Odd starting problem

New oil pan gasket is BIG, BIG JOB! Not for the faint of heart and read about it MANY TIMES before you try to jump in to that one!

Yeah James - that is what I hear and read....
Will try and get some feedback at SITM and then get some quotes. Believe me, I would not be doing it.....and I know I will pay for that statement. I have a couple of local options that so far have been reasonable with the minor stuff like 69.00 for a correctly done 4 wheel alignment without raising the car ( they have a pit ). So we will see... but I think it needs to be done. Especially to help identify what else is slowly dripping.

Looks like the final (I hope) piece of the puzzle has been identified!
I have uploaded a pic of the offender. Please look at the center of the picture and specifically at the rubber jacketed connector on the left. It is coming out of the smaller orange tube along with another wire.

Whatever this connector is will stop your Shark from starting! And it will seem like you are not getting enough juice to turn the starter. You will hear your starter disengage but nothing else will happen.

I pulled off the jacket and there is a spade connector in the jacket-side. There is a male spade held on to the post by a washer and nut. It was loose as a goose. I tightened it pretty good then put the connector jacket back on and VAROOOM...I was back in business. As you can see it is right next to the oil drain plug. I am guessing it somehow completes the circuit from the starter to the alternator maybe?

My expert friends - Can anyone identify what this particular connection is? Didn't seem to see it in the workshop books. I did not thoroughly clean both sides yet, but it is better than it was and I will schedule that for an afternoon soon.

* UPDATE*
After a couple of no-starts and comments from mechanics, looks like this is a connection to the oil sending unit. It goes in one side and out the other. No oil sensed = no start maybe. But once that was fixed, it still happened. Looks like now it may be either a relay or the 14 pin connector on the passenger side near the front, specifically the yellow wire that goes to the starter. (thanks Wally P!)

Attached files [img]media/attachments/5097=585-IMG_0130-2.jpg[/img]

Is that wire on the back of the alternator?

That is what I am thinking Brad. I believe the alternator is forward of that but I am not sure what the cylindrical thing is these 2 wires are attached to. I also sent the pic to my friend that works on it from time to time. Let's see if anyone else can identify. I think it is the alternator but what this particular wire is doing am I am not sure.

Minor update - based on how it acted when I took it to SITM (see the off to SITM post under Good Morning) it is starting to sound like either a relay or fuse or maybe the yellow wire in Wally Ps No start troubleshooting doc. (Thanks Wally!)

By the way it stopped after I washed it today (after I went to town in it), let it sit and it started again, pulled it in and started checking per the no start guide.

Replaced Fuse 13 with a new one (fuel pump and others). I did not have a spare relay, I am going to order some tonight. So I used D-oxit and a pencil to clean the contacts on relay XiV - Starter-auto and relay XVII - fuel pump. Both were a little dirty starting to blacken/darken up near the middle and tops of the spades, but not too bad I guess, not sure. I did not see that bubbly kind of corrosion. Made sure it still started after my work and left it there for now. I will drive it tonight and just monitor the situation. If it still appears random I will replace the relays and check the yellow wire in Wally's guide. I can't really see how to open the box to the
fourteen-pin connector on the right front fender. I don't want to break it. Will have to do some research.

M