My 1995 Suburban K1500 has a shorting issue that drains the battery when left for long enough. I have isolated the problem to the fuseless starter circuit and I am 95% sure that the short is not occuring in the wire from the positive battery terminal. My question is regarding how/whether to test other options.
The lead from the positive battery terminal bolts to the outside of the starter and could be shorting to a grounded part of the starter housing. Is there a way to clean around the lead contact point to rule out this possibility? If so, what solvents should I use? (I already tried using some throttle body cleaner I had sitting around, but I didn't remove the lead.)
There could be a short inside the starter. Is this a reasonable possibility given that the starter works fine when I jump the battery? If the starter seems to be the issue is taking apart the starter and repairing it an option or should I just replace it (new acdelco starter is $100 on Amazon)?
Is there anything else in this circuit that could cause the short?