Hello, so my wife’s car(1994 Nissan Sentra) has had an intermittent starting issue. The car sometimes just wont crank at all. One relay clicks when the key is turnt but no other noises. This comes and goes but really only seems to be an issue when it’s cold. I’ve tested the starter and it checks out. New battery, changed the neutral safety switch and cable, As well as the inhibitor relay. Now here’s the weird catch. I can run a jump wire from the positive terminal to the pin that completes the circuit on the relay and the car will start right up no issue as long as the key is in the on position. I’m at a loss right now and just am getting tired of having to look like I’m stealing the old beater everytime it has this issue in public. Any further troubleshooting procedures would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
If the place where you are jumping from the positive terminal to the stater cable is a separate device, it’s a starter solenoid and you could easily need a new one. I looked at www.rockauto.com and found 4 that look like separate compnents, and look just like a starter solenoids to me.
Before I did that the only other choice would be to remove and clean the ends of the cables at the battery, at the solenoid, and at the connection to the starter.
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You want to make sure the relay coil is powered when turning the key. A Noid light or better yet, a voltage meter would help diagnose it. You can buy cheap meters at the parts store for well under $20…