The starter on my 86 IROC, LG4/T5 just quit, so I bought a High-torque Mini starter. I got it all hooked up, and when I turn the key, nothing. The Temp Gauge goes all the way up past hot, but nothing happens. The battery is new with a fresh trickle charge. The lights work, horn works, radio works, but it won't crank. I thought when things get power, they're usually warm, so I grabbed onto the starter solenoid and it burnt me pretty badly. I disconnected the battery, let it cool off, and did the jumper cable test, which it passed. I have the purple ignition wire in the right spot, and the two fusible link cables on the "hot" stud of the starter with the + battery cable. Am I doing this wrong?

I spent the day on a 20 minute job and haven't done anything. I'm a little frustrated.

 

What exactly is the jumper cable test? Battery cable and power cables with fusible links all go on the main stud on the solenoid. The ppl wire goes on the S terminal of the solenoid. If this is how you have it connected then probably a bad starter. When you energize the solenoid by turning the key to start, it pulls in the main contact inside the solenoid which makes a connection between the battery connection on the main stud and the field connection of the starter. Power is supplied to the field coils and the armature (through the brushes) from the field connection. The starter then turns. If you apply power to the field connection directly from the battery, the starter should spin. Is that what you mean by jumper cable test? If you do this and the starter runs then the solenoid is bad/shorted. HTH!

 

The jumper cable test is the hot wire on the hot stud, and Neg on the negative stud. Then, bridge the ignition terminal to the hot and the starter spins. That's the "hillbilly" method anyway.

So just to be clear I got a bad starter? I'd be super pissed because I have no idea where the box or receipt is.

EDIT: this makes no sense why the solenoid would be hot enough to cook on. I had everything hooked up as you described.