Anytime you here a "click", then
nothing while trying to start, check to see if ANY of the lights light up...headlights, turn sigs, etc. If nothing lights up, you have a battery connection issue, either at the battery itself, at the starter, or a ground issue. Since this seems to happen while hot, I would be looking at the starter connections first.
That "click" is the starter solenoid trying to engage....this pulls a LOT of amperage. If there is a bad/loose connection anywhere, the high amp draw will kill whatever small connection there was at that connection, and then you get nothing. High amps also causes high heat at the "bad" connection....once it cools back down, it might make a good connection next time you attempt to start, might not. A bad starter solenoid might keep it from cranking, but it wouldn't kill the entire electrical system. A bad ignition switch will not keep the headlights from working, either, but a bad connection at the batt or starter will. If you have good lights, but no crank/start, then you can check the gin switch and stuff, but remember there are also several "fuse links" in the system that can pop at any time.
Before going thru the hassle of changing the ign switch, I would first put a voltmeter/multimeter on the "S" terminal on the solenoid, then turn the key to "Start"(clutch pedal DOWN). If you see battery voltage on that terminal, the ign switch is working. Hit the key several times to make sure it works consistently, and if it does, you can move on to check other things. If no voltage at the S terminal, check the clutch switch next, and then the ign switch. ALL of these tests need battery voltage to work to begin with, so make sure your batt connections are solid FIRST.
|UPDATED|8/28/2016 8:47:08 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|
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Joel Adams
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