So about a couple of hours ago I was going to leave to school when the Mav. decided not to turn over. It made a fast clicking noise as I tried to crank it. It turned out to be the starter solenoid so I went out to buy another thinking that It just went bad after all these years; however, after I replaced it in the parking lot it still made that noise. I was told that it is possible that it is the starter itself. Anyone know how to diagnose this? Or did anyone else experienced this in the past as well? I would like to know by tomorrow if possible since i'm going to attempt to pinpoint the problem! I also the to redo the alternator wiring since I replaced the alternator a few months ago and didnt use the right wire gauge size! So please let me know why it wont start, the sooner the better!
Chattering solenoid is almost always weak battery... Could be bad battery connection/cable but still my bet is battery... Turn on headlights if they almost go out while it's chattering, you're probably going to need a battery...
If it is the battery, it's an easy fix, I had a battery / solenoid problem a while back, usually if they go bad, chances are the wiring also went bad. So maybe also change the cables all the way from battery to starter. Good way to test them is checking if they go hot when you start your car (once Battery and Solenoid are replaced of course). If they get hot like heating up from themselves, bad cables. If the starter goes bad too, well, I had that issue after replacing Battery / Solenoid and the forum helped me tons with tips and pointers about how to test everything, here's the thread http://mmb.maverick.to/threads/battery.102337/ Pass the part where I just changed the Battery / Solenoid to the 2nd time I had a problem and it was the Starter...
I would be looking into the wiring from the alternator that caused your smoking problem, its possible that the alternator or some of the wiring is bad. Need to charge battery with a battery charger or jump it to get it running and do a voltage reading at the battery when the car is running, should be around 14 volts.
I know that it isn't the alternator or solenoid because both were installed within a 3 month period, I really don't think it's the alternator either since I bought it about a year ago! So far I'm checking the wiring and it seems that the wiring slipped off at one of the ports but the were also 2 connections that were weak and that's what I'm replacing right now! Now in part of the instructions from the alternator gave me what wire to use depending on the alternators amp rating! I'm using a 140 amp alt. from Tuff Stuff and I've been using a 10 gauge wiring as the replacement wiring, to be more specific I'm just cutting the wires that were from the previous stock alt. and adding the needed wiring for the rest of the connections! I don't know if I should change it to the 6 gauge wiring! Should I if I still am getting the same reading as before! I still see around 12.5-14 volts during my drive but 12 at idle! Not to mention that lately my alt. light has been going off recently and my volt gauge read around 10 volts or less! Please let me know if I should take the 10 gauge wires I added and replace them with 6 gauge wires as the instructions say I should?! I would like to know before I continue working on the wiring! today!!
I'm no electrical expert so I'll let someone else let you know about the wires, but from experience buying after market parts, them being new don't always mean they are not at fault, when I changed my starter my new one failed within 3 months, when I changed my thermostat, the new one was not working out of the box. Some of those are rebuilt or cheap after markets... So don't always scratch them as an issue just because they are new
UPDATE! So first of all that was a good point about having the possibility of the new accessories being faulty! As I went the the electrical and ignition system of the car nothing stuck out to me on what was causing the problem! I bought a new starter solenoid thinking that was the problem but it still made the same clicking noise from the solenoid! I changed/ fixed the alternator wiring since part of the inner copper wires began to rip apart, and still didn't do much! I took out the starter, which was one of the biggest pain I've ever dealt with so far, got it tested and was told it was fine it passed every time! Then again I got it tested at 2 different places and it was about 7 tests total, first 4 were two passes and two fails, the other 3 were all passes! After that I put everything back together and nothing happened as expected! I later got the battery tested and it read about 11 volts or less then I got it charged, still did nothing!I don't want to take it to a mechanic because I cannot afford to get a tow truck to haul it over there and pay for them to fix it, I don't have either time or money to get it done! This car is beginning to cause me a lot more problems than I wanted yet I knew it was when I first got it! I was told by one of the auto store employees that the wiring for the stater may not be connecting , which initial after I came back was true, I fixed it and guess what, still nothing! I admit I'm slowing giving up on this car the more I work on it but I know that the second I think of selling it or doing something similar I will regret it!Any thoughts on what else it may be? As of right now if can use a different car but only for a couple of weeks! I NEED to get this car running asap for school! Someone please help me figure out else it may be!
Battery, Battery, Battery, Battery, Battery, Battery, Battery, Battery Easy enough to tell by jump starting, if it then cranks Ok it's the BATTERY...
Battery , Battery , Battery , Battery as said above or connections too the battery. It may have enough volts in it but no cranking amps due to dead cells . Have you taken the battery and had it tested ?
Yes like everyone else said,battery, try a different battery and if that doesn't work try jumping the selonoid.
Effie's Mom's car had 12.35 V but wouldn't crank, just clicked. had the battery tested and it had a dead cell...
Yes I did get the battery tested, charged, and I tried jumping it but nothing happened. Recently I was informed that it is possible the a switch in the transmission could cause what is happening to me. The switch is preventing me from turning on my car because it is falsely telling the ignition that it is in another gear other than parked. I dont know how true that is but it seems to me that is the main problem at the moment. About a week ago as I was returning from school I was informed that my mother got into a minor car accident and had to pic her up to get the car back and fixed. The trip back from school to home then to the shop made the engine overheat, maybe it was a dummy light who knows. Then on the way back from leaving the mechanic I had to pick up my younger brother from school after a 20 min cool-down it almost overheated again. To make it worse that was the only car we had for the moment and I had to get some supplies from a store that was soon to close and had to go since I seriously needed those supplies. On the way there, I had heard a loud popping sound near me, more specifically under me! the sound was immediately followed by the sound the of something metallic falling off. After that it seemed to leak from somewhere unknown until my car didn't want to start. The leak came from the transmission. It is hard to pinpoint where to be exact but my guess it somewhere near the shifter cable! I think this might be why my car wont start after I received the info. today!
Two things: 1. If the battery is good...then the next thing to check are the cables and/or battery terminals. The batery could be good, but the connections/cables don't allow the "volts" to get to the area's needed. 2. If you over heated the motor repeatedly.....you may have seized the motor. If the motor is seized, it will not turn over no matter what you do.
