Will not start, truck will click once when trying to start?

2000 FORD RANGER
285,000 MILES • 3.0L • 6 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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BCMULLEN95
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I have replaced the battery, starter, and ignition switch. I have a 12.7-v battery, 12.7v from battery cable to starter. The signal switch will drop to 10.5v when attempting to start. I am not sure why the truck won’t start. When attempting to crank I hear 1 click from the starter, it seems like the starter is not engaging to start the truck. The engine does rotate by hand.
Mar 30, 2023 at 1:33 PM
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STRAILER
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This sounds like you have a defective starter, to confirm the issue use a test light on both the main power feed and the trigger wires if they both maintain close to 12 volts the starter is bad, here is a guide to help you I have included the starter wiring diagrams below. Also, there is a starter relay I would swap out to see what happens.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/starter-not-working-repair

Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.
Mar 31, 2023 at 1:09 AM
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BCMULLEN95
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I replaced the starter with a new starter, not remanufactured, swapped the relay and I still have just the one click at the starter. I am stumped by this. I have battery voltage at the starter and 10.5v from the signal wire when attempting to start the truck. Any other things I may need to check. I can manually rotate the engine. Everything in the truck lights up. New ignition switch. Anything else I can check.
Apr 9, 2023 at 12:04 AM
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STRAILER
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You should have 12 volts at the trigger wire. As you can see from the wiring diagram. I would use a jumper wire to trigger the starter solenoid to confirm the starter and main batter cables are not the problem. please let me know what happens.
Apr 10, 2023 at 7:22 AM
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BCMULLEN95
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When you mention trigger wire are you referring to the wire from the ignition switch? I have 12v from the signal wire from the ignition switch wire, then when someone tries to start the truck, it drops to 10.5v. I have 12v from the battery to the starter. I will attempt the jumper wire and test resistance in both the positive and ground cables.
Apr 10, 2023 at 10:04 AM
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STRAILER
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The trigger wire to the starter solenoid. Run a jumper to see if the engine cranks over, please.
Apr 11, 2023 at 4:09 AM
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