I replaced the Solenoid. I can jump the car off from another car’s chargfed battery using jumper cables OR if I charge my battery on a charged battery for awhile, I can jump it from the fender solenoid near the batter. But if I turn the engine off and trry to start it again, I get nothing (no clicking from starter). Hint: When I crank the car using one of the above methods and turn my lights on, the key chimes/dinger comes on and won’t go off. I believe either i need a new switch or there may be a short in the ignition wires … How do i tell whether I have a switch problem and if so, how can i tell if its the switch or a short in the wiring?
The car involved in the above question from me (hazznomad) is a 94 ford tempo. Thanks … Hazz
Test the battery.
Most likely the batter or maybe one or more wires to the battery. You did not tell us what car or how old the battery is, but I would guess the battery is about five or six years old and needs to be replaced.
Most auto part stores will do a free battery test and they tend to be accurate and honest. You might want to get the charging system checked at the same time if possible (a bad battery can make a charging system check a problem.
Connect a test light to the solenoid terminal with the small wire (red/blue if I remember correctly) and try to start it. If the light does not illuminate then odds are you have a faulty neutral safety switch (auto transmission) or a faulty ignition switch.
If it’s an automatic transmission try shifting into neutral and attempting a restart. If it starts then odds are the neutral switch is faulty.
If not, the ignition switch could be bad. The switches are plastic and the heater blower motor circuit is run through the switch with no relay. Over time the high current draw of the blower (even higher as the motor ages) can overheat the switch and cause either erratic operation or a total failure.