Starter Solenoid Location

dclarke618 wrote:
Replaced the starter and everything else worked fine!
Dave

I'll add GOOD ON YOU!
I got pretty good at DELCO starters. Give me a few sick ones and I could build a couple working ones. I remember one where the solenoid wouldn't even click and it turned out the motor brushes were no longer making contact with the armature. Without that, the Solenoid couldn't find the ground it needed to pull in.
Then I got into Ford starters with a 460. Again, I pretty much could do the same thing. I just kept getting parts and building starters. The 460 starter used part of the field winding as solenoid, so no separate solenoid like a DELCO. I finally "built" my last Ford starter, with "BAD" painted on it. Armature had an open segment, Field was burned out, Drive was slipping. Took it to the scrap yard.
Did you put another DELCO style starter on it, or the new style, called

Permanent Magnet, or
High Torque, or
Gear Reduction?

I used to be doubtful about those, till I ran one for 15 years and 1500 hours on our Chevy boat engine. It even got wet twice and all I had to do was clean it up.

Good job Dave!

Repair complete! Replaced the starter and everything else worked fine!

Thanks for all of your comments and help.
Dave

Solenoids with shorted to chassis negatives are rare. Going from 12+ to solenoid S terminal and no noise no spark means the starter motor interior may have a high resistance condition in brushes, armature or field coil. Not powering the magnetics enough to pull the plunger. Regardless it is time to pull the starter for a bench test.

A bad neutral safety switch blocks ignition switch signal to the starter or to an added relay.

An added relay can go bad as well as wire circuits feeding it.

Only organized diagnostics will pinpoint the problem. Jumping the solenoid is perhals test five of eleven.

Good luck :)

Thanks Westend!
I'll go and take a look. I agree about the good ole days! More variables than I was expecting on this project!

dclarke618 wrote:
Westend, where is the fuse/breaker you were talking about?

Look towards the firewall, the box is usually bracketed on a fender or some other metal in the engine compartment. It may have a plastic cover. This is just for some GM vehicles, it may not be yours. An owner's manual should depict any and all fuse and breaker locations.

Another trait of certain GM vehicles is a failure of the theft deterrent module. When key is turned to the "Run" position a small voltage is sent to a Body Control Module. That module, in turn, sends voltage to the ECU and various relays like the starter and fuel pump relay. If the BCM detects a different voltage because the vehicle has been tampered with, the engine won't start or the fuel system will be nonoperational. Oh, for the good old days when a guy could diagnose a starter problem with an old screwdriver.

I tested the ignition switch and there is power when I turn the key to the start position. I guess the next step is to replace the solenoid/starter.
Does anyone know if there is a fuse between the starter switch and the solenoid?

Thanks

Westend, where is the fuse/breaker you were talking about?

I haven't checked on the fuse/breaker yet. I wanted to figure out if the solenoid was fried first

Have you verified that there isn't a relay or fuse/circuit breaker between the ignition switch and the starter? In some GM models the starter relay and fuse are in a box near the firewall. That box will also have other relays like the fuel pump relay, window defrosters, etc.