97 Isuzu Rodeo won't start, just clicks

[Jwood1]

I have a 97 Rodeo witha 3.2L V6. About 6-8 months ago it started having intermittant starting problems. I replaced the battery, thinking that that would be a EZ fix but "no dice". The battery was not the problem. When I attempt to start, I have to turn the key repetativley. I can hear the solenoid clicking so that tells me I have power to the starter. I have to turn the key click,click,click, 10 or so times before the motor turns over and if I "miss" that turn then I have to continue turning the key until it turns over again. This problem seems to be more prevelant when the vehicle's been sitting for a couple days or when the weathers cold. I'm thinking either starter relay or starter itself? Over the last couple months, it seems to be happening more, almost daily. Anybody else heard of this or had this problem? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Canucklehead]

Originally Posted by Jwood1

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Uh, replace the starter???

[surferfletch]

I just replaced 2 starters in the course of a month. One for the Rodeo, one for my VW Jetta. They both acted similarly, in that each turn of the key produced a single click of the solenoid. In both cases the battery checked out fine, eliminating battery and alternator. I was able to push start the Jetta, because it is manual. The Rodeo worked intermittently before failing completely, while the Jetta just up and quit last Friday afternoon. I got a reman from NAPA for the Rodeo and a reman from Advance for the Jetta. The Rodeo starter lasted 146K, the VW 158K.

The hardest part of changing out the Rodeo's starter was recovering the alignment dowels from the mounting bracket. I got them off by spraying them with PB Blaster, grabbing them with vice grips, and rotating them out of their holes. It's super easy. I have the '97 V6, too. Should take half an hour with a socket set and an extension for the 2 mounting bolts.

[Cat Fuzz]

Yep, bad starter. I know exactly whats wrong. There is a magnetic plunger contact that gets pulled in when the starter gear kicks out to engage the ring gear (flywheel) to complete the circuit to power the starter. The problem is, the contacts can wear unevenly and sometimes the plunger completes the circuit and sometimes not. If you really wanted to be resourceful, you could just replace the contacts and you'd be good to go but it's usually difficult to find individual starter parts these days.