Serving the Gainesville and Hawthorne Florida Area
Auto, Car, Truck Starter Repair
In cars with manual transmissions you can turn the ignition switch on, roll down a hill, release the clutch in gear, and the engine will start just fine, even if the starter was removed from the car! (Top fuel drag racers don't have starters on their cars: they use an external starter that is held against the supercharger pulley then removed when the engine starts.)
NOTE: BAD STARTER SYMPTOMS ARE VERY CLOSE TO BAD BATTERY SYMPTOMS AND BAD ALTERNATOR SYMPTOMS You MUST have a fully charged battery for your starter to operate properly. The ALTERNATOR keeps your battery charged.
If your lights are bright with the engine off, but they get really dim when you turn the engine over with the starter, and the engine turns over very slowly, you may have a starter problem. If freshly cleaned battery terminals get hot along with the entire battery cable (positive and negative) you probably have a bad starter.
A starter doing this has worn out brushes, bushings, or shorted windings or commutator. It need a complete rebuild or replacement.
This starter is probably worn out also. There could be a wiring problem, anything from the key switch to any number of safety interlocks and antitheft devices, but most of the time it's the starter. On starters with the solenoid on top (GM, most others) the solenoid grounds through the starter brushes, so when the brushes make bad contact you get the "silent treatment" when you turn the key. The small wire going to the starter solenoid shouild get 12 volts or so when the key is turned to "start". If 12 volts is there and there is no action, then the starter is probably bad.
A CUTE TRICK
Often you can tap on the rear of a starter that does NOTHING: (that is, you turn the key and get only silence: no rr-rrr-rr sound) and make it start one more time. Use a regular hammer, and tap lightly on the side of the starter towards the rear.while an assistant holds the key in the "start" position. Very often the starter will spin the engine over one more time.
What happens is the brushes wear out in the starter, making a bad electric contact. Tapping on the back of the starter with a hammer jars the brushes back in place, where they'll make contact one more time.
DON'T BE SORRY! USE THE FREE START TO GO GET IT FIXED!
After you do this the car may actually start a few more times, but IT WILL FAIL AGAIN! FIX IT!
I've had cheap brands of solenoids do this out nof the box, so make sure to get a name brand solenoid when replacing one. Also make sure the ground is good where the solenoid bolts down: free of rust and bolted down tightly.
So cars use a solenoid, switching the large starter current with a small current from the ignition switch.
On some cars the solenoid is on the starter. Others (Fords, mostly) have an external solenoid , usually on the fender or radiator core support. On all cars the starter solenoid is at the other end of the large positive battery cable.
If you get multiple rapid clicks when you turn the ignition key to "START" you probably don't have a bad starter. You probably have either a dead battery, or a bad battery terminal or connection.
click here for some pictures and diagrams of car and truck starters
A
ABS: Anti-Lock Brake Systems
ADVANCE: Car ignition timing
ALTERNATORS and Car Battery
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS
B
BAD CAR DESIGNS
Bad Drivers: How NOT to drive
BATTERIES: Auto, Car or Truck
BELTS AND HOSES
BEARINGS
BODY AND BUMPER REPAIRS
BRAKE REPAIRS: Car or Truck
C
Car Washing and Care
CARBURETORS:Car & Truck
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT
CLEANING: Engine Cleaning
CLUTCH REPAIRS: Car & Truck
COMPRESSION: Car Engine
COMPUTER CAR CONTROLS
CV JOINT OR CV AXLES
D
DISTRIBUTORS (IGNITION)
E
ELECTRIC WIRING REPAIR
ENGINES: Car & Truck
ENGINE CLEANING
EXPANSION PLUGS
F
FILTERS: OIL, AIR, ETC.
FREEZE PLUGS
FUEL AIR MIXTURE
FUEL INJECTION: Car & Truck
FUEL PUMPS: Car & Truck
G
GAGES AND "IDIOT LIGHTS"
GASKETS AND SEALS
GLASS: WINDOWS AND WINDSHIELDS
H
HEADS & HEAD GASKET
HOSES AND BELTS
I
"IDIOT LIGHTS" AND GAGES
IGNITION TIMING: Car & Truck
J
AUTO JACKS: lifting cars safely
K
L
LEAN "Car runs lean"
LIGHTS: WARNING OR "IDIOT LIGHTS"
Limp Home Mode
M
MIL Light
MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS
N
NO START: Car Won't Start
O
OIL CHANGES
OIL: What's right for your car?
OIL LIGHT ON OR GAGE LOW
P
PCV Valve
Q
R
RADIATORS: Car and Truck
RICH: Car runs rich
S
SEALS AND GASKETS
SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT
SPARK PLUGS
STARTERS: Auto, Truck
T
THERMOSTATS
TIMING: IGNITION TIMING
TIMING BELT & TIMING CHAIN
TIRE REPAIR
TRANSMISSIONS: AUTOMATIC
TRANSMISSIONS: MANUAL
U
V
VACUUM ADVANCE
WARNING LIGHTS OR "IDIOT LIGHTS"
Car Washing and Care
W
WATER PUMP REPAIR
WINDOWS AND WINDSHIELDS
WIRING REPAIR
X
Y
Z
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