Chevrolet Repair: starter, chevrolet 4x4, alternater

Question
Van,  I have a 1994 1500 Chevrolet 4x4 single cab short bed pickup truck. When I try to start it, either the selenoid or the starter gives one big loud click and does nothing. If I keep trying, it might eventually start if i'm lucky. The kicker is it only acts up in the winter or long spans of rainy days. I can go all summer long without a problem. I did buy a brand new battery and just replaced the alternater recently, but that did not help. The truck has no other major problems with 140,000 miles and has been loyal to me till now. Any ideas?  Thanks for all your help!

Ben

Answer
Hi Ben,
To the best of my knowledge, the armature of a 94 still used bushings for bearings, and if it has never had the starter replaced, I would think 140,000 is plenty to ask of an orriginal starter.
You can have it load tested while still on the truck, most parts houses will check it for free.
The winter part is understandable, cause a cold engine is a lot harder to crank over.

Another problem they have, assuming the bearings are fine, is the solenoid.
That thing slams a copper washer up against two contacts, and after a few thousand of those high amperage arcing events, the contacts get pitted and worn, and just need replaced.
One way to check that is to kinda smack the starter with a hammer handle while someone is trying to start the truck, but that doesn't always work, and even if it does, you still need to work on it.

A volt meter connected to the starter can help isolate exactly where the problem is, but those starters are very hard to get to with meter leads.
But if you think your starter and solenoid should be in good shape, I would want to connect to the small terminal on the solenoid that comes from the ignition switch, and make sure a full 12 volts is getting there. If not, the solenoid may not fully engage.
You can also use a screwdriver to jump battery voltage from the large battery terminal, to that small terminal, and see if it works that way. If it does, or if the voltage is low there, you need to check wire connections through the firewall, the ignition switch, and the neutral safety switch.

If you decide to try that jumping technique, be SURE the transmission is not in gear, since starting it that way bypasses all safety features, and the vehicle could start in gear, and cause serious injury or death.

But if it is making a good loud click, I really suspect the starter needs to be replaced.

Van