seasonal starter cables... Not starting well!

[chcknugget]

Everytime there's a change in the seasons my jimmy doesn't want to start.

First off my aftermarket battery terminal was bad (gold stripped because it was too short) so there was no power anywhere... I temporarily fixed that with a bolt, and now I turn the key and I hear clicking but the no start. I just hold the key in the start position until the starter engages, and everything fires up but immediately dies. It will stay on if I give it some gas, and after about 15 seconds of giving it gas it will remain running. My battery indicator says 15 volts the entire time.

I know the connections to my starter are not good. The starter has maybe 3 connection posts on it... I imagine one is from the ignition switch to the solenoid, one from the solenoid to the starter, one from from the battery to the starter. Every change in the season they go bad and I crawl underneath to my starter and clean the connections with cleaner and tighten them down and then they're good for another 6 months.

MY Question Is: Which wire is the direct connection form the battery to the starter? Which connection post on the starter is it? The long middle one? I would like to replace this entire wire with maybe 0 guage and put better connectors on it.

I'm going right now to get a decent battery terminal. I hope this solves most of the problems. Any help would be appreciated! (I know a few of you out there have replaced your own starters)

[BlazerLT]

Sounds like you have a dead battery or a dead spot in your starter motor.

[blazee]

You forgot about the connection to the park neutral safety switch, it is between the ignition and the solenoid.


I haven't had to look at my starter so I can't say for sure, but all the ones I've seen before only had one large wire and the other were small. The large one will be the one going to the battery.

[chcknugget]

Hey everyone, I replaced the terminal and everything's working perfectly at the moment.

One post on the starter sticks out more than the others, and I assume that it's the one that connects to the battery. It would still be nice to know what the other connections are.

In the future I plan on replacing the starter to battery wire. I even saw 4 guage starter wires premade at meijers for 5 dollars. I would like to get a spool of 0 guage wire (like amp power wire) in bulk, but I've been unable to find it anywhere for a reasonable price except in actual amp install kits. Anyone know a good resource?

I'm also thinking of covering up my starter terminals with heat shrink wrap or electrical tape because it always gets dirty and corroded with road grime.

[chcknugget]

OKOKOK,
I traced the wiring on the starter.

-The top post seems to be a ground (that wire runs to the case of the starter) PLEASE somebody correct me if it's not)

-The middle post is smaller and it is the ignition switch when you turn the key to start.

-The bottom post is the direct connection to the battery.

My bad post seems to be the top ground post. It is all charred from sparkage. Please tell me if it is not the ground connection- I am going to replace that wire and would like to run it to a new ground.