lzguthrie

Alright, thanks for your information. I will let you know what happens when I get to it. At this moment, its running again. And for no reason that makes any logical sense. This thing has been sitting in my driveway for 4 months because I havent been able to get it start! So for it to start running again out of the blue is just bizarre. But yeah, I broke down and got my neigborhood shop involved and they seem to think its the ignition switch. Everything else in the electical system is either new or in working order, so it makes sense.

Alright I will check those links out as well. I got supremely frustrated with my quest to determine what was wrong. Its really cold here and rolling around in the snow under my vehicle was less than fun haha. So i paid 40 dollars to have it diagnosed at a local shop. So, of course, as soon as they try to diagnose it, it starts running again. Starts up like a charm. So after it started running they were not able to pinpoint the problem with certainty but they said it was likely to be the ignition switch because those go out intermittantly, will work fine and then not work and then work again, and etc. So that was my best guess and since the alternator and the starter are new, the relay clicks and you can feel it click when you touch it, and the battery checks out ok, it seems to be more likely the ignition. It may not be the ignition for sure, but at this moment, it seems the best guess.

Well looks like I am going to be replacing an ignition switch. Any instructables on that bychance? Thanks for all your suggestions too guys, I appreciate it.

Push starting it at this moment is not an option unfortunately. If it fails, I will have a hell of a time getting it back to its parking spot. I am not sure if its the relay that gives the click or if its the solenoid getting powered up. I am going to buy a circuit tester on my bike right now. I will check those things out when I get it.

Hey all, I would be highly gratetful if you all can give me some pointers. My pathy does not start. Its a 94 XE manual. When I turn the key nothing happens except one click from what I think is the starter solenoid. Would that be correct. The starter was already replaced roughly a year ago but its possible it may have died again. I tried to jump start it and that did nothing, so the battery seems to check out. Do you think I should check anything else out? How can I definitively determine its the starter so that I dont painstakingly remove it only to find that its fine in the benchtest. Where are some good places to check with a circuit tester? I have reviewed most of the starting problem info on here but none of it seems to deal with this issue exactly. Also, the last oil change resulted in a little accident where I poured oil onto the starter while trying to remove the filter. Could the oil, although I cleaned it off, have seeped into the starter and ruined it? Thanks in advance.