Re: 2006 F40 Tiller (Did not want to start)
A starter that fails to spin the engine is due to 1) battery not fully charged, 2) bad battery cable connections, 3) bad battery cable connections, 4) bad battery cable connections, 5) bad solenoid or 6) bad starter, in that order of probability. You said you checked for fuel and battery issues. How did you do that? Battery cable connections are solved by disconnecting, cleaning (as in make them shiny clean) and firmly reconnect. That means both ends of the cables -- not just the battery end. Charge the battery. When fully charged, put a voltmeter on the battery and turn the key to start. If the voltage drops below 10.5 volts have the battery load tested. It is likely headed for battery heaven. With a "kinown good battery" and "known good" cables, the next step is to isolate the solenoid. Use jumper cables and go directly to the starter. If the starter spins, you have a bad solenoid. Yes -- the ignition switch which activates the solenoid may be the issue but it is very low on the list. That can be eliminated by using a short piece of wire and jumping from the large battery cable to the small terminal (the one from the ignition switch). If that fails to spin the starter, replace the solenoid.
