whiteforlife

My 2000 mustang wouldnt start this morning. when I try to turn the key to crank the engine and the engine turns over but very slowly once and then stops. I've tried cleaning the battery terminals and jumping it to no avail. I was told it may be the starter. Has anyone else had experience with this issue? I was told this wasnt a complicated fix, is there a guide for it? Or any other trouble shooting I should try before the swap? Any help is appreciated

Update: Tested with a fully charged battery and the car still would not turn on.

Update 2: I pulled out the starter and had it tested. The starter is working.

Update 3: I put in a new starter anyway and the car started right up.

Derf00

A starter is not a complicated fix.

When you tried to jump it, did you give about a minute with the other persons engine holding at 2000RPM before you tried to start it, or did you simply turn the key on your car as soon as they were hooked up?

Reason I ask is a completely dead battery will need a minute or two to get some charge in it. Otherwise there won't be enough juice in it and it will simply bog out. The other persons alternator can't handle a totally wasted battery and an ok battery (theirs). It can handle an ok battery and a weak battery.

whiteforlife

The car I tried to jump it on was idling for a couple minutes before the jump

Daehawk

Rev that car up.

Chromeshadow

If you have a voltmeter, put it on the battery posts (not the connectors) and you should have 9 V or higher when you are cranking the engine over. (12V or higher with nothing running) If you don't have a meter-turn the head lights on when the key is off, they should be nice and bright. When you try to crank the engine over, they should dim them-but they should still be lit. If you can't get the lights to turn on with normal brightness after you've charged the battery- or have it jumped to another car for 5-10 minutes, the battery has probably lost one cell and will only chage to 10V, making it hard to jump start.
If you can update us we'll give you more things to check. btw, always clean the battery posts and any cables that look corroded.

whiteforlife

I appreciate everyones input I tried all you suggested with no luck. I ended up taking the battery to autozone and they charged it and checked it and told me the battery is perfectly fine. I put the fully charged battery in and tried to start it with no luck. So I don't think its the alternator. Im leaning more towards starter

PNYXPRESS

Pull the starter and hook the battery charger directly to it. Negative on one of the bolt "ears" and the just touch the positive to the power wire tab. If it kicks the drive out and spins with force then you have a grounding issue. If it has a problem kicking the drive gear out its a starter issue.

whiteforlife

I pulled out the starter (That top bolt was tricky) got it tested and it works. What should I check next?

PNYXPRESS

Power to the starter. Look for a loose or frayed wire

whiteforlife

I ordered a new starter online before I knew if that was the problem or not. I decided to put the new one in anyway. I installed it, turned the key, and it started right up. I guess the guy who tested it was wrong. Thanks for all your help guys.