dwadia
06-25-2011, 01:24 PM
Please excuse the long description below, i'm just trying to be thorough. But if you want a short version, the battery is charged yet the starter sometimes still does not turn, especially after it has been recently driven. The starter has just been rebuilt but the problem persists... now the long version...
My s15 SR swap has been in for about 3 years (although only a few thousand miles) and generally speaking, it's been reliable. A year and a half ago i was having a lot of starter issues (first one was dying, tried 2 replacements with no luck until finally a 3rd worked out), but since then it's been working fine consistently... until now. Not sure if this can be a related underlying issue or a separate problem.
A couple weeks ago after i parked for about 30 minutes i came back, turned the key... and nothing. The electrical system seemed to be working fine, battery was fully charged, but the starter did not turn. I tried multiple times and the starter was as if it had been disconnected. I tried tapping on the solenoid and then turning the key again, but still no luck. A mechanic-friend told me by phone how to make the starter turn by touching the little blade-terminal on the solenoid to the big terminal with the power wire with a screwdriver (or whatever) so i did it, and the starter worked and cranked very strongly. But, i tried this 4-5 times and the car did not start!!! It was as though there was no spark, or fuel, or some other factor keeping it from starting.
Hours later, my friend came to help me, we were going to push-start it. But he first told me to get in and turn the key while he tapped on the solenoid, and it worked right away like nothing was wrong! He told me if the tapping got it to start, the solenoid is bad, and to go get it replaced/rebuilt.
I had it rebuilt a couple days later. The guy swears the solenoid was GOOD but says he replaced it anyway (i am skeptical, i think it might be the same). He said the problem was a bushing at the end of the starter (outer end) and that it should now work fine. But, a day later, the problem was back. I wound up stuck somewhere and having to jump (push) start the car, which made it start right up.
An extra bit of info... my friend explained that when the solenoid starts to go bad, it can be caused not to work by heat, hence failure to start after driving. But this doesn't quite make sense because both times i got stuck, after i eventually got home and shut it down, i tried to start it again and it started!
Before i go chew the guy's head off who rebuilt it, i want to know what ALL the possible problems could be, as well as the likelihood of them being the guilty culprit, and if you know, how to check them or rule them out. Thanks.
My s15 SR swap has been in for about 3 years (although only a few thousand miles) and generally speaking, it's been reliable. A year and a half ago i was having a lot of starter issues (first one was dying, tried 2 replacements with no luck until finally a 3rd worked out), but since then it's been working fine consistently... until now. Not sure if this can be a related underlying issue or a separate problem.
A couple weeks ago after i parked for about 30 minutes i came back, turned the key... and nothing. The electrical system seemed to be working fine, battery was fully charged, but the starter did not turn. I tried multiple times and the starter was as if it had been disconnected. I tried tapping on the solenoid and then turning the key again, but still no luck. A mechanic-friend told me by phone how to make the starter turn by touching the little blade-terminal on the solenoid to the big terminal with the power wire with a screwdriver (or whatever) so i did it, and the starter worked and cranked very strongly. But, i tried this 4-5 times and the car did not start!!! It was as though there was no spark, or fuel, or some other factor keeping it from starting.
Hours later, my friend came to help me, we were going to push-start it. But he first told me to get in and turn the key while he tapped on the solenoid, and it worked right away like nothing was wrong! He told me if the tapping got it to start, the solenoid is bad, and to go get it replaced/rebuilt.
I had it rebuilt a couple days later. The guy swears the solenoid was GOOD but says he replaced it anyway (i am skeptical, i think it might be the same). He said the problem was a bushing at the end of the starter (outer end) and that it should now work fine. But, a day later, the problem was back. I wound up stuck somewhere and having to jump (push) start the car, which made it start right up.
An extra bit of info... my friend explained that when the solenoid starts to go bad, it can be caused not to work by heat, hence failure to start after driving. But this doesn't quite make sense because both times i got stuck, after i eventually got home and shut it down, i tried to start it again and it started!
Before i go chew the guy's head off who rebuilt it, i want to know what ALL the possible problems could be, as well as the likelihood of them being the guilty culprit, and if you know, how to check them or rule them out. Thanks.