oldsladyliz

Hi I went to take my car out to the show Sunday and suddenly the starter just made a clicking noise near dash..did not start .. what should i do to check this out... first.. i so far cleaned the cables, made sure battery was fully charged etc.. so need some help to check this out.. thanks Liz

oldcutlass

If you have a charged battery and you've already cleaned and checked battery cables and terminals, then it's time to move to the starter solenoid. First make sure the wire terminal connections are good and that you have voltage at the S terminal when the key is turned to the start position. If you have voltage there then I would assume a bad solenoid, or brushes.

oldsladyliz

thanks i will do this.. and get back to you.. i appreciate it..

oldsladyliz

i think it is the solenoid..now to find one and put it in......... thanks you were right on..

oldsmoguy

Rock Auto has the solenoid and the rubber boot

Junkman

I have found that what might look like a bad solenoid, sometimes is bad bushings in the starter nose cone or the end plate. To check this, while someone holds the key to the start position, gently wrap on the bottom of the starter with a hammer. If the starter starts spinning, then it needs to come out for a rebuild. The reason that this works, is that the rapping of the hammer, makes the armature jump, and then it can spin freely. If the bushings are bad, the fields will pull the armature toward them, and it will not be able to spin.

m371961

The above hammer trick can also be a solenoid. The hammer jars the corroded contacts and then they work. You can dissasemble the solenoid and flip the stud contact and clean the disc. They actually used to sell contact kits, but personally, I change out the solenoid.

oldsladyliz

yes i think this is a must do... i appreciate all the help..thanks everyone..

oldsladyliz

thanks i will check them out..

stellar

You may want to inspect the solenoid when you remove it. If it worn out, chances are good the bushings and brushes in the starter are also near retirement age. If the starter is off the car it would be good to open it and do a visiual inspection of the starter.

oldsladyliz

yes you are right.. i think the starter will be replaced at the same time if it looks even the smallest amount worn.. we don't want this to happen on the road on the way to shows.. thank goodness Lucille decided to do this in our own garage.. lol....... thanks

redoldsman

You probably only want to pull the starter one time also. That is just a dirty job that is not fun. Good luck.

oldcutlass

Let us know how you turn out.

oldsladyliz

They were tested again and then the starter and selonoid were taken out..they are on the way to repair..and new selonoid ... i had local man with body shop get under the car and take them out.. car was in the garage when this happened.... i have no lift.. so lifted with jacks and enough room for him to get under.. also he had all the right tools.. he will bring the new ones back and install in a week or two.. meanwhile we will take the 38 olds to the show.. thanks everyone for imput.. i will let you know how she rides when everything is done.. feel better though that this won't happen again for a long time.. she never let us down before so i quess she deserves some time off... thanks !!