I've gotten a ton of different answers from google and cartalk.com and whatnot so I figure I'll try for another.
I have a 1995 Toyota Celica, it's got a little over 100k on it but it runs decent otherwise. Occasionally, more recently (past few months) it will not start. There is a clicking noise but it won't always turn over. The accessories all work and such so I'm sure it's not the battery.
It doesn't seem to be related to temperature, it's been cold in general but it has been conder on some days and it starts right up.
For a while I thought it was related to the transmission since it occasionally seemed to work when I shifted the car through the gears with the clutch depressed or pressed the clutch a certain way. I'm thinking this was mostly just coincidence (ie something to do while I waited).
I took it in to Autozone to check the batterty and they suggested the diode pattern was bad and the alternator needed replaced. Since the battery always seems to work and be good I doubt this is the case (though the alternator could still need replaced for other unrelated reasons).
Online I've read suggestions ranging from replacing the spark plugs and wires to replacing the starter to replacing the distributor.
My uncle suggested it might just be a loose connection between the starter and the rest of the electrical system (I couldn't get the car to recreate the problem for him).
It seems to happen more often if the car sits for a while.
The problem seems to have in "bursts", that is, it will do it a lot for a few days then not at all for a week. Any help would be appreciated.