Paul :
I'll echo the other replies, and say that it sounds like either a bad
battery, or a bad connection somewhere (perhaps in the ground from the
battery to the engine block).
The rapid clicks are caused by the voltage going too low to hold the
solenoid in when the starter gets into the circuit. The solenoid
releases, the starter is no longer in the circuit, the voltage rises
high enough to engage the solenoid, and the cycle repeats.
Jump-starting a car with an open battery is considerably more difficult
than with a healthy, but discharged battery. If the battery has failed
by going shorted, it may be impossible.
The symptoms you describe _could_ be caused by a bad (shorted) starter
in combination with other marginal components (battery, cables,
connections), but I would expect to see smoke from the cables in that
case !
Randall
Paul Mitchell wrote:
>
> Help! Trying to start my PI TR6 produces just clicks, which seem to come
> from the solenoid / starter. If I turn on the ignition, I get a series
> of fast clicks - 3 or 4 a second(?). The battery is OK - I've tried jump
> starting it to no avail - and the normal tricks of rocking it in gear or
> tapping the starter with a hammer don't work.
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