[chuzz]

Have you looked for a burnt fusible link? I'm not sure what you're working on, but since you've done all the other things I would look at, it seems like a broken or burnt wire to me. I don't know if your car even has fusible links, but if so, check them. They burn in half internally, so if you find some, just grab the wire in each hand and pull on it like you're stretching a rubber band. If it's burned in half, the wire will stretch.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

No fusible link on 1990+.

Have you had the battery load-tested? And removed the battery cables and cleaned the clamps and posts? Don't just go by visual appearance. If you hear a click, at least the starter relay is closing.

 

[warlord]

i would think reguardless of the batteries condition the jumpstart should give it what it needed to crank

also when i brought my original starter to the shop it tested fine.

but still something is keeping this starter from actually cranking.


the starter should only have 2 wires right?
the power and the smaller wire and i believe its grounded thru the engine.

but that doesnt explain why it would click but not even attempt to crank not even slowly

 

[hotan80min]

i would think reguardless of the batteries condition the jumpstart should give it what it needed to crank

also when i brought my original starter to the shop it tested fine.

but still something is keeping this starter from actually cranking.


the starter should only have 2 wires right?
the power and the smaller wire and i believe its grounded thru the engine.

but that doesnt explain why it would click but not even attempt to crank not even slowly

I'm not sure about the 1990+ models, but previous years also had a large ground cable going from the battery
to the engine block, if you have that on your model, have you checked its condition? You said you have replaced
the starter (the old one was apparently ok though) and the positive cable from the battery to the starter. The only
thing left I would think is a bad ground to the starter (which it gets from the engine block/transmission). I would
double check that cables condition first. If that's a non issue then you could check the condition of the smaller wire
on the starter by rigging up a temporary wire and feed the starter + power directly to that connection, just be careful
if it's a manual trans and be in neutral, you don't want the car jerking forward if it works. At least that would help you
figure out where the problem actually is.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

i would think reguardless of the batteries condition the jumpstart should give it what it needed to crank

Not necessarily. If the connection between the battery and its cables is compromised by corrosion or loose wires, when you go to jump-start it, your own battery is essentially isolated from the circuit, and you are now using the jumper battery to run its own vehicle and start yours. So, the question remains, did you disconnect both clamps, clean the posts and clamps, and inspect the cables where they connect to the clamps, for corrosion? If not, clean the whole setup. And check the other ends of both positive and negative cables for a good connection.

Do your headlights turn on brightly? If so, observe what happens to them when the key is turned. This will tell you if you are drawing current to the starter or not, when you turn the key.

If you have a shorted cell in your battery, it will drag down the voltage regardless of whether there is a jumper battery. So if the above doesn't work, have your battery load-tested. To do that, it must be fully charged first.