Friend having trouble starting...

[shootme5150]

Sorry, this isn't a stang question, but I figured I'd get the best answers here to a general question. My friend has a Nissan pickup that is having trouble starting. When he turns the key, you can hear the solenoid click, but it never spins up to try and start the engine. He's tried a new battery as well as a new starter, but neither have helped. The strange thing about it is that when this first started happening, he was able to start the truck by jumping it, which is why he initially thought the battery was the problem. The only thing I can think of at this point is to replace the wiring between the battery and starter, but the whole "jumping thing" makes me think that's not the problem. Has anyone had this problem or have any suggestions as to what to look at?

Thanks

 

[jrichker]

Here's a checklist:

Check battery, terminal connections, ground, starter relay switch (also known as solenoid) and starter in that order.

A voltmeter is handy if you are familiar with how to use it to find bad connections. Measure the voltage drop across a connection: more than .5 volts across a connection indicates a problem.
See http://www.fluke.com/application_notes/automotive/circuit.asp?AGID=1&SID=103#volt for a diagram on how to do voltage drop testing

1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check the battery. Most auto parts stores will do a free battery check if you bring them the battery.

2.) Check the battery to engine block ground, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall.

3.) Check the cables for cracks in the insulation, and corrosion around the wire where it joins the connector. Look for swelling of the cable’s diameter which would indicate corrosion inside the cable. Bending the cable can often reveal corrosive damage inside the cable when the outside looks OK.

 

[vristang]

Yeah, check the connections and cables. This is the first thing I would look at when having starting/charging problems.