Intermittent no-crank with a single rather loud clunk from the starter each time you turned the ignition switch to "crank" used to be a real common problem with the little silver Nippensenso starters but you have a Bosch starter with a separate solenoid on top. They don't have as many problems but I'd still start with the solenoid as the main suspect. Measure the voltage on the large battery cable terminal on the starter. I prefer to use a clip lead on the positive meter lead so I don't have to hang onto it. You will find full battery voltage there. Watch what happens to that voltage when a helper tries to crank the engine. It is normal for it to drop to around 10 - 11 volts during cranking, but if it drops close to 0 volts when it doesn't crank, there's a bad connection on that cable. If it stays near 12 volts when it doesn't crank, have the helper keep the ignition switch in the "crank" position, then measure the voltage on the other large terminal on the starter. If that one is real low while the first one is high, the solenoid has worn contacts. That problem will get progressively worse over a few months.
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Friday, May 24th, 2013 AT 8:39 PM
