Starter not cranking

[Steve]

Ahh ,gotcha, i love learning,even if it is electrical hehe,I knew the trick jumping them from working o Fords, but never knew it was a contact to ground for the acuator lead.

Be careful there, you could have some SERIOUS current flowing if you do things wrong.

Connections on the starter solenoid:
One large terminal is connected directly to the battery positive terminal.
The other large terminal is connected directly to the starter motor.
One small wire, yellow with a green stripe, runs through the harness up to the starter button.
The only "ground" on the solenoid is the metal case. The plate to which it is attached is rubber-mounted, so there needs to be a ground wire somewhere to make sure the solenoid can work.

When you are testing the starter, you can use an old screwdriver or other metal rod to short across the two large terminals to run battery power straight to the starter. This only tests the battery and the starter.

The yellow/green wire it attached to the solenoid at a small solder pad. If you run a jumper wire from the battery terminal to the solder pad, you can test operation of the solenoid. Caution, the starter will turn, if the solenoid works, so make sure the transmission is in neutral. (Should not have to say that, but I feel better doing so.)

If the solenoid does not work when you push the starter button, using a test light at the solder pad will tell you whether you are getting that 'tirgger' signal from the starter button.

There is NO time where you will connect ANY of those solenoid terminals to a ground, or you will have your own little fireworks show.

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