What happened to my starter motor?

[Tim_K]

Today I decided to take my 1979 Aspen R/T #'s matching A57 E58 360-4 out for a ride. It hasn't moved for about 2 months. Got in, turned the key, and the starter only turned a little, then the clicking started, like the battery was dead. Swapped in a known good battery that I drive every day, and the same thing happened.

I noticed that the negative battery cable at the battery end was getting hot with less than 10 seconds of key-on time on it. Thinking the engine block ground was rusty, I unbolted, wire brushed, WD40'd, and reconnected it. No difference. Did the same to the engine / firewall ground strap. No change.

The positive cable didn't get hot. Mildly warm at best.

Tried whacking the starter with a hammer, which was tough to get betwen the headers and power steering. No change.

Any ideas? It seems like the starter is bad, but what parts in particular? The starter has been with the car ever since I got it 5 years ago, and I have no idea how long it was on the car before that. It has always worked great with no problems. Until today.

About 3 weeks ago I had started the engine briefly and shut it off after about a minute, and it worked good then also.

[23T]

I sure hope it's a starter problem and not an engine problem but you can take a set of jumper cables and touch the hot to the starter terminal to see if it spins that will show if it's the starter or you elec system going to the starter, DO NOT get to wild doing this as lots of bad things can happen. It's just a quick test if you dont want to pull the starter and have it checked @ the local auto parts store

[Crank]

tim check all your fusible links for a bad one it will stretch like a rubber band.

[ehostler]

It sounds like the starter is shot. Probably has a bad winding.

[Mach Manny]

When i tried starting my van (360/727), i got a horrible chatter from the starter gear contacting the torque converter. I immediately thought i had chunked teeth off the tq because the starter would turn the motor over at intervals. I put the van on stands and pulled the inspection plate, and thankfully didnt get any teeth in my eye. Turns out, the starter's case had split by the main shaft and allowed the starter gear to skip over the tq ring.

[BillyBob]

It sounds like the stud & slip-ring inside the starter are cooked or the solenoid portion may be shot.(A common & simple repair)

[Crank]

sorry read the question wrong ? first off don't ever hit the starter with a hammer because it could shatter the magnets and totally destroy the starter .iff the starter has a clicking noise like the battery is low it could be a bad conection or ground ,or the selinoid is shot .check the wires on the starter they could be loose or coroded from the heat coming from the headers.

[creative1]

bad connections create heat... heat creates resistance... resistance creates more heat....

moral of story?... look at the battery end of the ground cable. it wont get hot if there isnt a problem there. cable ends often go bad, and the molded lead terminals at the battery are no exception.

and as for those bolt on repair ends? those are emergency fixes, meant only to temporarily repair the problem until you can get the correct cable. i dont know how many times i have seen starters needlessly replaced because a $10 cable had a bad end on it.

[mtrv8n]

the clicking means the solnoid is not getting enough juice. If it's not the battery, then it's the solenoid itself.


I have tried this with success,......

try putting the car in gear, and rock it a bit forward.(get out and push).turning the starter motor.

Sometimes..it just gets hung up, and moving it frees it.
I have an easier time doing this with a 4-speed, but it should work on your auto..

[creative1]

wont work with an automatic... due to the use of one-way clutches (among other things), there isnt any rotation transferred from the driveshaft to the tc. what will work, if the starter has become stuck in the ring gear, is to use a socket and handle on the harmonic damper bolt (a hefty screwdriver or prybar on the ring gear will work too) to turn the engine backwards just a bit... freeing the starter pinion. only have to move things about an inch, but it has to be backwards.

but i stick by my original diagnosis... if it was the starter jammed, the battery connections wouldnt be getting hot... the starter would.

[b-1ken]

Originally posted by creative1
bad connections create heat... heat creates resistance... resistance creates more heat....

moral of story?... look at the battery end of the ground cable. it wont get hot if there isnt a problem there. cable ends often go bad, and the molded lead terminals at the battery are no exception.

and as for those bolt on repair ends? those are emergency fixes, meant only to temporarily repair the problem until you can get the correct cable. i dont know how many times i have seen starters needlessly replaced because a $10 cable had a bad end on it.

Gotta agree with Creative here. You fixed (cleaned) the wrong end of the ground cable. The hot end (battery end) of the cable is where the problem was.