ok about a year and a half or two years ago my car caught fire in the school parking lot and i had to take it to my local mechanic who put a new starter on it along with some shotty wiring to fix what he fire screwed up. the problem: ever since ive had it occasionally when i turn the key (totally randomlly too) it will just click but not eben attempt to turn over. after a few tries and/or some time or sometimes after tapping on the starter it fires right up like there were no problems. my question: whats the problem? could it be the starter itself, a crappy install job, or an electrical problem?

thanks in advance

 

I still say you need a new starter motor. Especially with your future plans.

 

defenitly, im was looking at the mini high torque ones but im just curious as to why it does that sometimes. i almost got stranded at work last night because of it!!!!

 

I know how to rebuild starters, and used to be when they were more expensive to buy rebuilt than they are now, that's what I'd do rather than replace them. But, eventually I'd come across one that did what yours does; and I could rebuild it myself, and it wouldn't fix it.

So I asked a friend of mine, who owned a large rebuilder of starters and alternators and such, what caused that. His reply was something to the effect of "I can't tell you that, because if I did, you'd never have to buy another starter again." I have since found out what it is; and in all honesty, it's something I'm not set up to fix anyway, at least not very easily, so I still have to buy starters. Except now I can buy a rebuilt one for about the same price as the parts to do the rebuild myself would cost, and I don't have to spend my time monkeying around with the starter internals.

Buy another starter and move on.

 

well that just pisses me off........its done it ever since he put it on and it was supposed to be brand new, well im glad i know he likes to rip people off.....now that im done venting. thanks to this site i now know how to do all of that stuff and wont have to worry about a mechanic anymore.

btw...whats the secret RB?

 

The armature rubs against the pole pieces. It needs bushings.

When it does it, whap it with a tire tool or something while somebody else holds the key in Start..... if it starts by doing that, it's almost certainly that problem.

 

ok...wonder why he gave me a bad one o well anyway i think it was you that said something bad about the mini starters? if it was you what would be the downfall to them, if not then forget this post

 

No, that wasn't me, sorry..... I have one on my 83 in fact, and I rather like it. Mine is a CVR, which is one of the ones made from a Nippondenso motor. Some of the others are made from a Hitachi motor.