Bad starter or bad connection?
 

battery shows over 12.5 volts but engine wont crank....
Every now and then it wont crank over, I just get a loud buzzing sound. The lights are bright and the battery starts my other cars. I cleaned the battery terminals on the battery, the cable connectors, the ground where it bolts to the car and I cleaned the positive cable connector at the starter. Have I overlooked something or is it time to order a starter?

it sounds like you have done everything. the only other thing you could do is have the battery load tested, but if it starts other cars, it is likely ok.

check to make sure you are getting 12v to the yellow wire on the solenoid.

the solenoid may be the problem. the contacts get worn and burned inside and you dont get a good connection. you can rebuild the solenoid and get some more life out of it for free. or you could buy a new one or just a whole new starter.

to rebuild the solendoid, basically you remove the end with the lugs, pull the lugs out, clean them, roatate them 180 degrees ( so the unused portion contacts the solenoid contact) and put it all back together. you also have to clean and rotate the contact on the solenoid. the hard part about the whole thing is de-soldering the 2 wires that stick out the end of the solenoid so the 2 studs can be removed. BTW, the solenoid does not have to come off to do this.

i am planning on doing a "how to" on this with pics when i get one that needs to be done.

Check the ground strap on the front of the trans. to the body.
My starter would work most times but once in awhile would act like the battery was dead.
Cleaned the grounds and all has been well since.

ground strap redo for sure.........had a friend who experienced the same thing.

OTHERWISE, bet it's the solenoid (as suggested).

Best,

Doyle

I ran into the same problem a couple of months ago. Buzzing sound but no cranking. I thought it was heat soak as it did start right up after sitting for a couple of hours.

I the starter tested at 2 different local shops who told me it was ok. My battery was in good shape as well. I took it to a third shop that does only sterters and alternators. They told me it was fine but it did have some wear on the nose cone bushing and one brush was looking shabby. $65.00 later I had a rebuilt starter.:)

The guy there told me that I needed to check my ground connections as that was most likely my problem to begin with.I cleaned all of the cables to the battery and the starter as well as the ground strap which, honestly, still looked almost new.

I have not had a problem since that day and I have driven the car in much hotter temps.

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a similar problem and had some related questions. My sitch is that over the last 2 years, I have had an intermittent no crank, mostly noticeable after a hard drive, with the somewhat typical retart after things cooled off. But it might go a few months without another no crank condition. Well, then the trip back from South Dakota, up came the evil probelm again. Had to push start the car the last 2 weeks anytime I drove it. So tonight I read this thread and decided it was time to make time to look at this more closely.

I put it up on stands and pulled the wheel. Did the 12vdc check on the yellow wire and it was good. I was reserved to putting everything back together and planning to replace the starter/solenoid tomorrow (rebuilt one on my shelf waiting). I thought I would give it a good whack with a large wood dowel via dead blow. I think I heard a click with the hit. Turned the key and she cranked!. Put it all together and drove home. On the way. I stopped afer 15 minutes of driving, then restarted after exiting store. No problem. Then I needed to get gas, and you guessed it, no crank. So my question is this:

Do you think rebuilding my solenoid as T77911S started to describe above would help my sitch, or should I just go ahead and replace the whole thing now and get this whole unit rebuilt?

Thanks,
Shane

Shane-if it's the original starter or if you don't know it's history, get it rebuilt or at least opened up and looked over. An alternator shop can tell you it's condition.

I was looking at the Tilton mini-starter as a replacement but I did not need it.

I had the same problem last summer. The intermittent no-start would drive me nuts and people don't take pity on someone driving a 911 who needs a push start. I replaced the ground strap and when that didn't fix the problem I put in a new starter. Haven't had a problem since.

I had the problem but is was only with a heat soak. Local driving never caused it. I replaced the starter with a rebuilt Bosch unit 3 years ago and I have had no more problems. This is not unique to Bosch starters. My Chevy El Camino just had the same no start when hot starter problem.