starter problem

zzyzx

Member
Dec 10, 2009
34
0
7
California
I have an '89 LX V8 convertible and I thought the starter was bad. I had just finished doing a brake job with no problems, and when I lowered the car back of the jacks and was going to drive it around the block, it wouldn't start.

The starter made a sound like it wasn't engaging. The first thing I did was put it on an engine starter to make sure it wasn't a battery problem. No luck.

My mechanic friend told me that it was probably the starter, so I replaced that. No luck! It still makes a sound like it's not engaging or something. I called my friend again and he said to take the starter out and check it on the bench. I did that and it works fine. So does my old starter.

I used an ohmmeter to check the relay-to-starter cable, and it's good. So is the battery-to-relay cable.

What should I check next????:shrug: Thanks in advance!
 
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I used an engine starter connected from the +battery terminal of the relay to the -starter terminal of the relay, but nothing happened--the starter didn't even make any sound like it does when I crank it with the key in the ignition. I also tried connecting the two terminals with a screwdriver: it sparks but the starter doesn't do anything.
 
Thanks for all your help guys. It turns out the battery was bad. I don't know why it didn't work when I had the engine starter hooked up and why it suddenly went bad like that (I had just cleaned the terminals too), but after checking everything else (ground cable, cable to starter, etc. etc.), I put in a spare battery and it worked. Oh well, it was good practice removing and reinstalling the starter!