luckythirteen13

went to start my car the other night and like always, it died right after i fired it up. it wont idle when cold. started it again and fired right up but died. went to start the 3rd time and nothing, wouldnt crank over at all. starter solinoid made a very loud buzzing sound so i figured it went bad. got a new solinoid and tried to start it, nothing. assuming it was the battery, i took it to kragen for a test/charge. they said the battery was good but low so they charged it. put it in the car and tried to start it. still wont crank over but now the solinoid makes a very very loud clicking sound. imagine a stun gun but louder and deeper and thats what it sounds like. what happened? is it my starter? id really like to not replace it if its not it cause im not sure if i can get to it from below and if i cant, the entire turbo kit on that side of the motor will have to come out (from header to tail pipe) and would like to avoid that.

if it is the starter, will a starter from a sn-95 work cause my buddy has a totalled 95 cobra in his garage and said i could have his starter.

also should mention my g/f said she thought she saw a small puff of smoke come from the solinoid (the first one) but she wasnt sure. i couldnt see any wires that looked burnt in the area nor could i smell anything burning

if its not the starter, what?

19stang88

every time you hear that buzzing noise from the starter, its because the battery could be drained again from trying to crank the engine over and over again.

mattdel

repetitive clicking from the solenoid indicates the starter is locked up tight. take it out and see if it'll spin with a charger hooked to it.

rmodel65

yes you can use the minio started off of the 95 just gotta do a little different wiring to the selonoid etc to hook it up

Shelty

try tapping the starter with a hammer if you can reach it, you may just be seized up... used to work on my old buick till the starter gear snapped off on the 2nd starter (2 of 4 in that POS)

how often do you drive your car?

Tony71502

Yes, you can remove the starter from below IIRC. Just gotta add one wire if you want to use the mini starters. They save weight, too. Like 3-4 lbs.

89stangbanga

My 89 gt had the same exact problem your describing. Yours could be a little different though. Check fusible links to your alternator and starter, also check battery cable connections. I ended up changing the solenoid, starter, battery cables, and nothing. Same problems i was having. Then i changed the battery clamp from a really expensive one i had one there, to a normal clamp, and the problem never happened again. Make sure the terminals are nice and clean also. Trust me i struggled with this problem for the longest time before i figured it out.

89stangbanga

Also, the lights will dim and the rpms will shoot up real high, and then settle down log again right? Then when you turn the key to off position, then to on position the lights will be brighter again?

luckythirteen13

well i got some good advice on how to test the starter. basically take all the other factors out of the equation. i disconnected the wire going to the starter from the solenoid and hooked it to a jumper cable. i then hooked the ground jumper cable to my block. when i touched the jumper cable to the battery the starter make a clunk and that was it, pulled the cable away and the starter made a soft ping. did that 4 or 5 times and got the same result each time. ill try shelty's advice and give the starter a wack. at this point i cant make it worse. if that helps, great, if not, new starter time.

where is the best place to get a starter? kragen wants too much for a stocker, summit wants the same price for a 100amp starter (not sure how that compares to stock), ebay has them for $60 everywhere but a little nervous despite the sellers having good feedback. not sure where to buy one. dont want to go to the junk yard. i have some time to think since i cant have it running in 2 days so no racing this week. and i work next thursday so no racing next week. and i just learned ive been launching my car all wrong so i was really looked forward to a new personal best and some decent 60' times this week

primetime5.0

just get one from the parts store so when it breaks again you can just return it for another.. vatozone/napa has them for around 126$