Starter problem?

[dwjack]

I drove to work yesterday and when I came out the truck was dead. The starter would click like a dead battery. Tried jumping it and it still wouldn't turn over. It was -35 out so I decided to just tow it home and put it in the garage to let it thaw out.

Today I was trying to figure out what was wrong with it. I put a charger on the battery and within 10 minutes it said it was fully charged. With the key on when I turned the heater, headlights and stereo on they would barely run just like a dead battery. I swapped out the battery with a good one and same thing.

I determined that I had 12 volts going to the starter but the wire to start it would only throw 1 or 2 volts when you tried. I had 12 volts everywhere else I checked and couldn't figure it out. I was playing with things and was turning the key and holding it and thought I could hear something in the engine making a hissing noise. I did this a few times and then all of a sudden the starter turned over and it fired up. I restarted it 10 or so times and it worked every time.

Now I'm mad because I didn't fix anything and who knows if my truck will do this again. I was thinking that possibly it could have been a dead spot on the starter but I don't think that would have made the accessories inside barely work like a dead battery. And why was it only throwing 2 volts to the starter?

Anybody have something like this happen before or any ideas?