Hey help me out on this one please. I got a free meerkat 50 from my brother and it was deemed unrepairable after someone put in a battery in reverse. Now it only clicks at the solenoid but no start.

Here is what I have done so far,
checked battery voltage (12+volts)
Checked voltage at positive connection to solenoid to ground (12+volts)
Checked starter switch, kill switch, all good with continuity tester.
I can jump the starter via the opposite solenoid terminal and ground and it turns the engine over
I have spark.
I bench tested starter, works great.
I get nothing when I use a screwdriver to jump the solenoid terminals?
I get 12+volts at the starter switch harness plug when I hit the button as well.
I also pulled the tether kill switch off and it's continuity was very spotty but pulling it off didn't fix it either. I tried putting its two wires together and disconnected and I was still able to achieve spark with it disconnected.

I am at a loss and I think it's a bad solenoid but wouldn't it have started when I did the screwdriver trick?

I really do not want to tear into the wiring harness.
Any pointers?

 

Either an intermittent starter problem, or a bad earth. I always test starter circuits with a test lamp, meters show volts, lamps show power. Put a test lamp between the starter positive and earth, if the lamp lights brightly when the button is pressed but the starter doesn't turn, the starter is faulty. If not, try the lamp between battery neg and the starter positive, if the lamp then glows, you have a bad earth.

 

I will try that once I get a chance. I'm thinking it's going to show I have a bad ground.

 

Got it! Turned out to be a bad connection at the battery terminal eyelet. Replaced that at the positive side and voila! Starter is cranking, now onto fueling it up and seeing if she fires. She probably will since spark looks good.
Thanks for your help!