I may have a bad starter. Is there a way to bypass?

Have you tried to bypass starter and see if the engine turns over ? Might also want to check if there is power to the starter. If you have power to the starter and bypass it and it does not turn over, you may have a bad starter.
Do you have a fuel or starter relay ? If yes, check it.

not recommended ..... take a live feed from the plus side of battery to the live side of solenoid be careful

Kind of hard to bypass the starter, it's what turns your motor over. You'd have to push-start it.
More likely it's a solenoid or simple bad wire.

Hi Frank , what make vehicle ? Do you have any warning lights lit on the dash , SECURITY maybe ? Check engine light ? Did you check to see if there is battery voltage at the starter solenoid ? Did you check if there is A starter relay ?

There is a starter solenoid located on the right inner fender well. If you bypass this by jumping from battery voltage to starter lead on solenoid and starter engages then the solenoid is bad . common problem

With the FC3S platform you first need to make sure the battery and wiring are good. If the lights dim when using the starter there is an excessive draw which would indicate a bad starter. if there is clicking or no clicking at the starter voltage needs to be checked going to solenoid. If starter works by bypassing the solenoid, it is a bad solenoid.

This clicking is due to one of several possible parts. The Starter relay will click if the Battery is low or has a dirty connection. The Starter relay will click if the relay has burned components inside and is the weak link between the Battery and the Starter.

A bad or Grounded-out Starter will ruin a Starter relay by melting its' contact points and then the Starter relay will make the noise you describe.

A smaller Relay in the fuse panel (Ignition Relay) may be keeping the small wires to your Starter Relay from working.

Start out by cleaning the Battery cables for the battery. If not fixed, have someone bypass the Starter Relay after you disconnect the small wires going to that Relay. When bypassed the Starter should turn and if the Key is turned on the RUN position, the engine should start. Be careful to have a stick-shift in Neutral or an Automatic in Park.

If the Starter does not turn when the Starter relay is bypassed, then the starter is bad. If the Battery is bad, then the Starter will not turn either. Check the Battery before condemning the Starter.

If your starter has 2 or more small wires on it you may have switched the terminals. If you have a separate starter relay you can bypass the relay with a jumper cable and send 12 volts to the starters only main cable. It should crank, have it in Park (Auto) or Neutral (stick shift). If the starter does not crank bypassed then the only thing missing is a good ground. Use a pair of jumper cables and try grounding the starter case and connect the cable to a good ground. With the gauges dancing usually a bad ground is the reason, so the jumper cables will help with that problem too, at least for test reasons.

If you had the old starter tested, then you know it was the first problem. But if the old starter was not tested your problem could be a bad starter relay, an ignition switch,or finally a bad ground. Check the grounding of the remote starter relay, check for a plug-in connector off the end of the steering column for corrosion.

Battery terminal connection clean?
Starter selenoid clicking? - if not, wire from battery has a bad connection. If yes, starter has bad connection.
Try bypassing the starter relay (selenoid) with a jumper cable... does it turn over? If yes, replace the relay, if no, check the starter. A junkyard replacement should be a cheap fix.

A solenoid is attached to the starter. You can bypass it with a crappy screwdriver. Just remember it will ruin the screwdriver. Just short across the big wire from the battery to the smallest wire on the starter. Should be rather close together. This will confirm that you need a starter. I'm a mechanic and I drive a 91 Grand Am so I can walk you through whatever repair or bypass you can think of.
Calvin