Signs Of A Bad Starter

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LadyDeath

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A modern starter is composed of two primary parts: the primary motor that turns your crankshaft and starts your engine, and the solenoid that simultaneously engages the starter's drive gear and closes the main motor's hefty electrical contacts. Built for ruggedness and durability, starter motors and solenoids don't typically fail outright. Instead, most modes of starter failure will trigger a number of symptoms that range from somewhat-indicative to almost-definitive


1. Attempt to start the car, and pay attention to the lights in your instrument panel and interior. Electric motors, supplied with a certain voltage, will always try to spin at a given speed. If the motor's internal wiring develops an internal short -- one wire connects to another inside -- the wiring will draw more amperage from the electrical system than it otherwise would. This will draw energy from the rest of the system, most noticeably, the lights.


2. Listen for a chugging sound while cranking. While a certain amount of chug is normal, particularly at low cranking speed, a chug accompanied by dimming and brightening lights may indicate a mechanical failure in the motor's bearings. If this is the case, you may be able to get by for a while by hitting your starter with a hammer from underneath in order to break the starter shaft loose. But, probably not.


3. Listen for the solenoid click. Starter solenoids typically let off a very noticeable click when they engage; this is the sound of the gear drive engaging and the electrical contact closing. If you hear a click, you can all but rule out the solenoid as a mode of failure. A series of rapid clicks indicates a solenoid rapidly engaging and disengaging. Most of the time, this indicates a lack of power from the battery, but it can indicate a problem with the solenoid.


4. Listen for grinding and freewheeling. A grinding noise indicates that the starter's drive gear isn't disengaging from the flywheel's gear teeth, or isn't engaging the flywheel completely. Along with or separate from grinding, you may hear a whirring after starting that sounds something like an electric motor or jet engine. The starter's drive gear has a free-wheeler in it that keeps your engine from over-running the starter motor and driving it like a generator. The whirring you hear is the sound of the gear failing to disengage, which may indicate a bad return spring or solenoid.


5. Have your battery tested. There's no sense checking the voltage yourself; even a completely fried battery can exhibit near-normal voltage while not cranking, and you have no way of knowing exactly what the voltage drop should be while cranking. The simple route here is to remove the battery (if necessary) and have it tested at your local auto parts retailer. But, even if you have a bad battery, don't assume that's the sole cause. A starter with chronic high-amperage draw can drive the last nail into an old battery's coffin, and kill a new one. Simply replacing the battery may solve the problem for a while, but a bad starter will eventually kill the new one, too.
 
my starter needs repair.....my mechanic told me to go to my electrician an he will fix it up....my car is not starting.....no noise an no indication...but as u say its the electrical....so its bein confirm what u said tks
 
Make sure and go by a trusted Electrician or Mechanic..Once they see women, they think you all don't know better and start bussing price !
 
Well i am glad to see such thing, the basic thing is to get an idea to the maximum which is quite a appreciable term in it.
The way you have talked of it would help so many people to grow with their knowledge.
 
Sometimes I call before to get a price and then let my wife go and tell her what to look out for. When they try to buss price she just say "but you told my husband so and so over the phone just this morning". If they start their answer with "Yeah but..." she knows just to tell him that she will talk it over with me and leave without giving him business and I know never to go back there again once I can avoid it.
 
Sometimes I call before to get a price and then let my wife go and tell her what to look out for. When they try to buss price she just say "but you told my husband so and so over the phone just this morning". If they start their answer with "Yeah but..." she knows just to tell him that she will talk it over with me and leave without giving him business and I know never to go back there again once I can avoid it.

Dude is all of them in this thing. Sometimes they quote you a price or say they have something over the phone. You make the effort to go down there, they doh have any or the price is not really what they call. Sometimes I does wonder if they actually look at things before giving answers over the phone.

Also, you right, that is smart man behaviour and unfortunately a lot of them engage in it. I try to stick to reputable places that have been around for years, plenty of these type of shop owners/sellers try to rip you off big time and misguide you into buying things you don't need or things that can't even work to begin with.
 
Lolzzz. Like to see them try that with my sister. I thought her a lot. She would tell her hussy what's wrong most of the times.
 
Lolzzz. Like to see them try that with my sister. I thought her a lot. She would tell her hussy what's wrong most of the times.

Some of them so badly off they wouldn't even care if you tell them no. lol.
 
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