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Has new and rebuilt starters for
sale and in stock for your convince. We also offer custom repair
services for special and hard to find starters. In most cases we
provide one-day turn around in some cases same day service.
For personal service call
706-778-5656
Your
starter is the primary part of your car or truck's starting system,
which includes the battery, starter, cables, switches (ignition,
clutch or neutral-start), relay or solenoid, alarm system (if you have
one), and all of the wiring in between. This can be a complicated
system on some vehicles.
It should
be noted that the starter's job is actually just to turn the engine
over. A multitude of other factors effect the engine starting and
running once this has been done.
Also, the
starter was designed to crank the engine for just a few seconds.
Holding the key to start while the engine turns (or doesn't turn for
that matter) will only cause damage to the starter as well as other
parts of the system.
NEVER
strike your starter with a hammer or hard object in an attempt to get
it to start. Most starters manufactured today use permanent magnets in
place of field coils. Grandpa could usually get a few more starts out
of his starter with this trick, but if the starter has magnets, you
will likely break one or more, rendering the starter totally useless
from that point on. This can be an especially bad scenario if the
problem was not the starter to begin with.
The
battery is the most important part of your starting system. Good
starters CAN NOT make up for bad batteries. There are plenty of
cheap batteries on the market. Do yourself a favor and buy a good one.
Is it worth $20 more not to get stuck with a vehicle that will not
start?
If your
starter does not respond to the turn of the key, you can check it with
a simple voltmeter, IF you can get to the starter. On some vehicles,
this can be a chore in itself.
Connect
the negative voltmeter lead to a clean, unpainted part of the starter.
Touch the positive lead to the battery terminal post on the starter.
You should read battery voltage, 12.6 volts.
Now
locate the switch terminal on the starter (the small wire), attach the
positive voltmeter lead, turn the key to start and observe the
reading. This must be done with the wire attached to the starter so
you are checking the circuit under load! Also, watch out as the
vehicle may surprise you and start! If it does not start, read the
voltage. If the rest of the circuit is good, the reading should be
around 11 volts or higher.
Finally,
again read the battery terminal post on the starter with the key
turned to start. It should only drop slightly when the key is turned
to start, no more that half a volt. If all of the voltage readings are
correct, you most likely have a bad starter. If you have done this
much work, you might as well remove it and have it checked by a
trained technician. I would not trust a parts counter salesperson that
has to read a manual to run the tester. Most good auto electric
rebuilders will look inside, even if it passes a bench test. Passing a
bench test does not tell you what kind of condition the internal parts
are in, only that the starter is working. All parts usually work right
up to the day they fail.
If any of
the voltage readings are lower or absent altogether, have the vehicle
checked by a mechanic certified in electrical repair. Be sure you
don't use a parts changer, as there are possibly many parts in this
circuit, some expensive and most are very difficult to get to.
This Information is Courtesy of:
B&H
Electric in Orange Park, Fl 1-904-269-7052 |
