[TW Mechanics] Replacing a starter

M

mixolydian

Veteran X
So . . . my car won't start and I'm pretty sure it's the starter. All the electronics and lights work so I know it's not the battery. When I try to start the car, I hear the starter motor turning but the car won't start. So is this my starter or could it be something else? How hard is it to replace a starter? I can't even get my car started and I think I can replace it myself without paying for a tow. How much does a starter usually cost?

Car info:
1988 Honda Prelude 2.0 Si 4WS

Thanks in advance TW.
 
you probably hear the fly wheel turning. The starter sticks out and attaches to the fly wheel, which "cranks" the engine. Btw, replacing the starter is really really easy as long as you can get underneath your car. It will probably require some long handled rachets/wrenches as well. I have no idea where the starter is on Prelude's though, and they're not very expensive either.

also, you could have a bad alternater. If the car GRINDS like it wants to start, but just can't...it's probably the battery. If it's click, click, click, click really fast it's probably the starter.
 
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Do you get a click, click, click sound, or the grinding of a start with no ignition? Also, sometimes starters get stuck and knocking them lightly will free it up.
 
I paid somewhere around $140 for a replacement. As for difficulty, it depends on the car. I had a tough time only because there wasn't too much room to work with, also I don't know the first thing about working on cars.
 
yep. if you turn the key and just hear a whirring / whining noise it's the starter motor running without the solenoid throwing the shaft out to the flywheel. If you turn the key and you heat a mechanical click / thunk, that's the solenoid. Try giving the starter a bit of a thwak with a hammer on the solenoid unit (you'll see it on the side of the starter motor assembly).

If that doesn't work, get a mechanic to have a look at it, but don't buy a new one - get a reco or one from a wrecker.
 
It will be at the rear of the motor, usually on the RH side of the car and approx 4 oclock.
 
you guys can be real jack asses
http://www.misterfixit.com/starttst.htm

The Positive goes to the "big terminal" on the solenoid. Jump from the big terminal to one of the smaller ones with a jumper wire or a screwdriver blade to actuate the solenoid. It should click and the starter should whirrrrr. If it does, don't get carried away and let it spin freely for a long time - it's not good to run a starter with no load for extended periods of time, especially an old and tired one.

If it doesn't spin, look for another "big" wire going into the starter. On GMs you can usually see it at the other end of the solenoid - it goes into the body of the starter. I'm not sure about other makes and models. Look around. Carefully touch the + jumper cable to it and the starter should immediately whirrrr and you should get a good sized spark - that is normal - the starter is a heavy current eater.

If you get no whir from that test then the starter motor is fried inside. You can take it apart and see if it is fixable (new brushes, a clean-up of the commutator and possibly new windings, but at that point I would suggest a rebuilt starter/solenoid assy.

If the starter did whir on the last test then you can remove the solenoid and either rebuild it or replace it, the later being a good idea. The new starter will come with a new or rebuilt Bendix drive which is probably next in line for failure.
 
Yeah if it's the starter, get a reconditioned one and return your old one for a refund on the core charge. Probably around $125 and not too difficult to install.
 
Do NOT fuck around crossing electrical connections on a modern car. If you don't know what you are doing you can fry the EMS system. That would be a bad thing.
 
Just to clear up a miconception, the solenoid doesn't kick out the worm gear that engages the flywheel. It's the spinning of the starter motor itself that does that. The solenoid is basically just a switch. When you turn the key, a low amperage current goes to the solenoid and it switches on the hundreds of amps needed to drive the starter motor (this is so that you don't route those hundreds of amps into the cockpit of the car, potentially frying the shit out of things. Like drivers.)

If you hear the starter "race" it could be a stuck wormgear (a thwak with a hammer could fix it), a chewed up wormgear or teeth missing from your flywheel.
 
Partially correct.

Description: A starter solenoid mounts directly to the starter. Although similar to the starter relay, the solenoid converts electrical energy into linear motion. The solenoid contains a set of windings that, when energized, cause movement of the solenoid’s plunger, which then engages the starter.

Purpose: The starter solenoid supplies the high current needed to run the starter motor and also provides the force needed to engage the starter.
Click to expand...
 
Geck0 said:
Partially correct.
Click to expand...

I dare say, I stand corrected.

It does connect to the drive pinion and pushes the gear forward. I was thinking of the old style starter that didn't have the solenoid built onto it (methinks I'm showing my age) and assumed the newer ones worked the same.

:D
 
Yeah I remember the bendex geared starters - the fuckers were such a pain in the arse because the throw worm would dry out and it'd stick all the time. I had an old ford capri and I used to have a ball pean hammer in the boot for just that purpose :D
 
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