short in starter

[jon g]

on my 2000 3.0 ranger replaced starter,and it worked fine for a week. started to hear a pop noise and at the same time the radio would go off,and then come back on.battery was completly dead the next time i tried to start it. took the battery posts off and slow charged the battery. hooked the positive cable up, and when i touched the negative to the post the motor turned over (no key in ignition). tried it again with my son turning on the key and it made a quick attempt to turn over then nothing. where should i start looking for short or bad wires or ? thanks for any help

 

[Uncle Gump]

Try tapping the starter relay with the handle end of a screwdriver a few times... sounds like the relay is stuck.