light will help you diagnose. The fender solenoid is a good place to start.

With key off, you should have +12 v on one of the "big" wires, that comes from the battery to the fender solenoid. If not, check connections at battery. I don't recollect if that wire is fused.

Block the wheels, make sure it's in neutral or park, clutch depressed. With key in "Start", the little wire to the solenoid should have +12 V, or kind of close. If not, something in the key or neutral safety circuit isn't letting a "start" signal get to the solenoid.

If you have "start" signal, with key in start, check the "other" big wire going to from the fender solenoid to the starter. That should have +12V. If not, the problem is the fender solenoid or its ground. I recollect that it is grounded by the case back onto the fender well, so you may have corrosion there.

If you have +12V coming out of the fender solenoid and heading to the starter solenoid, then you have a problem down there... connection, starter solenoid, or starter.

The fender solenoid seems to be a common problem. It will "click" without sending power to the starter solenoid. A "quick and dirty" test, in neutral or park with wheels blocked, is to jumper the two big terminals on the fender solenoid. If the engine cranks, the problem **most likely** is the fender solenoid or its ground, but you haven't ruled out a problem in the key or safety circuit.

Hope this helps.

 

X2 on this. The battery posts and the cable terminals need to be shinny clean, and you should not be able to move the terminals on the battery post.

 

Thanks for the testing sequence. The click is coming from the starter solenoid and its connections spin the inside cylinder a bit when a wrench is applied. Will have this removed and tested.

 

Mine tested good at the auto parts store and still proved to be a bad starter. They do not 'load' test them.

 

So it turns out it was the starter. I think the "860" cold cranking amps of the new batteries arced the starter solenoid some how. The solenoid basically broke apart on removal. The starter was original. It lasted for 250,000 miles so I guess I can not complain

 

Yep, can't complain if it's the original starter and thank you for the solution on the fix. A lot of members don't respond back and we are left in the dark on what happened.

Yeps sent ...

 

Ya, thanks. It seems like seven or eight out of ten threads like this end up with a bad starter.