I have a 95 Pathy. My wife and I love it, it's been great, but it's time to sell. I don't think it wants to go. I advertised it, and then the battery went dead. Turns out the alternator needed to be replaced. Advertised it again and the battery was dead again. Replaced the battery (it was 8 years old). Now it won't start. Turn the ignition on and all the dash lights come on, but turn it to 'start' and there is just one very faint click, coming, I believe, from a relay next to the fuse block. It seemed that it was time to have the starter tested. Pulled it off, and sure enough, the starter was not in optimal condition (gear shaft would not stay extended under power). While I figured it was good to know that the starter needed to be replaced, as I was replacing it there was a continuous niggle in the back of my mind that this was not really the issue. Starter installed, turned the key and nothing (except that very faint click near the fuse block). I tested to see if I was getting power to the solenoid and it was good (~16V). I connected the solenoid to the battery manually using a jumper wire and the starter cranked over just like it should. Put the wires back together and tried the ignition again and, you guessed it, nothing.
So, any great theories why the starter cranks over when it gets power directly from the battery, but not when the power is coming from the wire? I thought perhaps the connector was not providing a solid connection, so I cut it off and replaced it with an alligator clamp and clamped it directly to the spade on the solenoid wire - same result - nothing.
I'm completely baffled. Can't see any logic to this at all.
any help?
