intermittent starting problem =(
 

*sigh*.. my car has an intermittent problem, where you turn the key to start, and all you hear is the solenoid click, and the fuel pump... i turn back to off, and try again. Usually it starts on the second try, but today for the first time ever, i had to try many times. I rolled the car a bit will in gear to turn the motor over a bit, and it started on the first atttempt.

Is it my starter motor? could it be a bad ground connection?

Could be the motor, the solenoid or the ground. It's possible it's the flywheel, but I'd check the others first.

but since i hear the solenoid click, doesn't that mean its fine?

No, sometimes the drive does not engage the flywheel. It can get balked by hardened , old grease and can be cleaned and relubed. In my car, w/ 170000 mi, I decided to put in a new high torque one.

Clean your ground and battery connections. connections at the chassis ground to starter should be cleaned, also.

I was measuring voltage at the starter when an assistant turned the key (when I was experiencing a similar problem). I realized that the voltage dropped to 1.5 V at the large positive terminal on the solenoid with a strong battery. The ground strap (chassis to starter or bellhousing) was completely corroded and not capable of properly carrying current. I bought a new one, cleaned the connections and everything has been 100% since.

Hope that helps.

Doug