You guys slay me with all the nomenclatures you- put on the sounds you are hearing when an engine is not starting, Clicking, buzzing, whirring. etc. Bottom line is to start with the original source of the power and that is the battery.

 

eh, just a little more info in the original post would go along way.

even a simple "motor does not spin, all I get is a <insert funky sound> when the key is in the start position.

gonna guess connections along the line somewhere, but there could be a shorter route to the culprit - knowing a little more before we start armchair diagnosing

I get it constantly over the phone, all day now. A typical call ends with me just asking the customer to bring the vehicle to the shop and let me put my hands on it. I could literaly sit at the phone for hours on end trying to diagnose issues that more times than not, have nothing to do with that the customer is talking about.

I know it's a little different here, where most of the issues are simple ( in relation to year specific and 40+ yr old tech ) and can in most cases be pointed in the right direction with a few questions answered.

Cheers.

 

I just put the battery on the charger and it looks like you guys were right, it was really low. I'm also probably going to buy a new starter tomorrow because they're not that expensive, mine's pretty messed up, and I'm guessing that they're pretty easy to replace. Also going to buy a new + Battery wire because mine is pretty coroded (sp?). It's not rusty or dirty but I was able to pull it off with my bare hands when the nut was completely tightened.

 

If you've a charger, let the battery charge over night and then carry it to a local parts house to let them load test it. If it pasts, there's no need to replace it.

I know it sounds like an easy fix, and ability wise it is. But there's no need in putting money into parts that are not bad. If you're getting the bendix to spin, you're atleast getting "some" voltage to the starter, which suggests that there's either a loss of voltage going to the starter or the starter itself is not operating right.

****** the starter out and take it with you when you go have the battery tested. IF nothing else, they can bench test the starer and see how it acts under a 12+ volt load. If both checks out, then your problem lies in getting 12 volts to the starter. Which is "alot" cheaper than a battery or starter.

Cheers.

 

I'm not planning on getting the Battery tested. It's two months old and I think it died because I was stupid and left the door open which obviously kept the dome light on. Justtaking the starter. Obviously I don't want to waste money on parts I don't need but I think it's also kind of nice for $50 to clean up the engine bay and have less to worry about going bad.

 

I do not understand replacing a starter that checks out good. Once removed it will be easy to clean up and touch up the paint, but heck, it's your money....

But if you do decide to replace the starter be sure to compare the length of the "snout" between yours and its replacement. There is a difference between starters for automatics and manual transmission cars. The problem is there has been a lot of chatter on the internet that the parts computers are screwed up and starters are being sold for the wrong application.

 

As Glen says the nomenclatures are problems. What one person says in description of an issue can have a totally different meaning to the reader. Thus both parties need to come to a common understanding of what is actually happening.

An example of this would be that I wanted to ask the OP whether the engine was turning over or not turning over. To me, "the engine turning over" means that the starter is turning the engine, to other posters it means that the engine turns, but does not fire. (Whether right or wrong)

IMO, the answer that Glen gave the OP simply oversteps this communication issue and goes straight to theproblem in astep by step,clear, and methodical manner, likely to help the poster in both a time conscious and financial conscious manner. In other words, I think the answerbypassed all of the BS and offered the OP a very concise direction to get his car running asap.

 

Ihave to agree with this, there is nothing saying that the starter you have in the car now won't outlast a "new" one. Starters and such are funny that way.

It sounds to me as if the bulk of your issue might be the corrosion of the cables. You might be better off spending your money here, depending on the condition of the cables of course.

 

I left my glove box open for a while and my battery died charged her up works a treat, now I have a trickle charge as somtimes I don't drive her as often asI would like. I see no reason to replace the starter motor, IMO.

 

Okay forgive me, it was really late last night. I didn't mean that I wanted a new starter (at least not unless I find out it's bad), I meant a new solenoid. There's one at Summit which doesn't overheat and it has an "engine bump system" so that I can start it from the Engine compartment. Does anyone have one of these?