QuestionI have a 1998 dodge interipd that clicks repeadetly when I try to start the car, seems to be after it rains. I thought that the starter went bad, I replaced it and the problem continues. Any help is greatly appreciated.
thanks
tom
AnswerHi Tom,
I had a very similar question yesterday to which I responded as follows:
"The rapid clicking of the starter solenoid is often a sign of a less than fully charged or less than full cranking voltage-delivering battery. I would check the cable clamps at the battery and the connection of the big red cable at the starter motor (removing the - post battery clamp first, installing it last after checking both ends of the red cable), and also check the grounding strap for the engine (usually on the rear of the block or head) to make sure it is making a good connection there. Then if you have an hygrometer check the specific gravity of the electrolyte in the battery cells and if necessary charge it up. Then see if you still get clicking. If you do, it might be worth replacing the solenoid only before changing out the entire starter motor. I would prefer to keep the factory starter/get it specifically rebuilt then to exchange it out for a rebuild of unknown history."
The part about checking the battery and wiring applies to your situation, but not the part about replacing the starter motor or solenoid because you have already done that.
I can also suggest that you might have a starter relay that is unable to sustain its "closed" position when the battery voltage drops as it tries to crank the engine. You can test this hypothesis by jumping the wires in the socket for that relay that connect (close) when the relay closes to see if the starter will then run without the solenoid clicking out.
The starter relay is #8 in the power distribution box under the hood near the battery. That is the one of four in the front of the box (toward the front of the car) which is next to the one on the driver's side front corner of the box. If you pull the relay from its socket and use a wire to jump between the pin in the front of the socket to the pin at the rear of the socket you should when you make the connection get the starter motor to respond, ideally without clicking. If it continues to click, then I would suspect your battery cannot put out sufficient voltage to maintain the solenoid switch contacts on the starter motor closed at the same time that it is cranking the engine. If the clicking is solved, then I would suspect either the relay is weak, or possibly that the wires from the ignition switch to the coil of the relay and thru to the park/neutral safety switch have a poor connection along that pathway which is compromising the operation of the relay's coil. That could be tested partially by putting the relay back in its socket, attaching a ground wire to the black/light green wire coming out of the relay's socket (which is attached to the pin on the passenger side of the socket), putting the trans in park or neutral for safety sake, and then use the key to start the engine. If it continues to click, then I would question whether there were not excess resistance in the ignition switch or the relay is weak. You could jump 12v from the battery to the yellow wire at the relay socket (which is attached to the pin on the driver side of the relay) and thus by-pass the ignition switch and then if the clicking continued you know that it isn't the ignition switch, and the relay has to be the problem.
So give those idea a try and see what you can conclude.
Roland
