OK guys, really up against it here. I live up here in Massachusetts, and maybe you heard about all of the rain and flooding we have had here in the last week. Well saturday night I went through a couple of pretty deep puddles (about to the top of my tires) and she took it like a champ. About 20 minutes later I stopped to get something to drink and shut the car off. After that nothing...I waited about 2 hrs in the rain for a tow, however when the driver got there she started back up and I drove home. Hasn't run since then. When the key is turned the dash lights come on, but no click or anything. I have tried giving the starter a few whacks to no avail. My problem is this, order a new starter for 200.00 and hope it's that, or have it towed to a garage and spend prob 500.00 which is not an option because I don't have it. So if the consensus here is starter, that's probably the route I'd go. Thx in advance

Also the PNP switch (gear position sensor) is in a fairly low location and could have got wet/damaged. To check, you can select park / neutral back and forth a few times or wiggle the gear selector while it is in one position - assuming your gearbox is an automatic.

Thanks for the good info, Here's where I stand. I had to have it towed to my girlfriends mother's house today, so tomorrow morning I am going to test out the methods you outlined...I am also going try bridging the solenoid/starter like I used to on my old IH Scout. Another interesting thing, while the car was being loaded onto the flatbed, the rear driver's side wheel seemed to be locked, even with the car in neutral. I will report back tmmrw evening. Thanks again

Check for voltage at the starter solenoid while someone tries to start the car. If not present, check for loose/corroded primary connections, bad or soaked main relay, and worn/damaged contacts in ignition switch.

If the lights come on when you turn on the ignition, do they go off while you are trying to run the starter? This should normally happen, to relieve unneeded loads on the battery while the starter runs. If not this would point to ignition switch or relay.

You could also measure the voltage at the battery while someone tries to start the car. The voltage should drop from about 12 (with ignition on, not trying to start) to somewhere between 8 and 10 volts if the starter motor is drawing a normal amount of current. If the voltage drop happens but the starter does not work it is probably locked and needs to be replaced. If no drop, see first paragraph. If the voltage drops to much below 8 volts then your battery is not well enough charged (or the starter has a partial short circuit). Can you get the car to run with a jump start from another car? If so it points to battery and/or charging system.

It might not be related to the water you drove through. But especially if the car can be successfully jump started, check the charging voltage to see if the alternator/regulator got damaged. Maybe you limped home on residual charge in the battery.