Hi, I have a 2006 volvo s40. The car doesn't start. I can hear the click on the starter but it wont crank. I replace the starter and the battery. I was able to get the car started by jumping directly a wire from the battery into the battery cable connector on the starter while my daughter turned the key on. I think that eliminated the ignition switch and from my elimination process. I have read tons of threads but always the same answer: battery and starter are the answer to my problem. At this point I don't know what can be causing the problem, any ideas? Oh, by the way, do you think a vida/dice or even the vxdiag nano could detect the problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

sounds like a cable issue. When you turn the key and hear a click, that tells me the solenoid is getting a signal to start but the main power cable doesn't provide the volts and amps required to spin the motor. Assume when you ran a cable you were bypassing the main battery to starter cable/fuse set up. You'd need to check but I think the S40 has the short battery cable set up with the fuse that could need replacing.

 

Yes, it does sound like the cable supplying the power to the starter (big red cable) is bad. Replace it, and your problem will be solved (other than the problem of having spent a lot of money on a battery and starter). Really, starter problems are fairly easy to troubleshoot if you have two people and a voltmeter. You just figure out where the voltage goes away, and there's your problem. In this case, you'd see voltage at the battery end of the cable, and none at the starter end of the same cable (under load), so you'd know that cable is bad.

I'm not certain about the configuration of that particular cable, but most auto parts stores have a selection of generic "lug to lug" cables that might work (and would cost less than the Volvo dealer parts option).