BeerBorg

so completly unrelated to beer.....unless im not able to make a trip to my lhbs for next batch


but anyway the other day my car died at work seemed like the battery was dead or something but tried to jump it and still.....NOTHING!!! wouldnt crank just had power to lights and stuff


so i had it towed to my house and now its starts right up. someone said this could be a starter problem?

anyone ever see something like this happen? or have any ideas why it happened?

If it doesn't crank at all and you have it properly connected for the jump then it works later after moving the car then the starter may have a flat spot. Should be $100 or so to replace yourself and a few bolts.

I agree with Rick, bad spot in the starter. probably got videos on how to replace your starter on youtube

If it makes a clicking sound, then it's the battery. No sound at all when turning the key, then it's the starter. I'm venturing to agree with Rick and JJ that it's the starter given the info provided.

Depending on the year/make/model, there are various things that can cause a no start, with power to other items. There are diagnostic charts online, some needing more than basic tools. Volt meter is a start.
Something overlooked and very basic is the battery terminals, you can get a good enough connection to power lights, but not enough for a starter, which draws much higher amerage.
If it turns out to be a starter, hopfully it is just a couple of bolts... I've had to drop a cradle to chnage one once... Good luck.

Depending on the vehicle, starters are easy to change. First I would check all wiring to the starter. Make sure the wires on the solenoid are not corroded, and tight. Those are small gauge wires to the solenoid and can break, or partially break not allowing correct voltage to get through, a strand or 2 that has broken can cause corrosion, also causing the problem. Also the large gauge 12 volt supply cable (don't mess with this until the neg. bat. post has been removed). A test light on the power wire on the solenoid, have someone hit the starter to see if it lights up (with car in neutral if manual, or park if auto). If not, your problem is elsewhere (if the starter is not working). Intermittent problems can be a pain to chase down. It can also be bad brushes in the starter causing your *flat-spot*. Check wiring first though, only takes a little bit of time, could save you a few $$s, I've seen starters go over $200 depending on the applications. Some starters are light, some are heavy buggers, be prepared for a lot of weight dropping down when u remove the bolts, watch the fingers. Last but not least, I have had key switches go bad, but that is pretty uncommon.

If you have a fairly new car, or even if older, read the owners manual. Some of these cars have computers that are touchy about how the power is removed or even jump-started, ya don't want to replace those darn things.

I don't know how much mechanical you have done, so I will add this: BEFORE removing any wiring to change the starter or solenoid, remove the NEGATIVE post off the battery FIRST (DO NOT let the wrench touch to positive post while doing this)! It is also the very last connection put back on when finished. BEFORE crawling under the vehicle to work under there, make sure after jacking it up you have a jack stand under the vehicle to prevent the jack from letting the car drop on you. It has happened to ppl, and will happen again. Think Murphy's Law.

I agree with Frozen about checking your wiring connections. This sounds more like a loose or corroded wire than a flat spot on the starter to me.

Also the clicking is battery thing does not always hold true. I had a starter that was completely frozen up once. The solenoid would engage but the starter could not turn the result was a clicking noise but nothing else. But most of the time I do agree with that analysis. You will know as soon as you try to jump the vehicle.

How old is the battery (you didn't mention)...

They are rated as 2yr, 3yr, 5yr etc... And as they get older, they perform worse...

What I mean is that the cold cranking amps tend to drop as they age, making it harder to do multiple crank starts...

This gets worse if there are loose connections, cold weather or if the sediment inside the battery builds up (as it does when it ages) and shorts out a cell or two, thus reducing the battery's amperage capacity.

Also, it is important to have the correct battery for your car installed... I so often see cars where the wrong battery is installed... Physically it fits, the posts are the correct type and on the correct side of the battery BUT the battery rating is generally to light for the requirements of the vehicle (ie: someone replaced it and bought the cheapest one on the shelf...) and make no mistake, auto repair shops and car dealers do this too!

Have the battery checked at a reliable auto parts store for free... They will check your alternator as well...

And if the battery is near, at, or past it's year rating, change it.

thanks everyone for your thoughts on this....yea its an older car 95 pontiac grand prix and the battery is a 6 year battery only like 3-4 years old but i do live in wisconsin and its been very cold this year

but ill check connections and and the starter

If you can, find a bud with a load tester. I have one, they are easy to use and will tell u if the battery is toast or not.

Not to be a party pooper ,but, check the crank fuse . Check for power on the purple wire at the starter while cranking to see if you have keyed power to turn the solenoid on .

jhough wrote:Not to be a party pooper ,but, check the crank fuse . Check for power on the purple wire at the starter while cranking to see if you have keyed power to turn the solenoid on .

If it were a fuse, it would not work, period. He said it was dead, towed home, then it worked. A fuse does not fix itself. I'm not saying it's not possible, but I've never had a car with a crank fuse. But I only work on old vehicles and I don't know it all. So yea, if your car has one, check to see that it has not jiggled loose. I have been a mechanic since probably 10 yrs old on a farm, and 20 yrs as a professional Jet aircraft electronics/avionics guy. But I don't know everything about cars for sure, so I'm not trying to shoot down your suggestion j. Working on newer cars sux!

FrozenInTime wrote:I have been a mechanic since probably 10 yrs old on a farm...

Way back in 1885?

It does stink to work on new cars, even the dealers can't diagnose problems. I have an F-150 and many are posting on a truck forum a problem where the system warns the battery is low, and replacement of batteries is not the fix. Nor is the replacement of a sensor built into the negative cable that sends the warning. Nor is ... Some people have gone through 4 or more batteries with no solution. Ford is stymied right now in the engineering dept. Too complicated!

Do we realy need a warning system that the battery is wearing out? I think a slow crank is all the warning system I need...

Hope that don't happen to my diesel F-250, It has 2 huge batteries... not cheap to do a swap with these things. BTW, it's for sale if anyone wants a low mileage truck mildly worked on hitting ~500 horsies. Does not even grunt with a heavy load on.... anyone??