Two wires at the starter?

[hotmetalslugs]

Hi all,
My dilemma at this time is I am getting the single-click won't start (but sometimes will start with no problem) problem on my 94 Camry.

I realize there is a great likelihood that my problem is the starter solenoid.

My question is regarding those two cables on the side. I see one with a round connection and a nut on it. Is that the positive cable that goes to the battery? I asked my mechanic to give me new battery cables, and he gave me new connectors at the battery. I guess it's not as simple as "the positive cable goes to the starter" because it's all wrapped up within the harness and splits off to other components. But what if I wanted to change that out?

What is the other wire? It's got a rectangular clip on it. I have a pdf of that section of the wiring diagram but it's not clear.

One replacement starter I have seen shows this rectangularly-terminated wire looping back to one of the through-bolts on the starter itself.
That's not how my car has it.
(Here's a pic: http://www.partsamerica.com/product_.../17143_ang.jpg )

So what I wanted to do before shelling out $150 for a starter is to see if I have bad contacts there.

How do I "jump" the starter to the ignition?
If I just leave the ignition switch in the "on" position, do I then jump that larger cable to the positive terminal on the battery?


The battery is new and tested good, 14 volts.

Thanks a lot!!!
l

[toyomoho]

The starter solenoid is wired directly to the battery via the large cable. The large cable attaches to the power input of the solenoid; there is another large cable that runs from the solenoid to the motor.

The solenoid contains a large relay that completes the circuit between the input and output wires of the solenoid and thus turns the motor on/off.

The solenoid is activated by 12V DC. A small Black/Red wire runs from the ignition switch through another separate relay and then to the smaller terminal on the solenoid.

To test the starter motor only, apply power to the larger terminal on the motor body, this will bypass the solenoid. Make sure you use a large gauge wire such as a battery jumper cable.

To see if the ignition wiring is faulty, apply 12V to the smaller terminal on the solenoid. This can be a normal wire size.

To check to see if the wiring between the solenoid and battery is defective, run another larger wire between these two points. Suggest a battery jumper cable.

The solenoid is available as a separate item. See link below:

http://info.rockauto.com/SMP/SMPDetail3.html?SS465.html

Often the problem is the electrical contacts within the solenoid relay go bad. These can often be purchased separately from auto stores, dealer or a shop that repairs starters.

[hotmetalslugs]

Thanks so much, toyomoho!
So if I understand correctly, there is a grand total of 4 connectors on the whole thing -
(1)One on the solenoid to the battery
(2)Another one going from the solenoid to the motor (3)
and (4)another one going from the solenoid to the ignition switch?

I haven't had much chance to look closely at it - it's raining cats and dogs in the Northeast US right now...

-Paul

[nukem678]

Shouldnt there only be 2. A 2 to 4 gauge wire from the battery. And the smaller starter solenoid wire. You probably wont see any connection from the solenoid to the motor as a wire. Itll be like a metal plate thingy.