just picked up an 88 celica gt drop top automatic. great running car. strong motor, tranny solid through all gears, however, the problem i?m having is that i will try to start the car and sometimes the motor will turn over no prob, but some times all i hear is a click. the volt meter registers 14-18 volts, digital clock keeps time, so i changed the battery, hoping that would be the cause. but it happened again after the battery change, but the motor will turn right over if i jump it. any advice help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. :(
Had you been lurking here a couple months ago you would have read the frustration I was having with the EXACT same symptoms. I too was confused as to why I needed to boost the car to get it started once in a while.
Provided you have checked all the usual things like good, solid connections, it is probably the infamous contacts within the starter as a "starting" point (excuse the pun) for you to look into. I pulled my starter and had a local mechanic do mine, but had I known it was so easy, I would have tackled it myself, first time. $10 contact set closes the circuit (click-click) and engages the power to the main starter motor.
BUT it didn't end there for me! I did all that, plus all new cables and battery and still the damn thing was tempermental. I didn't have the mechanical ability or desire to trace the electrical switch circuit, but there is good advice out there to do a voltage drop test, if you are inclined. I finally bought a $5. relay, wired it in series to the small signal wire near the starter, and have not had a problem since. I guess there is just enough degradaion in the electrical system to not allow the starter contact a good, solid contact with enough voltage to hold it in place and engage the starter motor. The relay switches full voltage directly from the battery to the signal line and has given me reliable starts every time.
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