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YACT: Bad Starter Motor?

H

HiTek21

Diamond Member
My mom called me up earlier to come pick her up because her car wouldn't start. When I came to pick her up I brought my multimeter along to check to see if her battery was still good (it was changed 3 or 4 months ago). It had a good charge so I tried starting it and it just made a click sound when I turned the key. Didn't try turning over so I turned the key a few more times in a row and it started up. It didn't hesitate to start when it finally turned over so I'm thinking the starter motor might be going bad. She stops and starts her car frequently and it hasn't been changed yet since she bought the car in late 97.

98 Prelude (Non SH)
5 Speed Manual
130k miles
 
First thing is to clean the battery cables and make sure they are not loose. Then check the cables at the starter to make sure they are tight. If that all checks out then it is probable the starting going out. If it just quits working then take it off and carry it to advance or autozone and have them test it for free.
 
Sounds very much like a bad starter. And at 130k miles, not that unusual. A good shop could easily diagnose for certain. Get it checked and fixed right away as a bad starter can ruin an otherwise good battery.
 
Voltage on the battery was 12.98v roughly, I was getting 14.5v while the car was running so the alternator is still working. The battery was changed about 3 - 4 months ago we also replaced the terminals because they were heavily corroded we cleaned the wires. Terminals still looked good no corrosion. When I turned they key it clicked once and did nothing. All the dash lights and other electronics came on fine. I turned they key 3 or 4 times in a row then it finally started up. It seems to do it randomly now.

The check engine light came on so we're probably going to take the car down to the mechanic this weekend I'm not sure if this starter problem is related to the check engine light.
 
No clue but :thumbsup: to your mom for driving a manual 🙂

most women in america I know drive automatics, compared to men that is
 
if the dash lights stayed on after you tried to crank it, then your battery connection was fine. i once had a loose connection and things would light up but immediately go off when it started to crank (i assume the engine was jolting the wires loose). anyway, this could be the starter, for sure.
 
Just tell your tell your mom to carry a hammer with her and next time it happens to get out crawl under the car and hit the starter with the hammer 🙂. That will get a dying starter to work for awhile longer a lot of the time. Or she could just push start it. Its good exercise.
 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Just tell your tell your mom to carry a hammer with her and next time it happens to get out crawl under the car and hit the starter with the hammer 🙂. That will get a dying starter to work for awhile longer a lot of the time. Or she could just push start it. Its good exercise.
Click to expand...


Reminds me of a few years back, I had an old suburban that you had to whack the starter to make it work. I was really busy at work and didnt have time to fool with it, so I carried a hammer around. I was working late one night and had unloaded my tools at a house when I ran to Home Depot to get a few more things before they closed. When I came out the damn truck wouldnt start, so I had to run back inside, buy one of those cheapie $5 hammers and head back out to whack the starter and get back to work.
 
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