intermittent problem - car starter dead, no start

[32VALVS]

I fought the hot no start (with solenoid click) condition in my '92 this spring.

I had a solid "click" from the solenoid and assumed it must be the battery, it was weak after winter storage. That didn't fix it and left me bump starting in the grocery store parking lot.

New contacts fixed it for a few days. Then back to the clicking no-start.

Hmm...pulled the plenum and put in a new starter. Thought maybe the windings were shorted when hot.

Same problem, stranded at a friend's house until it cooled.

Jumped the wires at the clutch switch and have not had another issue all summer.

The switch measured 0.5 ohms resistance. That's equivalent to 300 feet of 12 AWG copper wire!

The switch had enough voltage/current drop that it actuated the solenoid with enough force to click, but not enough force for the contacts to pass the battery current needed to turn the hot starter.