Another Starting Issue
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 579
Likes: 0
From: Denton Texas
Another Starting Issue
I have yet anther question due to a starting issue.
When the car has been sitting for awhile & I turn the key all I get is one click like the battery like the battery doesn't have enough juice to turn the engine over. I turn the ignition off then try again & it fires right up.
What do you think?
When the car has been sitting for awhile & I turn the key all I get is one click like the battery like the battery doesn't have enough juice to turn the engine over. I turn the ignition off then try again & it fires right up.
What do you think?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,564
Likes: 6
From: Woodstock Georgia
Didn't you recently post about a oil leak, with oil leaking down, around, and off the starter? The starter is sealed, so the oil should not affect it, but it can affect the cables, but should not do so this quickly unless there is something else going on down there.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,564
Likes: 6
From: Woodstock Georgia
Hopefully others will chip in with their thoughts. I like the KISS method, so start checking the easy stuff first. Battery cables clean and tight at the battery? Clean at tight at the Starter? Cable ends connected to the cables with no corrosion and tight? Good grounds? Battery voltage good? These are the Keep It Simple Sir (kiss) list. Beyond that you will have to get into some more serious diagnostics.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Measure the battery terminal voltage with the starter held on. During cranking (or even just the click), the voltage should not fall below 9.0 volts or you have a discharged battery (no load battery voltage below 12.0 volts), poor cable connections (remove and clean cable lugs , bolts, and batt terminals. remove neg cable first and reinstall neg cable last), or your battery is at the end of its life. Another possibility is a worn starter solenoid switch. At the end of the starter solenoid stroke, two large copper contacts come together to switch current to the starter motor. These contacts get pitted and burned over time and eventually don't make reliable contact. The fix is to replace the contacts or replace the starter. Its cheaper to take your starter to an auto electrical shop and have them look at the contacts and the solenoid and replace them.
