i don'T BELIEVE THAT i CHECKED THE VOLTAGE AT THE SOLENOID...I did check it at the battery itself though. I will check the voltage at the solenoid and get back to you on that though. You don't understand the bench testing that I am doing, so here it is:
using my jumper cables, I hook the red and black on one end to the battery; on the other end, the black needs to be hooked to the solenoid/starter, I then touch the red to the small terminal on the solenoid( the terminal that the white/brown wire from the relay would hook to) and the starter/solenoid engages. However, When I said I connected the ground to the car body, I meant that I took the black jumper cable that would have been attached to the negative battery terminal and attached it to the car instead to get my ground. I figured that if I could get my ground off of the car than that would mean that the car has a good ground on it.
The spark I get is when I touch the possitive wire to the solenoid terminal that the white/brown wire would attach to from the relay. however, this spark is sometimes big and sometimes small. even when using a screwdriver to hotwire the solenioid by connecting the hot lead to the terminal on the solenoid, the spark varies in size, though, I always get a spark.
I have attached the jumper cable to the solenoid body and the negative battery terminal to establish a direct ground, just as I would If i were bench testing it. However, When it is attached to the engine, It doesn't seem to help. It works on the bench, but not on the engine. that's why this problem seems so wierd.
I will try your voltmeter tests and get back to you again.
thanks,
joel
1976 MGB with a 1977 engine