all of a sudden, will not start

have you checked to see if you are getting juice to the starter?

I have the same problem with my 1988 Corvette. I have installed the bypass switch and even added an indicator light to confirm power to solenoid terminal on starter. I only get a solenoid click. No armature spin. This is the second rebuild starter in one year. Car has just over 80,000 miles. Checked battery, 12.3 volts.

What is the small red twelve gauge wire for, that is also on the battery terminal on the starter?

Any one got any ideas?

if you hear the solenoid clicking then it is getting voltage from the ignition. check to make sure you are getting voltage from the battery. if you are then the problem is in the starter. sometimes the brushes get dirty and do not make contact with the armature. bench test the starter. the brushes can be cleaned and replaced if needed. it is somewhat hard if one does not know how to do it.

I understand about cleaning armature and brushes. The first re-manufactured starter (2006) worked great for the first six months, then this problem appeared. I assumed that I had purchased a defective starter. Just two weeks ago, I installed the second re-manufactured starter and it worked until yesterday and the same old problem.

I am starting to wonder if I am missing a ground strap from the engine back to the battery?

What is that red twelve gauge wire that is connected on the same terminal as the battery main cable?

check for corrosion on the negative side of the battery and follow it down to the engine block, the red wire twelve gauge is the charging wire it runs from the alternator and when running charges the battery. on newer cars they are connected near the battery itself. when you had put a starter in the car it started all right for a while then the problem happened and with changing starters it stopped for a while, that tends me to believe it is in the starter.

Thanks for the information.

I will check grounds first, (at this point even considering adding a dedicated ground from one of the starter mounting bolts to the negative terminal on the battery). I will also check voltage on armature terminal to see if it is the same as the battery.

I am not that experienced with re-manufactured parts, is the defective rate that high, that I got two defective starter/solenoid units?

With all the work involved getting the starter out of the car (flat backing it) I am thinking if this starter needs to be changed again, I should start looking for a new part.

you can get a new starter, but i would have the starter on the car checked to see if there is anything wrong with it. If you have a electrical shop any where around have the starter checked for voltage draw. some engines if they have been worked on (beefed up) might have to have a high torque starter. the high torque starter givers out more power to turn the engine over better.

Thanks for the information.
As far as I know this is a stock L98 engine.
I am going to do the ground wire first and evaluate results.
If car does not start, then I will try bumping starter housing with a rubber hammer, if there is something wrong with the brushes, I have seen in the past, that this would confirm poor contact. I understand that this style of starter may have porcelain guides and that bumping housing is not recommended, but at this point I am afraid to take the car anywhere or worse be stuck in traffic. so I will try all tests to define and correct this problem.

If I wanted to install a new higher torque starter, (just for piece of mind), how would I go about finding one (NAPA, a speed shop, Midstate Corvette, Ecklars)?

M_J_ here is the update on this issue.
The ground wire (adding) had no effect.
So I ruled out poor grounding.

But, after bumping the starter armature housing with a rubber hammer, when I turned the key, the car started right up.

So, I will be removing this starter and taking it back to the parts store for the next contestant.

Thank you for helping me getting this weekend toy back on the road.

You can buy a high torque starter at a number of places. They are expensive. looked up one in JC Whitney and they wanted $250.00. You can go online to Summit racing and see what they have. Glad you found the problem. :D :D