does this sound like a bad starter solenoid?

my car worked fine during its last monthly fireup in january.

however, for feb, there was a new problem. when i turn the key to 'on' and pushed the button that runs current to the starter solenoid, the whole car went electrically dead with a single click noise. the only way to get current back through the car was to disconnect the battery and reconnect it.

so i was like, ok. i checked the wiring, doesn't look bad. i checked the hot junction on the foward core support, 12.6 is ok. when the car dies, it falls to 2.4 volts.

to see if there is a short somewhere before the ignition button, i disconnected the ignition button, and left the ignition key to off in case there was something in the ignition that was bad.

on a normal car, if i use a screwdriver to short the big hot cable on the solenoid to the small hot terminal (which the ignition button is wired to), it should bump the motor over, right? because i'd have the dome light on, and when i short it, the click noise happens again and the car is again electrically dead.

what do you guys think?

thanks.

Sounds like a shorted winding in the starter motor. If you turn the starter motor over a little with a screw driver will it start? Also the solenoid can be checked off the car (two screws secure it to the starter assembly and a quarter turn frees it). Unbolt it and hit the switch (short the terminals with screw driver) and see if it jumps. You can test the contacts with a light bulb wired in parallel to the positive lead and ground (should light when the plunger is out).

Big Dave

thanks dave, i'll try a few more on-car things and then remove the solenoid.

Check all the battery cable connections. If you lose volts and the battery isstill at full charge you have a bad connection. It could be either + or the - cables but for sure you have a connection that is failing under heavy amp draw.