My friend has a 90 Toyota Pickup .. The other day he went to start it and all it did was click - So he took the starter out and took it down to Auto Zone. They checked it and confirmed that the solenoid was bad. He bought a new one and installed it. Now, when he goes to turn it over, it doesn't do anything. The only way for him to start it is by going to the starter relay under the hood and hits the relay with a screw driver. Then it will start right up. Obviously the engine isn't getting spark, but where exactly should he start looking? I figure this should be a pretty no brainer for you guys... I just really don't know anything about engine electrical so I figured I would hit you up.

Thanks in advance ~

 

Sounds like the solenoid is bad. The screwdriver trick is used to bypass a bad solenoid...

 

so Auto Zone sold him a "bunk" starter then??

 

its not uncommon to get a bad part from autozone

 

Yeah, but he said he has to hit the relay with a screwdriver, not the starter. Try a new relay. How dirty are the terminals on his battery? How old/burnt are the ends of the cables where they attach to the terminals? Those can also cause a similar problem, but tapping the relay wouldn't solve it.