Not Starting! Options

[n47pt]

Sigh.

I got back in the car after lunch yesterday, turned the ignition key, and heard a single click. My first thought was the battery but a jump left me with a single click. Must be the starter then... Nope. Three starters later I'm still getting a single click.

Battery voltage is 12.53 and drops to 11.5 when I try to start the car.

If I'm hearing the solenoid from the starter and can feel the click, is the issue down to the 4 gauge wire?

I've read: http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...&hl=starter but I'm still scratching my head.

[199celica]

Not to make a bad experience worse but try to put a socket on the crank pulley in neutral I worked on a jetta last week doing the same thing ended up being that the engine was seized.

[n47pt]

did you try hitting the starter at all with a mallet?

I hit the original starter; it didn't help. The two new ones shouldn't have needed to be hit.

i know this sounds dumb but put it in neutral, try pushing it about 2 to 3 feet and start it. i had a 94 gt automatic and sometimes it wouldnt start i would have to push it (guess for the neutral safety switch to kick in) and it would start.

It only got moved to get on the tow truck. I'll try to move it even though I don't understand what changes. How often did it do that and how did you resolve the problem? New switch?

Not to make a bad experience worse but try to put a socket on the crank pulley in neutral I worked on a jetta last week doing the same thing ended up being that the engine was seized.

While I'd love to know the cause of the problem, I sure hope you're wrong. My friend suggested the same since I did an oil change less then 300 miles ago; the oil level right where it was and the engine didn't have any issues (although I had to change the timing belt due to a bad tensioner 300 miles ago). If it was anything timing belt related, it would at least crank. I could understand a failure to start if it cranked but the one click is leaving me confused.

I appreciate all the help and know someone will suggest the right course of action; at this point, I'm wiling to try options I don't want to hear... including a seized engine.

***If I hear the solenoid click, does it mean that this part of the starter is working correctly and that the rest is not engaging for other reason although it's getting the right voltage? What are the odds my battery is bad although the voltage is only dropping to 11.5 when I'm engaging the ignition and still not starting when hooked up on a charger? I believe the battery is good but don't want to continue to rely on that if it's possible it's a bad battery***