Ok.....I went out to eat this evening and when I got ready to leave, my 240 (auto trans, well maintained, w/less than 120,000 miles) wouldn't crank. Everything had been working fine until this evening. I've never had any starter or battery problems in the (almost) 3 years I've owned this one. The dash lights, fan and radio came on so it didn't seem like the battery was dead. I tried to shift into neutral..nothing. Back to park....nothing. I could hear a click (like a relay click) behind the dash when in the crank position but I haven't looked into what is clicking. I decided it must be bad brushes in the starter so I tried to tap on the starter with my lug wrench while a friend turned the switch..... nothing. I couldn't feel the starter solenoid clicking so I checked and excercised the small wire on the solenoid that comes from the ign. switch. Still nothing. Finally, I just pulled the small wire off the solenoid and with my lug wrench I shorted the big pos. cable connection on the starter motor to the small wire solenoid connection and it cranked up. I got it home and verified that there is no 12v+ at the solenoid when in the crank position. I do have a Bentley manual that has some good information and schematics but a while back it got knocked off an overloaded shop cart and fell right into a container of used motor oil. I didn't realize it had happened until several days later and by then it was saturated with oil.

My experience with the 240 is extensive (79 245 wagon owned for 5yrs/75,000 mi, 85 240 wagon for 7yrs/145,000 mi and now this 91 for almost 3yrs/32,000 mi) and I've always performed every bit of maintenance myself with the exception of tires, alignments and a/c refrigerant recovery/refill.

Is there any common issues with the later 240 starter circuits That I should know about. I'm all ears at this point.

Any help is greatly appreciated.