Starter Troubles

by Damien Civiello

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Simple cheap fix (by Ed Hennessy)

Seems kind of unusual to be a 'dead spot' in a 9-month-old starter. Then again, if they threw new brushes at it in a 'rebuild,' the armature could still be bad. If it's a poor rebuild, then it's possible. If it was a good one, it's unlikely. A flat spot on the starter should be intermittent, based on where the starter stops turning.

Basically, there's a flat spot in the armature and the starter won't spin when power's applied. "Burping" the starter won't work, but if you can move the car with it in gear (thereby also turning the engine and the starter with it.) It could possibly be a tooth problem on the flywheel, but that usually means noisy engagement and poor starting.

In my experience the Nippondenso and Bosch starters on EEKs are pretty reliable, and don't often need replacement. When they do, be sure to get a good quality rebuild.

Starting - car starter troubles

Jeremy MaClennan asks: "When I try to start the car, nothing happens. No starter solenoid click-nothing. To get the car to start, I have put it in neutral and roll it a couple feet forward or back (I have no idea why this works but it does). Then it starts, but it sounds like the starter isn't getting full power or perhaps intermitant bursts of power. I had my battery load tested, and it's fine. What is going on? I don't see what the position of the car has to do with the starter circuit."

Ed Hennessy's response

There's a dead spot in the starter. This is pretty common on the Nippondenso starters on EEKs. The contacts wear out and cause the problem. By moving the car, you are spinning the starter slightly, and then the contacts are in a different spot, and the car will start.

The solution, other than replacing the starter, is to remove the starter fix the contacts--solder a penny on the contacts, giving it fresh copper.