Have you tried shifting the transmission into neutral to see if it starts?
Tester
I had the tested the starter. Good. I cleaned up the connections even more and reinstalled it. It started. Drove it today. Started drove to point B. Started drove to point C. Did not start. I shook the battery cables and it started. Drove to point D it started there multiple times. The connections on both ends have been cleaned over and over.
Doesnât sound like they are tight enough⊠You should not be able to move the battery terminal ends at all, if you can move them, they can move on there on (road vibration etc)âŠ
1 Like
Or, the battery cables are corroded internally. Perhaps time to replace both.
4 Likes
+1
Maybe run a continuity test on the cables, including moving the cables a bit to see if the movement breaks continuity.
1 Like
I did not move the battery connections to the battery I just shook the cable. The connections are tight any tighter and prob would strip them out.
That sounds like the cables have internal problems or the battery post .
1 Like
Seems unlikely to be a bad cable internally but Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.
For the next half dozen times or more of driving it I will only be driving this car when I am going somewhere that I do not have to shut it off.
I really do not understand why people keep messing with an old vehicle that constantly has problems . If it was a collector item or some kind of family heirloom I might but not likely.
Never had much problems until more recently starting just before Xmas.
Could that last starter have gone bad because of old age or did something cause it to fry and something that is still active?
because small, annoying repairs on a known vehicle are cheaper than buying new. It might be more of a hassle, but not everyone has the income for a car or car payment- especially with inflation the way it is.
4 Likes
Replace the cable.
This is what can happen under the rubber cover on the GM side mount battery cables.
Tester
2 Likes
If you moved the cables and the cable ends (terminals) are tight and donât move, then as already said, your cables are bad (or one anyway) OR what ever is at the other end of the cables is loose or bad connection⊠Next time it does it only shake one cable and see if it starts, if not shake the other cable and see if it starts, If it starts then that will help narrow down the problemâŠ
1 Like
So, your starter is not fried?
45+ years ago I replaced several starters on my brothers Volareâ. After the second starter the place that rebuilt the starters said something else was going on here. He suggested I pull the tranny. So I did. Turned out the flywheel was warped. In the right situation, when the starter engaged the flywheel - it would get hung up and not retract (even after the engine was started). This would cause the starter to burn out. So I ended up replacing the starter, flywheel and clutch assembly. Never had a problem again.
1 Like
How does someone do that ? Leave it running while you go into the grocery? Take a chance on it stop running in a fast food drive through ? Leave it running while filling it with fuel ( not a safe practice ) ?
In most states, itâs against the law to leave a running vehicle unattended in public.
In MInnesota, if you leave a running vehicle unattended in public and itâs stolen, you can be charged with aiding and abetting in a crime.
Tester
lol ⊠I had a persistent, unrelenting, & difficult (for me) to diagnose problem w/ my Corollaâs starter some years ago. Corollas of that vintage are known for having problematic starters generally. I had to find a place to park so the car was facing downhill, then I could coast start, if the starter balked. Had to use that method several times. Problem turned out to be higher than allowed resistance in ignition switch. I re-designed that part of the circuit so current from battery to the starter flowed through a relay rather than the ignition switch. that solved the wiring/ignition switch problem, but still had to replace the starterâs solenoid contacts one time.
I just went through about two years of this with a Ford truck. Sometimes I would get 6 months out of the starter and sometimes I would need a new starter before I needed to fill the gas tank and this truck isnât very fuel efficient.
I bought a lifetime warranty starter which was a lucky break. I tested the voltages myself and took the truck to a mechanic about this twice. It would never do it when at the shop of course. Then another time I took it in for something completely unrelated and it did it when they tried to back it off the lift. I was there and they said it appeared to be a bad starter. I told them I had a warranty so they had another one sent over, they replaced it, and off I went. The shop looked at it a bit more and tested the voltages. They were always good.
Anyway, I finally figured out that the solenoid signal wire had corroded several feet up into its insulation. I cut off the bad section until I could see bright copper and spliced in some nice marine grade wire.
My truck also has a secondary solenoid on the firewall. I donât know if you have that or just some other type of relay. I checked into that as well but that was never my problem.
It was a very frustrating intermittent problem that I couldnât figure out and the mechanic couldnât figure out. I found a notice online that those wires were prone to corrosion and to cut a few inches off. I cut off an inch and quickly realized that wasnât enough. The wire was all black, brittle, and corroded. How it had normal voltage and worked at all amazed me. I get the feeling that somehow it could take voltage but not the amperage. By the end I had narrowed it down to failing solenoids and not the starter motor itself. Apparently this wire wasnât providing the proper voltage/current under load and was frying the starter while it had plenty of voltage when tested loose from the starter.
This was a very simple problem yet caused me a lot of trouble so you might look into this.
1 Like
A single strand of that wire is enough to read correct voltage without any load. However, it will not be able to pass the necessary current to make the solenoid function properly. Based on what you said, I suspect the solenoid was barely functioning and causing the contacts to prematurely erode from arcing and heat due to insufficient contact. Glad to hear you got to the bottom of it!