I'm not sure if I should consider myself lucky or not.
I purchased a new (remanufactured Bosch) starter, bolts, intake gaskets, and went to work this past Saturday tearing things down. I got to the point where I was ready to pull the starter, but then decided to put the remote starter switch on and see what happens.
When pressing the button on the remote switch the plunger would come out, but the starter motor itself would not turn over. I tried a few times, same result each time, however on my final try I heard an electrical crackling noise coming from somewhere else. I looked down and saw a small puff of grey smoke coming from down in the engine bay. Further investigation found it was coming from where the ground strap connects to the left engine mount. Interesting. I decided to remove the ground strap and clean the ends of it and the spots on the car where it connects.
Upon removal of the ground strap I found the center of the strap entirely frayed, discolored, and the whole thing could have been pulled apart with gentle force had I tried to. I'm going to guess they could be the original cause of my starter issue. I'm only 200 miles shy of 100k miles so I'll still go ahead and replace the starter at the same time.
