Bad Starter - New Starter Starts Without Key

[joutlaw]

Truck is in title... 04 5.3. Starter went bad last weekend confirmed at advanced auto parts. Ordered part from junkyard on eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...RK%3AMEWNX%3AIT

Starter looks brand new... I would say it has 3 miles on it.

 

The problem is I got everything hooked up and as soon as I connected the negative battery the truck started to crank. I un-did everything and double checked my connections. Everything went on as same as before. I then took the thicker wire off (from the battery I'd assume) and put the battery back on. I then try to crank the truck and I heard the solenoid fire as I would expect it should. I went down with the key out with my test light, and sure enough the thick wire is hot.

 

What could this be? I switched relays on the engine compart... the starter and another one beside it had the same markings... same result.

 

Any suggestions or is it possible the starter is bad?

[GPSilverado]

Sounds like the solenoid is bad on the new starter. Unless things changed since I was a technician (it has been 12 years), the Big Wire at the starter should be hot at all times. The Wire from the start position of the switch should send voltage when the switch is in the start position, which causes the solenoid to activate. The solenoid does 2 things. It pushes the gear on the starter into position mated with the flywheel, and also moves the contact disk inside the solenoid into place to create the circuit between the Big Wire, and the starter motor brushes. That disk may be making constant contact and not retracting. You can try tapping (not hitting) the starter solenoid with a rubber mallet or similar to see if it frees up, but more than likely I would just replace the assembly or solenoid.

[joutlaw]

Sounds like the solenoid is bad on the new starter. Unless things changed since I was a technician (it has been 12 years), the Big Wire at the starter should be hot at all times. The Wire from the start position of the switch should send voltage when the switch is in the start position, which causes the solenoid to activate. The solenoid does 2 things. It pushes the gear on the starter into position mated with the flywheel, and also moves the contact disk inside the solenoid into place to create the circuit between the Big Wire, and the starter motor brushes. That disk may be making constant contact and not retracting. You can try tapping (not hitting) the starter solenoid with a rubber mallet or similar to see if it frees up, but more than likely I would just replace the assembly or solenoid.

 

Thanks for your reply. I talked to my father in law and he informed me of the same about the big wire. I'm going to check and see if voltage is going to the small wire all the time... if not I know the solenoid is bad.

 

Replacing the starter isn't a bad job, but it's much easier if you remove the oil sending unit connector. My truck's been down for a over a week so it's bummer the "new" starter is bad too.

[txab]

This one of those "you get what you pay for" situations.

[joutlaw]

This one of those "you get what you pay for" situations.

 

 

I hear you on that. I figured a starter with 3 miles would be as good as a new one... and save a good bit of money. I imagine in the carnage of the vehicle it messed the solenoid up. I'm waiting to hear from the seller. Autozone, O'Reily's, and Advance Auto Parts all want 170$ for a reman unit. I figured this would be better than that.. Oh well.

[txab]

A solenoid is pretty cheap to swap out on the starter you have now.

[joutlaw]

Update.

 

I talked to seller and he wanted it to be bench tested first just in case there was another issue. I took it to Autozone and they tested it and it passed, but they don't test the solenoid b/c it is integrated into the starter itself and non-serviceable.

 

I went home and did some more trouble shooting. I hooked just the ignition wire up to the starter and hooked the battery back up. Without the key in the ignition wire wasn't hot. I got my wife to turn the key to start position and the ignition wire is hot until she let off the start position. This tells me the switch is good since I'm not getting voltage all the time on the ignition lead.

 

My understanding about these starters is the solenoid pushes the gear mechanism out and it meshes with the flywheel, at the same time a connection is made which lets voltage come through the battery cable connected to the solenoid to the starter motor itself. It seems that is jammed and letting voltage through all the time.

[desrtrat]

change your starter relay. if bench test was good, then go with the relay change..there cheep

 

good luck

 

[joutlaw]

Swapped it out for the one right next to it in the engine compartment. Both relays do the same thing.

 

I'm going to hook just the battery wire up to it at home. Then hook the battery back up and see if it cranks. If it does I know the starter is bad.

[Matt09SLT]

Is the 12V constant (the bigger wire) touching the ignition lead? I was doing some work on my ls1 camaro and was surprised how easy this could happen. The starters are probably similar.

 

Matt

[joutlaw]

Ended up the starter solenoid was bad. I hooked up just the 12V constant and hooked the battery up and it started cranking. Sent it back to the seller and they are sending me another one. We'll see how the next one does. I'm ready to have my truck back on the road and need it this weekend for a renovation.

[txab]

Has it been worth it to save $80? I wouldn't think so.....

 

Hope you have better luck with the next one.

[joutlaw]

Has it been worth it to save $80? I wouldn't think so.....

 

Hope you have better luck with the next one.

 

I think it's still worth it to me as the truck isn't a daily driver. I drive a 94 Honda Accord with almost 300K miles as my commuter vehicle. It gets 30MPG and saves me a ton on gas. I'd much rather drive the truck and usually will a few days a week, but some days I have a 60+ mile commute and the car makes more sense.

 

I hope the next one is better and if not... I'm headed to Autozone.

[txab]

Did you ever check with any local re-builders on the cost to fix your original starter?

[csheatz]

Has it been worth it to save $80? I wouldn't think so.....

 

Hope you have better luck with the next one.

 

I think it's still worth it to me as the truck isn't a daily driver. I drive a 94 Honda Accord with almost 300K miles as my commuter vehicle. It gets 30MPG and saves me a ton on gas. I'd much rather drive the truck and usually will a few days a week, but some days I have a 60+ mile commute and the car makes more sense.

 

I hope the next one is better and if not... I'm headed to Autozone.

 

 

 

Im with you on saving $80 if you dont need the truck everyday why not shop around for the best price. when your truck goes down and you need it fixed right away then you are left with no choice but to lay down the $$$$. you dont need it fixed right away save the money. even better is that the seller is willing to work with you, it could have very well been dropped during shipment. Besides going to the autoparts store does not always ensure you get a good part the first time. i have had to return brake rotors in the middle of the project because they gave me the smaller rotors off of a 2005 ( i think) truck, what a pain in the ass(and this was NAPA not autoscum). ended up getting mine tunred because the rotors i needed were twice the price of the ones they sold me the first time. I was only buying new because i had everything apart and they were about $50 a side for the ones i thought i needed. the truck only had 30,000 miles on it but i had a piston on the right side hung up and got sick of mucking with the dealer.