Three starters in a month... blown.
11-23-2017, 08:24 AM
#1
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Three starters in a month... blown.
Happy thanksgiving...
My starter blew, replaced it with a junkyard one... Lasted a week... Chalked it up to a bad one from the junkyard. So I bucked up and got a remanufactured one... Looked good, worked well... And that one lasted a whole week and a half!
Indeed, it left me stranded at a gas station this Thanksgiving morning... Silver lining: gave me an excuse to spend one hour less having awkward conversations with loosely related family members, half of whose names I can barely remember...
Anyway, this sucks. Starter is warrantied, so money's not an issue, but if I blow a fourth, I'm on the verge of throwing it up on Craigslist.
My starter blew, replaced it with a junkyard one... Lasted a week... Chalked it up to a bad one from the junkyard. So I bucked up and got a remanufactured one... Looked good, worked well... And that one lasted a whole week and a half!
Indeed, it left me stranded at a gas station this Thanksgiving morning... Silver lining: gave me an excuse to spend one hour less having awkward conversations with loosely related family members, half of whose names I can barely remember...
Anyway, this sucks. Starter is warrantied, so money's not an issue, but if I blow a fourth, I'm on the verge of throwing it up on Craigslist.
11-23-2017, 09:31 AM
#2
Hah, so if you get the answer in like 6 hours you might be able to skip thanksgiving altogether. 
I volunteered to work today. My family isn't getting together until 6pm, so that works out for me.. But anyway, that sounds like it could be a wiring problem. Like an incomplete ground or a short. Check your wiring to make sure that everything is hooked up tight and how it's supposed to. Also, check the insulation on those wires for deep wear marks or cracks and repair to reduce the possibility of a short.
I volunteered to work today. My family isn't getting together until 6pm, so that works out for me.. But anyway, that sounds like it could be a wiring problem. Like an incomplete ground or a short. Check your wiring to make sure that everything is hooked up tight and how it's supposed to. Also, check the insulation on those wires for deep wear marks or cracks and repair to reduce the possibility of a short.
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JasonGoalie34 (11-23-2017)
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JasonGoalie34 (11-23-2017)
11-23-2017, 01:21 PM
#4
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Yeah sorry guys, I'll delete the other one.
So...
Is it possible a battery cable is involved here? I know that there's some exposed wire coming from my positive battery terminal (and possibly the negative one as well). Guess I should get some electrical tape over that... if not replace it.
And perhaps my electrical connection to the starter isn't particularly good? I use the 10mm socket wrench and get it on there pretty darn good as I recall...
Thanks for the replies so far, and appreciate the future responses. Thanksgiving was relatively harmless (we do it early). Happy Turkey.
So...
Is it possible a battery cable is involved here? I know that there's some exposed wire coming from my positive battery terminal (and possibly the negative one as well). Guess I should get some electrical tape over that... if not replace it.
And perhaps my electrical connection to the starter isn't particularly good? I use the 10mm socket wrench and get it on there pretty darn good as I recall...
Thanks for the replies so far, and appreciate the future responses. Thanksgiving was relatively harmless (we do it early). Happy Turkey.
11-23-2017, 01:24 PM
#5
Registered User
Check battery wires and all grounds. Make sure it's clean connections no paint or corrosion or rust. If it's a wire itd be from battery to starter. Or like mentioned, block ground, battery ground, starter etc
11-23-2017, 01:25 PM
#6
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make sure you have a good battery and good connections at battery, and the block ground, and starter.
Do the starters make noise after it's running? you might need to shim it the pinion might stay stuck and over heat it. try a voltage drop test between the battery and starter wire while cranking if there is a significant drop the wire is corroded and resistive. Maybe you're just unlucky with the junk starter, and the remanufactured one. Remanuf starters are always hit or miss, ive gotten 2 bad starters in a row before. They sell rebuild kits for starters that are cheaper than a new starter which replaces all the contact points inside that get corroded over time.
Do the starters make noise after it's running? you might need to shim it the pinion might stay stuck and over heat it. try a voltage drop test between the battery and starter wire while cranking if there is a significant drop the wire is corroded and resistive. Maybe you're just unlucky with the junk starter, and the remanufactured one. Remanuf starters are always hit or miss, ive gotten 2 bad starters in a row before. They sell rebuild kits for starters that are cheaper than a new starter which replaces all the contact points inside that get corroded over time.
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Gadget (11-24-2017)
11-26-2017, 08:25 PM
#7
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UPDATE:
I went to Advance and got a replacement for my "Defective" starter, then frankly just threw it in. I know I risk it all happening again, but given the fact that A) Winter is coming, not exactly top-down weather, and B) my Sequoia is fine for puttering about in the Z's stead if worse comes to worst... I'm just gonna see how this one goes.
That said, it's already given me a scare. Once and only once I got some sort of choking/grinding sound from the starter, after which it did start up fine... scared the crap out of me.
i see eBay has some replacement starters for much cheaper than CarQuest brand. Should I perhaps buy one and keep it in the car with a few socket wrenches and a trolley jack just in case? I know this is super lame, but I'm willing to do it... my car is for fun, not business meetings
.
