Battery and starter both checked good at auto parts store. Also has 11.6v between solenoid cable and negative side of battery. Any ideas?

 

Low voltage from the starter trigger wire?

 

check it with a volt meter came up with 12.4 volts

 

No mention of engine, you should always include that when asking for help with your problems. It helps to know what you are working on as some engines and models have different problems.

Having your battery and starter checked was a good idea but most of the time it's just a connection and or wiring issue.

The voltage checks you did were a good idea but you didn't take it far enough. If you didn't stress the system things will always look ok unless somethings really really wrong. You need put the system under a load to see what percentage of the voltage is actually getting to the part when it's demanding power. This is called voltage drop testing.

Voltage drop testing will tell you how much voltage the starter is getting when you are trying to use it. It'll take two people if you don't have clamps and a remote starter button.

Here is an explanation. I know the video is long but please watch it till the end so you understand it.

Diagnosis and Understanding- Voltage Drop - YouTube


Always start with cleaning up your ground connections just because it's so easy and requires very little money and time. Do not trust your eyes, clean the damn things!

There's a great thread over at yotatech with pictures that shows you where all of the ground wires are located on the 89-94 22re model 22re ground wire locations - the guide!!! - YotaTech Forums

Even if you have a V6 cleaning the grounds still applies.


1. Go to the store and purchase a small brass bristle brush and a tube of dielectric grease.

2. Dealing with one connection at a time, unbolt the connector and use the brush to clean the area the connector makes contact with until it shines.

3. Clean the ground wires connector with the wire brush until it's absolutely clean.
(The idea here is to have fresh shiny metal to metal contact for maximum voltage transfer between the connector and whatever it's connected to.
If there's a ground that is bolted to paint or rust you'll of course need to remove the rust or paint to get good metal to metal contact.)

4. Apply a thin film of dielectric grease to the connector and whatever it's getting connected to then put it back together.

Dielectric grease will HELP keep corrosion away but it won't stop it. You'll eventually need to clean the grounds again. That's just the way it is because of the environment your dealing with.


An argument can be mad about keeping silicone grease off of electrical connections because it is an insulator.
I've never seen it make a connection worse unless gobs and gobs of it were used and the sealing properties it provides on some electrical connections is proven over and over again, especially on the battery Positive and Negative wires and all other grounding points. It only takes a thin film to work good. Dielectric Grease vs Conductive Grease