3 Common Automotive Starter Problems And How To fix ?

Winter is coming,cold weather is one of the worst times to have problems getting your Ford or Chevy started.Is that possible your starter that won’t crank over or it’s spinning but not engaging flywheel ? Have you ever experienced these problems and do you know how to fix ?
Here are the resolutions to 3 common automotive starter problems and hope it can help you troubleshoot them.

Problem: Starter won’t engage

If your starter won't engage, you need to troubleshoot the starter to determine if it is the battery, ignition, starter motor or starter solenoid that's causing the problem.

Solution:

Step One: Place the red lead of a multimeter onto the positive battery terminal. Place the black lead of the multimeter onto the negative battery terminal then set the multimeter to 20 DC. Inspect the meter for the voltage output. If the reading is less than 12 volts, charge the battery and attempt to start the vehicle again. If the starter still does not kick in, move on to the next step.

Step Two: Turn on the headlights of your Ford then turn the key in the ignition. If the headlights dim, the ignition switch is sending power to the starter. In this case, move to the next step. If the lights do not dim, the ignition switch is likely defective.

Step Three: Locate the starter solenoid under the your car(The solenoid bolts to the starter motor, and the starter motor bolts to the side of the transmission housing)then place a screwdriver across the two metal contacts on the back of the starter solenoid. This will short out the solenoid and create a connection between the starter motor and the solenoid. Have an assistant turn the key in the ignition. The Ford's engine will not start. However, the starter motor should turn on and begin to hum. If it does, the solenoid is defective and cannot produce enough power to kick in the starter gear. If the starter motor does not turn on or it runs very rough, the starter motor is defective and does not produce enough power to turn the starter gear.

Problem: Starter is spinning but not engaging flywheel when key is turned

Starter can't spin unless the solenoid engages.If the starter is spinning,it means the solenoid is working and the starter bendix is bad.The bendix is the spring like device that kicks the gear into the flywheel. No need to test the solenoid in that case.

Solution: All you have to do is figure out why the bendix won't go out.Remove the starter and inspect the teeth on the flywheel,check like broken pin, spring broke, etc.Here are two choices, option one you can fix it with a new bendix,option two buy a whole new starter to replace the stock one.

Problem: Starter doesn't turn or turn slowly when cold

In this case,usually it's a bad connection, bad wire, starting solenoid, etc.You should do some simple test like following steps.

Solution:

Step One: Check the rest of the electrical system for the correct voltage, grounds, and wiring. Often, the starter is misdiagnosed as the culprit for electrical system problems when the problem really lies in some other area of the system.

Step Two: Check your battery voltage and make sure it is sufficient to turn your new starter. Most starters require at least 9.6 volts to turn over correctly.

Step Three: Check your battery cables and make sure they are in good shape. Bad cables will not deliver the full current flow needed operate the starter.

Step Four: Clean the starter mounting surface. Most starters are grounded through the mounting block, and if there is excessive oil or paint on the block, the starter will have a faulty ground.

Step Five: If your vehicle has a neutral safety switch, make sure it is operational. If this switch is bad or not properly wired, the starter will not operate correctly. You can check by attaching a jumper wire between the safety switch terminal and the main terminal on the starter. If it turns over with the key, the switch is either bad or wired incorrectly.

Step Six: Confirm that you purchased a starter designed to work with your engine’s compression ratio. Engines with 11:1 or higher compression generally require a high-torque, gear-reduction starter. Otherwise, the engine will turn over slowly.

Hope this article can help you know how to fix starter problem like won’t engage ,doesn’t turn and not engage flywheel .For more information about the other kinds of car or motorcycle repair information,you could keep an eye on our blog ,which is dedicated to share professional tutorials for most automotive aftermarket.