And the results are in:
Battery stayed up, went from 12.4 down to 11.9 and stopped.
From Neg battery post to neg on starter, from 0 to 11.something
From Pos battery post to pos on starter, Stayed at 0
An open in the negative cable, what exactly does that mean, and what do I do about it.
Replace the negative cable from battery to wherever it may end?

 

Starter is probably not bad. It doesn't get any voltage, that's why it doesn't work. There is a bad connection somewhere else on the car.

 

Yes there is an open in the negative cable. Usually it is right at the battery post because the terminal is not secure. You can narrow down by measuring the voltage across each connection. Start from the - lead post to the terminal clamp. The cable goes down and connects to the frame of the car then it goes over and connects to the transmission. This last connection is what returns the power from the starter. Again, test across each connection under load and see if there is a voltage, which means a bad connection.

 

I'm on it, I'll let you know what I find.

Thanks

 

Zero at clamp on post, zero at body connection, and .0something at engine connection. Pulled whole ground and will replace with better or new in the morning. All connections were solid. Not sure if that mattered.

 

Put new cable on, and still same symptoms.

 

It could be that the bracket the cable attaches to is rusted and / or loose and not in good electrical contact with the transmission itself.

The voltage is being lost somewhere, need to check each little part of the circuit.

 

Moved from trans. bracket to exhaust manifold on clean bolt/nut, and still getting .01 on volts. Each little part of the circuit? Do you mean at the clamp and body and transmission connections? Sorry for not understanding. One time last night it did crank ever so briefly. Could it be the solenoid, or the starter? You said if while jumping to small terminal on solenoid from pos. on battery and measuring the voltage at the pos. starter terminal, and neg. solenoid terminal, if there was voltage, but did not turn, that was an indicator of a bad starter. I did measure it and it started at 12.47volts and went down to .3 which is still volts, or did you mean constant 12 or 11 volts.
I really appreciate all the help your giving me with this.

 

Negative on the starter is the frame ground. The other large terminal on the solenoid, that leads to a wire that goes inside the starter, is not negative or ground. It is power for the motor. If you have power there (relative to starter ground) and the starter is not turning, (and the engine is not seized), you have a bad starter.

 

That's what I'm talking about. Like thinking the other terminal on the solenoid was the ground. When looking at the pdf of the starter system I thought that it showed the one that went from solenoid to starter was labeled "M" which on a previous page was the ground. Anyway, I took the starter in and got a new one, and it started right up. I guess if I had owned this car for some time I might have noticed the starter giving some indications of going out. Story of my life, always making things harder than they actually are. I would like to tell you thanks for your time, but that seems so petty. I am so thankful for this forum and members like you who give help.