Still open to more brainstorming with the additional info.
I went to Advance and got a replacement for my "Defective" starter, then frankly just threw it in. I know I risk it all happening again, but given the fact that A) Winter is coming, not exactly top-down weather, and B) my Sequoia is fine for puttering about in the Z's stead if worse comes to worst... I'm just gonna see how this one goes.
That said, it's already given me a scare. Once and only once I got some sort of choking/grinding sound from the starter, after which it did start up fine... scared the crap out of me.
i see eBay has some replacement starters for much cheaper than CarQuest brand. Should I perhaps buy one and keep it in the car with a few socket wrenches and a trolley jack just in case? I know this is super lame, but I'm willing to do it... my car is for fun, not business meetings
.Still open to more brainstorming with the additional info.
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11-26-2017, 09:32 PM
#10
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Yeah last time I had tranny issues I had to call the cops! Kept texting me...
no no but seriously... do you give the fuel injection pump time to do it’s thing before you start the car...give it that 3 second pause while you hear the pump prime the injectors? It’s probably not your issue but can’t hurt. Saves a few seconds of dry cranking before the engine fires up.
no no but seriously... do you give the fuel injection pump time to do it’s thing before you start the car...give it that 3 second pause while you hear the pump prime the injectors? It’s probably not your issue but can’t hurt. Saves a few seconds of dry cranking before the engine fires up.
11-27-2017, 08:06 AM
#11
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Yeah last time I had tranny issues I had to call the cops! Kept texting me...
no no but seriously... do you give the fuel injection pump time to do it’s thing before you start the car...give it that 3 second pause while you hear the pump prime the injectors? It’s probably not your issue but can’t hurt. Saves a few seconds of dry cranking before the engine fires up.
no no but seriously... do you give the fuel injection pump time to do it’s thing before you start the car...give it that 3 second pause while you hear the pump prime the injectors? It’s probably not your issue but can’t hurt. Saves a few seconds of dry cranking before the engine fires up.
Well no, no I don't. I didn't know this was a diesel for goodness sake! But yes, that's a great idea. I'll do this going forward. Thanks!
11-27-2017, 08:19 AM
#12
Registered User
Trans issues would be worst case scenario and highly unlikely but if you've checked all your wires and grounds then it doesn't leave much else, unless you just have the worst luck in existence and continue getting bad starters. Just pop start it everywhere lol
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Atreyu'z 350 (11-27-2017)
11-27-2017, 10:27 AM
#13
Yeah last time I had tranny issues I had to call the cops! Kept texting me...
no no but seriously... do you give the fuel injection pump time to do it’s thing before you start the car...give it that 3 second pause while you hear the pump prime the injectors? It’s probably not your issue but can’t hurt. Saves a few seconds of dry cranking before the engine fires up.
no no but seriously... do you give the fuel injection pump time to do it’s thing before you start the car...give it that 3 second pause while you hear the pump prime the injectors? It’s probably not your issue but can’t hurt. Saves a few seconds of dry cranking before the engine fires up.
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Atreyu'z 350 (11-27-2017)
11-27-2017, 10:59 AM
#14
Ugh boy.. So did you fix those wires that had exposed areas on them near your battery? Did you check your grounds to make sure they're clean and secure? Did you check the terminals(positive battery, ground, ignition) that connect to the starter for looseness, and that the wires are in fact tight inside their designated harness?.. I'm asking because you didn't say that you did any of that, you kind of just threw another starter in. I wouldn't just keep literally throwing parts at it until you fix the underlying problem. You're just wasting your money doing that................ Just a thought. If/when you take that fourth starter out again, stick your fingers in there and see if you can wiggle the flywheel. If you can, that's not good.
11-27-2017, 11:24 AM
#16
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Thread Starter
Consider me "mechanically inclined," able to do simple repairs and maintenance; oil changes, brakes, tune ups and such. This is perhaps going in the direction of real mechanics, but we'll see... stay tuned as necessary. Thank you all for your help so far.
11-27-2017, 03:27 PM
#17
Registered User
To be honest, I may just not have the mechanical acuity to be able to tell if there is something electrically wrong. I mean, nothing appears out of place, but that's my relatively-layman's eyes looking at it.
Consider me "mechanically inclined," able to do simple repairs and maintenance; oil changes, brakes, tune ups and such. This is perhaps going in the direction of real mechanics, but we'll see... stay tuned as necessary. Thank you all for your help so far.
Consider me "mechanically inclined," able to do simple repairs and maintenance; oil changes, brakes, tune ups and such. This is perhaps going in the direction of real mechanics, but we'll see... stay tuned as necessary. Thank you all for your help so far.
Last edited by Gadget; 11-27-2017 at 03:30 PM.
11-27-2017, 04:10 PM
#18
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11-27-2017, 04:46 PM
#20
I had 94 300ZX TT and the starter went out so I used a cheap brand from the auto parts store. I did this changed out 2-3 from the auto parts store. I said screw it and forked the money $250 for one from Nissan. Never had a issue. But then again this was in the mid 2000’s so places like advance and auto zone parts weren’t that great.
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JasonGoalie34 (12-06-2017)