2000 LS won't start

Hi. I haven't found the exact symptoms I'm experiencing on this site,
so I'm posting my own question.
My 2000 Saturn LS won't start. The battery appears to be fine. The
lights are bright, the stereo is loud. But when I turn the key I just
hear a single click sound in the engine compartment, on the right side
near the windshield if you're facing the car head on. There is no
"cranking" sound whatsoever. It doesn't sound like it's trying to start
at all. I have the clutch in all the way (it's a manual), but maybe the
car doesn't know this.
Any thoughts?

 

You may have a bad starter solenoid which would explain the click.
Larry

 

Have you tried getting a jump from another vehicle, you know using jumper
cables? Will it start with a jump? If you leave the dome-lite on and turn
the key to start, is there any reaction from the dome-lite, stays the
same, goes out?

 

There is a smaller gage wire that comes off your + battery post and goes
to your starter. If it isnt making a good contact everything but your
starter will work.

 

Thanks for all the good ideas. In the mean time I called a local
mechanic. He said the battery had gotten bad enough that it could not
turn over the starter even though it could pass on enough electricity
to operate the lights, radio, etc. I tested 12 volts with my volt
meter. The guy I talked to said I needed a load reader in order to
test the battery correctly, that my volt meter wasn't good enough.
Because the battery was bad (couldn't generate enough load), I couldn't
even jump it (as the battery needs to be good to jump a car because the
jumper juice goes through the old battery?). I followed his advise and
got a new battery and the car started right up.