Coach Won't Start

If you hear the starter "spinning" and not engaging the engine (flywheel), then the solenoid might be the culprit, or the starter gear is sheared off.

Let us arm chair mechanics know what you find out.

Meant to mention, original starter only had one small terminal, but new has two. Could rhus pose any grounding problems? Parts store said no.

Thanks guys! I replaced large starter wire as burned through. Then tried to "jump terninals to start but does not engage, only spins so think starter might have been fried. Will take it back to have checked. When removing cable I felt it kinda odd that the battery cable and cable down to starter were both on same side of what appears ti be relay. I'd think power would have to go thru? Thanks for all your help! Greg

Also, what manufacturer is it. You might have a main starter fuse blown.

Stabbing in the dark here. IF the mechanic jumped the starter by applying 12V directly to the starter and it worked, then there are 2 things possible.

1. You might have a bad starter relay, not to be confused with the starter solenoid. Trace the heavy 12V cable from the starter back through the chassis. At some point you will come upon the relay. It has a heavy cable going into both sides, with generally 2 smaller wires going to your ignition switch. These go bad very frequently and are cheap to replace, but somewhat hard to find.

2. Check for a possible blown fuse (unlikely) somewhere upstream of your starter. Again follow the heavy 12V cable from your starter back to your chassis and try and find where it terminates (probably a fuse block somewhere around your firewall or under the dash.

If I read your post correctly, if the mechanic "jumped" your starter by applying 12V directly to the starter motor and it started, the your solenoid is fine.

I think before I changed starter I would have measured voltage on relay. At this point I wouldn't conclude that new starter is bad. The problem could be several things. Many vehicles have to be in PARK before key can energize relay. All of those items have to be checked.

Unless there was a fire the starter should be fine. Not sure the "mechanic" was qualified. Starters are very simple devices. The heavy wire from the battery is connected to the starter "solenoid" which is attached to the starter. The solenoid is nothing more than an on off switch controlled by a small voltage from your ignition switch. It may pass through more relays on the way but in a simple system it controls the starter solenoid directly which makes "hot wiring" easy.

Replace the burned cable. Look at the small wire or wires on the solenoid. One should go to ground. If only one small terminal the solenoid is internally grounded.

Use a jumper to apply 12 volts to the little terminal while the ignition key is in the run position. It will startle you the first time but should turn the engine over easily if the batteries are still ok and charged.

If this gets it running you can either find which fuse is blown or connect a temporary wire from the little terminal to a convenient place where you can connect 12 volts.