so i went out to my car this morning and tried to start the car in this frigid weather, it made some noise (as if it was trying to start), the rpm jumped up a little but didn't start. I tried it a few more times and it still didn't start. Sounded like it had it wanted to turn over but didn't. So i had to leave to go to a function. Came back and tried it again. This time, it just clicks and nothing else. Its not the battery cause my lights were still on and bright, tried to jump it as well just to cover that. Nothing. So, i'm thinking that its my starter that went.
Is this a good assumption?
Any mechanic reccomendations in the woburn. stoneham area?
How much do starters normally go for?

Any and all input would help and the sooner the better cause i'm going to have to do something in the AM.
Thanks in advance!!!

-T

 

Does sound like the starter, same thing happened with mine.

A new OEM starter will be quite expensive. Best option would be to get your current starter repaired at an auto electrician

 

what/whos an auto electrician? Never heard of that before. How much is expensive?

 

An auto electrician is a person who deals soley with the electronic components of a car. Maybe you don't have them as a seperate profession over there (don't see why not though). Expensive as in around US$700 for a new OEM one.

 

700!? Whoa.. for a starter?

 

I think so

 

Damn yo, I don't think that the starter is dead. I seen it before a million times. Charge up your battery or get it tested in autozone. Then if that doesn't work then take off the connections on the starter and the battery and clean them up. Also buy a voltmeter and see if the fusable link (or a fuse) is not burned out.

Just because the lights work doesn't mean that your car will start!!!

We were dumb enough to think that's what happened to my friends POS, but after testing everything it turned to be a really really ****ed up battery (it didn't even charge no more!!!).

And even if it is a starter you can get it I think for around $250-300 straight from the dealer, cheaper from parts store

 

paid 450 installed

 

Look in the yellow pages under "electric motor repair" or something like that. They are way cheaper than buying new or even the Napa/Autozone remanufactured starters. The one I use even lets me watch him repair it, and I know that it's done right that way.

 

Autozone - $150. Put it in this morning - started right away.

 

No I'm not fu{king joking get that **** checked out first that I told you. You will buy a new starter and end up in **** hole because it wasn't it, or at least take out your starter and take it to autozone to get checked up

 

Yeah, definitely check out the battery before you touch the starter. I've had bad batteries that would light up the lights and stuff fine, but couldn't start the car. And, most any parts store will check the battery for free. I would definitely check the battery first.

 

Actually, should have mentioned this before, while you're checking the battery, check the wires connecting to the positive terminal and check that none have coroded. The starter motor gets its own wire straight from the battery. If you have a second car, or a friend with a car, swap batteries and see what happens, although it should have worked when you jumped it if was only the battery.

 

Just had my starter replaced over the weekend.
Paid $375 installed. Dunno if it's OEM, tho.
They told me that I needed to service my battery as well. I just replaced it.

I thought that if the engine was at least trying to turn over, your starter is fine. I mean, that's what it does... turns your engine.
I thought that if your engine just sat there when you're trying to crank it (like in my case), then your starter was bad.

just my thought.

 

Hey everyone..

Thanks for everyones input. Hm.. i didn't think that the starter had its own wire. Should've checked the board before i called the tow truck huh? Either way..When i try to turn it now, just clicks. I had the tow truck come by this morning. They are going to give me a call this afternoon to let me know whats going on. I didn't have time to run back and forth and get the battery tested since i need to get this fixed ASAP so i can get back to work. I'll keep you guys posted....



Thanks!!!

-T

 

Not really. We had a bad battery on my friends van and we tried jump starting it which didn't work!!! We checked everything except the battery and everything worked. Then all we had to do was to replace the battery to get it started. It had me puzzled for quite a while

 

Try starting the car with the headlight on. If the light is still bright but the starter won't turn the engine, then it is something wrong with the starter or its wiring. On the other hand, if the light dims significantly or goes out, then it is the battery. Typically, when the starter goes bad, you should have some warnings, days or even weeks. Bad battery doesn't give warning.

 

Not true for me, my starter just died one morning, 10mins after it had just worked normally. Was working faultlessly until it died. Got the starter repaired and it worked again

 

Thats the same method I went. When mine died I knew it was the starter because it had been going out all day and finally died that night.

 

Yeah, i've had that happen to me before. The starter starts to act up with problems trying to turn over. With mine, I had a couple of days (week at most) to change the starter but took too long and do it. It died while I was at the mechanics (luckily).

 

Nissan does sell their own rebuilt starters, I know because I was at the Infiniti dealership today and was asking about one. They run about 400$ but you get 60$ back if you return the old one. Make sure it's the starter because you don't want to go and spend that much money for nothing. They do not take returns on electrical parts. Also another little hint, if you decide to go aftermarket from a parts store, Hitachi builds the starters for this car. And I know that Napa carries a rebuilt starter from Hitachi.

 

If you have time, you can also clean and regrease the old starter. The grease in my starter was all dried but all the gears were in very good shape. No more starting problem for over 3 months now. I used wheel bearing grease, brake cleaner for the gear, and electrical cleaner for the brushes. This web site has instruction on how to do this: http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/516