problems (probably starter related) help! :p

[chmercer]

k, my headlights are missaligned, so i had my car out in the driveway with the highbeams on for a while, messing around unbolting and rebolting the headlights and stuff (car not on). So, when i go to start the car, it dosent even crank. first thought is battery is super dead since i had the highs on for 30 mins or so with no alternator. so i kick start it, drive it around for 10 mins and once i turn it off, still nothing, dosent even try to turn over. Im pretty stupid with cars, so could you guys please help me out? pictures are good also

1. where is the starter located?2. only way to check if its bad is take it to autozone or some such?3. what fuses should i check?4. anywhere i should look for loose wires or anything?5. any reason leaving headlights on for a long time would kill the starter?6. if starter is good, what else to check?

also, can i just get a new one from any auto store if it is the starter? and how much are these usually?

thanks guys!

[red240ne]

It's not the starter most likely. 85% of car problems are electrical. so the chances of this being electrical are very good.

1. listen for the fuel pump, is it operating?

2. check your ignition wire resistance, and check to see that the plugs are sparkin. measure the spark plug gap. (must be between .39-.43in.)

3. Measure voltage of battery. any auto parts store will do this. anything under 12 volts, then charge it up.

[GoTbOOsT]

It doesnt sound like ur starter... Because if it was the starter then it wouldnt have started the first time. It sounds like maybe your battery... I say replace the battery and see what happens.

[Meantime]

Battery is toast. Try another one, or buy a new one.

If it was an electrical/starter problem, you wouldn't have been able to jump-start it and drive around.

[chmercer]

i said i KICK started it, i tried jumping it and it had no effect.

All the electrical components of my car work 100%, and the lights arent dim or anything, is there still a chance its the battery?

oh yea btw my car is a 95 se.

[BuudWeizErr]

red240ne,Your #2 and #3 suggestions are useless to him. His car obviously runs fine, it just doesn't start well. And when he turns the key, and gets nothing, checking spark plug gap will be useless. And just because a battery has 12V doesn't mean it's a good battery. You need to have it tested.

meantime,"if it was an electrical/starter problem, you wouldn't have been able to jump-start it."What? When you push start a car, you go around using the starter. Most people will push start their car when their starters die.

:rolleyes

[ricebike]

yes, i agree to have the battery load-tested first...

kick start that thing again & drive it to autozone. See if the #s fall below 9.6V while load testing> get a new battery & clean/terminals. While you're there, let them test the charging and starting systems as well=heck it's free!

side note: I heard push starting is bad for a car w/ cat converters... how much of a damage can this be since it only takes a few seconds to engage... i never tried this on my car/motorcycle yet.

[Meantime]

meantime,"if it was an electrical/starter problem, you wouldn't have been able to jump-start it."What? When you push start a car, you go around using the starter. Most people will push start their car when their starters die.

:rolleyes

Read it again, dude. Echoing his previous post, I said you wouldn't be able to "jump-start" it, as in turn the key and use the ignition, if there was a problem with the starter/electrical system. Perhaps I wasn't very clear, and I obviously didn't understand his problem completely (not that he offered a whole lot of info to begin with). I apologize for not reading his post correctly the first time.

You would of course still be able to "kick-start" it, and I'm well aware of that little automotive factoid, thank you, I do know how a friggin' car works. If you feel your automotive knowledge is so superior, maybe you could have offered CHMercer a solution to his problem, instead of nitpicking other people.

Now bugger off, and quit being so critical already. Sorry to be abrasive, but I get annoyed when people post just to disparage others and make themselves look cool, that's so high-school.

[issanni]

I'm having somewhat of a similar problem with my 95 SE as well. But when I try to start it, I only hear a very loud clicking sound, but the engine doesn't crank or turn over. Keep in mind that the engine started and turned over just fine a couple days ago, but I haven't started it since. All my electronics work fine too, it jsut doens't crank, just clicks. I just noticed this 5 minutes ago and saw this thread so I thought I'd ask before I go out there in the heat to work on it.

[chmercer]

Quote »side note: I heard push starting is bad for a car w/ cat converters... how much of a damage can this be since it only takes a few seconds to engage... i never tried this on my car/motorcycle yet.[/quote]

good thing i dont have any!

I heard somthing about tapping the starter with a wrench and if it works after this, the starter is going out? i would like to try this, but i dont know where to look for the starter under my hood :p will somone please enlighten me? thanks again

[Meantime]

I'll say it one more time. Test or replace the $%#@ battery first before you even get involved with the starter. You're jumping way ahead of what is probably a very simple problem. If you don't believe me, feel free to whack the starter all you want with a wrench and attempt to prove your hypothesis. Good luck.

If you're hearing "clickclickclick" when you turn the key, and the car doesn't crank, 99.1% chance your battery is dead.

[chmercer]

all i want to know is where a thing is under my hood so i can tap it with a wrench and see if anything happens. if nothing changes, i wont be suprised. I deffinitley plan to get the battery tested but i mean what i was saying above wouldnt take more than 2 minutes.

also, i can only hear a single click from my interior fuse box when i turn the key from on to start.

edit - had a friend stand by the engine bay, a single click can also be heard from the main fuse box.

[Meantime]

Passenger side, under the intake manifold.