Long story short, got new batt but still would not start. So, I had a chat with the solenoid via a tapping wrench and voila. Drove for 20 miles at 2500 rpm. Stopped, turned and it started twice. On third try, NADA! Thought it might be fuel pump but cannot be right??? ('Cos I just drove 20 miles.)
So folks, solenoid or what???
Thanks!
Continuation of “Heatstroke in a Car?”
If the starter works after whacking it a bit, then that usually points to a defective starter.
You should not piecemeal a 12 year old starter. Replace the entire starter motor.
Usually this kind of problem is caused by a worn communtator and brushes. The communtator may develop a bad or weak spot in it and the starter may act up like this when the starter just happens to stop with the bad spot in the communtator on one of the brushes.
Your advice is generally correct but I had an 11 year old starter on a vehicle with 201,000 miles and the dealer told me it was just the contacts. I was having the same sort of issues described by the original poster. My repair cost me only $80 and was done in an hour.
There is no way in the world a shop should partially repair a starter on a vehicle with 210k miles. NO WAY period.
By contacts I assume you mean solenoid contacts. Did it not occur to anyone that burned contacts have a cause? A worn and dragging starter for instance?
An exception could be if the vehicle was an older Ford that uses a fender mounted starter solenoid. These were easily replaced without starter replacment, although the dragging starter would still have an effect even on a fender mount solenoid.