My car lately has not been wanting to start sometimes. It seems like most of the time, you have to turn the key several times for it to turn over, and all it does is make a clicking sound. Other times, it will start right away. I know the battery is fully charged, I've cleaned the battery posts which weren't dirty at all, and I even tried another starter that I had lying around and it did the same thing. I took the original starter to get it tested, and it tested fine. I know its not the clutch safety switch, thats about two months old. I disconnected the wires going to that switch, and I believe I'm getting a little over 12 volts and about 18 amps. I say believe because I am using a multimeter for the first time and I don't fully trust myself with it. I thought it would be a fusible link at first, but I'm not so sure now. How can I check the fusible links, and the ignition switch? Those are the two things I suspect right now.

 

I lived with that problem for almost a year. I put a new starter in and it still did it. I lived with it for a while longer and I just put another starter in a few day ago. It seems to have done the trick.

I have been using remanufactured starters. This may have been the problem with the replacements I have been using.

 

I have had the same problem. Had the starter tested - fine. New battery and the problem persists, just clicks when I turn the key. Now appears to be running rough and the check engine light comes on occasionally when running rough. It is not lit when I restart. Any thoughts, it is a real pain.

 

I don't think your car running rough is related to it not wanting to start and just clicking. If the engine would turn over when you turned the key, then yes they can be the same problem, but in your case, they seem to me to be separate issues. See what code its throwing, and then try to go from there for the running rough problem. I think theres a tech article on this site on how to do that.

 

maybe you gotta weak fuel pump or really dirty injectors (if fuel injected)

 

Thanks for the info. I will give that a try. Blue, if you get your problem solved please post the solution.

 

I think I am going to drop the steering column and check the current and voltage coming to and coming out of the ignition switch. Maybe that will help. I just need to get some time to do that.

 

Its taken me a while, cause I've been really busy lately, but I finally fixed the probelm. I ended up trying to put in a spare relay i had lying around and taking out the old starter enable relay...nothing. I checked and I had 12+ volts coming from the igntion switch, got the starter tested twice more, and took off and cleaned all the battery cables and the ground to the block...nothinh still. The more I thought about it though...the more I was convinced that the starter was the problem.. I replaced it, and it ended being the problem. Kinda funny how it tested fine so many times, yet it was not.

 

Blue,

Thanks, I will do that. I am sure I am having the same problem. So easy to fix but hard to identify. I will let you know if I have the same results.

Thanks

 

Ok, the new starter seemed to fix the problem, but only temporarily. Every once in a while, it will just click and click and not turn the engine over. Most of the time though, it will start right up. I don't have the slightest clue what do. The starter is new, battery holds a charge, check all the connections, they are all clean and tight. I have 12 volts coming out of the starter enable relay, so that should be fine along with the ignition switch and the clutch safety switch, which is new also. Anyone have any ideas? This is just frustrating.

 

for a year my car would not start when it got hot. Everyone told me it was the starter so i replaced it. Same problem.

What fixed it? A starter. But not an OEM starter....
it appears that our huge OEM starters have a problem with th selenoid getting hot and not being able to kick out the gear.
I installed a high-torque mini-starter AND a heat shield for good measure... NO more problem.

I would like to point out that even with the Remanufactured OEM Starter, I had the same problem, therefore it is NOT an issue with starter wear and tear, it is an issue with starter design flaws.

I would also like to point out that the "clicking" issue was not coming from my stater when i turned the key. It would come from one of the relays under my hood, although it sounded like a starter click it was NOT. the starter would simply not move because of the heat soak.

 

I don't think its a heat soak problem. It doesn't just do it when the car is hot. It will do it cold as much as it does when its hot, so I don't think its a heat soak problem. As far as the clicking goes, I first thought it was the relay making the noise, but I noticed that when you turn the key, you hear the noise in the engine compartment as well. If I put my hand on the block, or the headers, I can feel movement when I hear the click. I think the starter is trying to engage the flywheel, but it can't turn the engine over. Which makes me wonder something now....If the starter needs to be shimmed, would it have a problem engaging the flywheel because it is too close? I have the shims for the starter, but I never did shim it because I couldn't see how I could measure the gap between the teeth on the starter and the teeth on the flywheel without dropping the transmission.

 

Take off, clean and re-install the ground strap to the block (also clean the area the strap touches <i>as well as chase the threads of the bolt hole</i>). Use a tiny dab of antiseize on the base of the bolt and tip of the beginning threads.

 

Blue,

I took your earlier advice and purchased a reman. starter (autoworks) and put it in. I put the old battery back in. Have started it 10-12 times at least with no problem. I had to remove the factory shim. When I initially put it in with the shim it squeeled (sp) the directions tell you what to do with the shim and where to place it. I will let you know how it goes over the next couple of weeks.

 

Update:

I tried shimming the starter by adding one shim at a time, and it got better each time. With the third shim, it went away, or so it seemed. It has started fine every time in the last few days. It has done the clicking thing once out of maybe 40 starts.

 

I have the same problem, but I dont think shimming it is the problem. I think it's a bad power lead or a ground wire that feeds the starter. This is why I think this:

First off, in my car, if the starter wires are disconnected, then the interior will have no power (no power windows, locks, nor interior light). So, when ever I get the clicking, I try rolling down the windows or hitting the lock button on the door and I noticed the windows will go down really really slow and the lock button doesn't have enough strength to fully lock or unlock the door. If I wait a few minutes, sometimes the windows will have full power again and so will the locks. When the accesories are working fine again, the car will fire right up with no problems!!

So, it has to be one of the or more than one of the wires that feed the starter. Probably a bad ground. I still cant find it though!

Anyone, please help!

Thanks,
Mike (1bad91Z)

 

Anyone?

 

91,

Your problem is clearly a bad connetion somewhere. It could even be inside the battery: that's one of the ways batteries fail, is when the post breaks out of the place it's soldered into, or one of the straps that connects from one cell to another breaks its joint.

Put a voltmeter across the battery terminals when it does it. See if the voltage there goes away. If so, it's the battery. If the voltage at the batt is OK, check all the connections in your wiring, starting with the battery cables, including the ground.