Hi all,

I was sitting here thinking about stuff related to starting my van and
I want to see how deep my understanding of the workings of this
process is. Naturally, I haven't consulted my trusty manual yet . . .
:)

A little background: Some time ago, I was having this problem wherein
I would start my van, drive for a bit, then it wouldn't start. I
discovered this fragile little wire with a spade lug connector that
attached to the starter was very loose and kept falling off. This
connector is extremely hard to get to, but I managed to get some
needle-nose pliers on it, tighten it up, and get it to stay on the
starter.

Now, my computer support training had me thinking about how I've seen
other starters wired. It seems that most have a big fat red wire with
a round, flat connector that fits over a stud on the starter and a big
nut that tightens it down so there's a big, cleanable contact surface
that ensures good contact.

Then I started thinking about all the conversations I've read about
here about how the ignition switch is forced to handle the job that
should be handled by relays, i.e., a small amount of current trips a
relay which makes contacts that kick on a larger amount of current to
trigger something else. Okay, I may be stupiding this up a bit.

In any event, I'm noticing that my van periodically has issues wherein
I turn the key and the starter kicks over weakly. Can somebody
enlighten me as to how this works? Is there a starter relay or is the
ignition switch basically sacrificing itself in that role? Am I
completely not understanding this process? What's the deal with that
tiny little wire and lame spade connector that can make it so my van
absolutely will not start if it, rather easily, pops loose?

I'm very much interested in creating a super strong connection between
turning the key and that starter jumping into action and heartily
turning the engine over every time, assuming the battery's not very
weak. Is this a pipe dream or is this something somebody else already
has the ideal solution for?

So, I'll claim stupid on this in the hopes that maybe somebody else,
or even myself, can learn a valuable lesson from the smack-downs I
expect to receive about this. :)

So having fun getting back to working on my van!
Marc Perdue