97 explorer is it the starter?

[dciam]

Help My explorer wont start. I was going over to a friends house to get a trailer on the way over there my volt gage didn't show that it was charging very good. but i shut it off anyway well it didn't start up. so i charged the battery on a jump start charger. i thought for sure that the alt went on me. but even jumping it wouldn't get it to turn over. so i left it on a trickle charge over night. yep you guessed it it still didn't start. so now in thinking it maybe the starter. but why would the volt meter drop and show a low charge. is there something else that i'm missing that could be wrong with it. please help if you can

 

[Glen4X4]

I'm not so sure its your starter assuming that your voltage meter is working properly. Are your interior lights or headlights working? If so are they bright? Because even if you did charge the battery they battery could still be too far gone for the charge to stay within the battery. But if the lights are all working fine, next step I would do is make sure you are getting power to the starter by having a voltage meter down at the starter and watching it as someone turns your key.

 

[dciam]

the lights seem to be bright and i tryed to jump the silonoid but couldn't get up in there very good but i did hit the positive cable and heavy sparks flew every where. all i hear is a lowd clicking when i turn the key and sometime the locks will lock and unlock. also the ABS light came on as i was driving over there to

 

[Glen4X4]

sparks would fly too if you hit ground. You could take the starter off and try a bench test, not saying this is safe or anything but what I had done in the past to test is hook the starter up to a batter charger to test it.

 

[dciam]

whats the best way to get it out the diff and exhaust are in the way