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Intermittent Start problem

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gsalt57tr3

gsalt57tr3

Jedi Warrior
Offline
Usually, my TR3 starts like it came off the showroom floor.

Every once in a while, when I turn the key it just whirrs, then on second or third attempts, just clicks.

Tonight, when it happened, I went to the solenoid and I was able to start it from there.

Any suggestions?
 
Sounds like time for a new solenoid. But first I'd check the connections at the solenoid & battery, to make certain they are clean and tight. Don't forget the solenoid has to be grounded.

If you can, next time it happens, try connecting a temporary jumper from the battery terminal to the small side terminal on the solenoid. If it cranks, the problem may be the pushbutton on the dash, or the wiring to/from it.

If it doesn't crank, leave the jumper in place and connect an unpowered test lamp directly from the side terminal to the solenoid case. If it doesn't light, either the solenoid isn't adequately grounded or your jumper isn't working.

If it does light there, try connecting it across the battery & starter terminals. If the lamp lights now, the solenoid is bad.
 
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