[TR] Battery or Starter

[Randall]

> I got the car home with no problem but noticed 
> that the volt
> gauge hovered around 13 instead of it's normal 14+ range 
> during the drive.
> My multi-meter on the battery shows 12.72 volts with the car 
> shut off.

What does it show with it running at fast idle ?  What about engine off and
headlights on ?

> Right
> now it's completely dead when I turn the key. No click click 
> even. I tried
> to jump it with my wife's car and got nothing. Checking the 
> battery while
> turning the key has no impact on the battery reading.

Sounds to me like you have multiple problems going on.  If you were
measuring 12.7 volts at the battery with the key turned to the start
position, then it's obvious the starter is not working.  However it could
easily be a bad connection somewhere rather than the starter itself.
According to Dan's schematic, a 75 TR6 also had a starter relay which could
also be the reason it won't start (or the ignition switch itself).  He also
showed a join near the seatbelt module that might be troublesome.

But that wouldn't explain the appearance of the battery, which sounds
suggestive of a shorted cell.

> Next steps? Suggestions?

I would start (no pun intended) by checking the voltage at the WR wire where
it leaves the starter relay for the starter, while a helper holds the key to
the start position.  If you see 12v here, check again directly at the
starter, both from the terminal that gets the WR wire to the starter
housing, and from the end of the big stud that gets the battery cable to the
housing.  If you still find 12v in both places, the starter/solenoid is bad.
Change it and try again.

Once you get the starter working, you can worry about the
battery/alternator.

Randall