STARTER HELP!

[vortec]

Ok! Here's the story. This past Summer, i had started having trouble starting my 03 Tahoe. All i would get when trying to start it were clicks. I took my battery to Autozone to get it checked out. They said my battery was fine. At first I thought it was having trouble starting because of the high temperatures. Well a couple of months passed and i started having the same problems. i then decided to go to a local gmc dealership and purchased a alternator for $450 installed, thinking the battery wasn't getting a good charge because of a bad alternator. after about only a week, the same problem occured. i was hot I then went back to autozone to purchase a red top altima battery. it was running fine for a few months and now today. i go to start my tahoe in the cold and "click, click, click, click". talk about anger! what should i do?? should i go get a new starter?> keep in mind, i have already taken it to bill heard chevrolet (the dealership i purchased my vehicle) and said they couldn't do anything for me. any places online where i should purchase a starter if i should get one?

 

any help would be greatly appreciated

[cit1991]

Quit spending money and find the problem first!

 

The clicking is soleniod chatter. Here's what causes it:

 

The solenoid is an electromagnet that pulls the starter gear into contact with the flywheel gear. Once the gear is engaged and the solenoid plunger hits the back of the magnet chamber, the plunger pushes a button, which closes a pair of large contacts, energizing the motor. You don't want to turn on the motor until after the gears are engaged, to avoid stripping the gears.

 

Sometimes what happens is: the electrical system can get enough power (amperage) to the solenoid to engage it, but when the motor contacts close and the motor tries to pull alot of current, the voltage drops and the solenoid disengages. When the solenoid reopens the motor contacts, the 12 is back, and the solenoid again reengages. This all happens really fast, and you hear the chatter of the solenoid opening and closing quickly.

 

If you get the chatter, it means that the starter gets 12V, but cannot get 12V with enough current to turn the starter without the voltage dropping.

 

This can be caused by a weak (but not dead) battery, bad connection from the battery to the starter, or shorted starter motor.

 

Check the wiring from the battery (starting with the terminals) all the way through the starter power terminal (the big nut). Also check the engine ground cables back to the battery negative terminal.

 

If you have a new battery, it's probably not that. A shorted starter would also be rare.

 

If you want to be thorough, remove all the big power wiring, clean the metal surfaces and reinstall it...positive and negative legs.

[vortec]

Quit spending money and find the problem first!

 

The clicking is soleniod chatter.  Here's what causes it:

 

The solenoid is an electromagnet that pulls the starter gear into contact with the flywheel gear.  Once the gear is engaged and the solenoid plunger hits the back of the magnet chamber, the plunger pushes a button, which closes a pair of large contacts, energizing the motor.  You don't want to turn on the motor until after the gears are engaged, to avoid stripping the gears.

 

Sometimes what happens is:  the electrical system can get enough power (amperage) to the solenoid to engage it, but when the motor contacts close and the motor tries to pull alot of current, the voltage drops and the solenoid disengages.  When the solenoid reopens the motor contacts, the 12 is back, and the solenoid again reengages.  This all happens really fast, and you hear the chatter of the solenoid opening and closing quickly.

 

If you get the chatter, it means that the starter gets 12V, but cannot get 12V with enough current to turn the starter without the voltage dropping.

 

This can be caused by a weak (but not dead) battery, bad connection from the battery to the starter, or shorted starter motor.

 

Check the wiring from the battery (starting with the terminals) all the way through the starter power terminal (the big nut).  Also check the engine ground cables back to the battery negative terminal.

 

If you have a new battery, it's probably not that.  A shorted starter would also be rare.

 

If you want to be thorough, remove all the big power wiring, clean the metal surfaces and reinstall it...positive and negative legs.

 

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thanks for taking the time to read my post and give me tips. what does it mean when the "chatter" continues for only about 5 tries and then goes dead on all other tries?

[USA1Fan]

thanks for taking the time to read my post and give me tips. what does it mean when the "chatter" continues for only about 5 tries and then goes dead on all other tries?

 

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Battery is getting too weak to continue cranking maybe?

[vortec]

thanks for taking the time to read my post and give me tips. what does it mean when the "chatter" continues for only about 5 tries and then goes dead on all other tries?

 

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Battery is getting too weak to continue cranking maybe?

 

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see now this is a thought that i had and this is why i got a new alternator, because i thought that since the battery in my truck was doing fine (said autozone) maybe it just wasn't getting enough of a charge from the alternator

[ManyCamaroz]

Sometimes when the solenoid tries to engage and there isn't enough current available to crank the engine over a period of tries, the solenoid engages and disengages and burns the contacts in the solenoid and they don't mate well enought to carry the necessary current to crank the engine. I've torn into solenoids and burnished the contacts on the older types (don't know about your type) and you could also reverse the contact and use the other side. This could be your problem. A simple $15.00 solenoid has gone south.

[mcreyaufmiller]

I had a similar problem, I found that the connections on the side post battery were filled with corrosion. I cleaned the fittings, and reassembled. Problem gone. Check your hot and ground connectors. the corrosion builds up inbetween the two connectors.

[budhayes3]

If you're getting just one click, more than likely the contacts in the starter solenoid are burnt. They're slamming together but not allowing current to pass through. You could pull the starter and try to rebuild the solenoid, or get a price for a good reman starter with some sort of warranty on it for piece of mind (sometimes you can get a 12mo/12,000 mile warranty on certain parts)

[vortec]

If you're getting just one click, more than likely the contacts in the starter solenoid are burnt. They're slamming together but not allowing current to pass through. You could pull the starter and try to rebuild the solenoid, or get a price for a good reman starter with some sort of warranty on it for piece of mind (sometimes you can get a 12mo/12,000 mile warranty on certain parts)

 

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does Reman have a website?

[budhayes3]

does Reman have a website?

 

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reman is short for remanufactured...sorry about the confusion.

[vortec]

does Reman have a website?

 

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reman is short for remanufactured...sorry about the confusion.

 

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no problem. thanks for taking the time to help me

[rober22]

you possibly have a intermitant drain on the battery , does this only happen when sitting overnight or over serveral days, also do you have any aftermarket accessorys hooked up to your tahoe,,

[vortec]

you  possibly have a intermitant drain on the battery , does this only happen when sitting overnight  or over serveral days, also do you have any aftermarket accessorys hooked up to your  tahoe,,

 

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yes. to both questions. it only happens when i start it in the morning. and i have aftermarket head unit radio and sound system. but the sound system i am using a capacitor.