Today while at the gas station, i turned the car off to put gas, and when i went to start it up to leave, the car would not start. So i had to push it into a corner of the gas station and its been sitting there for the past 8 hours. I went back to it after school, and tried to start it but all the starter does is make a whinning noise and nothing, as though the battery is died but its not.

 

A fast whinning noise? Like a whirrr? Sounds like the starter solenoid is not engaging the starter gear. If the battery is in good condition then it sounds like the starter went bad.

 

Why do you say that the battery is not dead? If it is because your lights and radio come on, you could still have a dead (or terminally ill) battery. It takes a whole lot more current to turn over the starter than it does to light the headlights.

IMHO, the most common problem for no-starts is corroded battery terminals. Just because they don't have a fist-full of crud on the outside does not mean they are clean. Lead-oxide forms between the mating surfaces of the post and terminal and is an excellent insulator.

Remove the terminals and clean the posts and the terminals with a wire brush terminal cleaner. Also, check the water level and top off with DISTILLED water only. In my experience, doing this will start the car 75% of the time.

 

You believe the battery is good. So do I, but even so it is worth your trouble to try a "jump start" with booster cables.

I think Jeff92se is right, the problem is inside the starter. More specifically, a failed solenoid or a failed starter drive (a/k/a the Bendix). If you like to do your own repairs you may be able to rehabilitate your starter rather than replace it.

There is another mechanical problem which will cause the same symptom: a sector of the ring gear has lost its teeth. That is too horrible to contemplate, so let's drop that idea here and now.

 

ok guys, i just changed the starter about 10 minutes ago, in the middle of a gas station and vrooomvrooomvrooom. Thanks guys it was the starter, that thing is huge!!!!

 

That same situation with the gas station and the car not starting happened to me too. The problem was the starter. Since my car was still under warranty, I changed it. It went out at only 38,000 miles

 

that quick, i had 120K on that starter. Just recently it started acting up and then just died today.

 

yo .gtr .i got your message thanks for reaplying .and if your wondering me starter got cooked for some stupid reason that i dont even know one hour i go shoping when i get back to crank her up .''click'click 'wtf i said i was bogeled for a solid hour trying to figure out the problem .bat .no it,s almost new plus i have no audio system in her and i always look to see if the lights are on .so what?? i sayd 45 min from home and had to be at work in 1 hour i sayd fu*k this so i called my good buddy al and he came over all ****ed off ."this better be worth me comin all the way over "he sayd well 2 day,s laiter i went over to the junk yard and picked up a used one off a 97 gxe for $80 smackers.damm hitachi components arent all that .dont expect me to buy a hitachi microwave or elec.stove any time soon . ha!!

 

In the future when this happens just bang your starter with a object like a hammer or even your scizzor jack rod things. When you bang the starter it moves the solonoids around and the car will start right up. This is just a temporary fix though, it will continue to not work in the future. BTW I did this for a week in my old Explore LOL, it worked every time.

 

In a previous car, my starter had very similar symptoms at just under 120k miles (Honda). Banging on it restored starting temporarily. Same thing with the alternator, where the alt.light would come on, then go away for a while after banging on it. Seems the lifespan on these devices can be dramatically different.

How about the ignition switch? Any predictions as to how long it should last? Mine is beginning to get more "notchy" than usual... I wonder if it's getting near failure time.

 

Hey lucky me i know this guy that works at the dealer, and got me a brand new one. I put it on right in the middle of the gas station. Now when i start the car, it sounds like a jet starting, its so phat. 2 second start instead of like 5 to 8.

Example:

Old Starter New starter
cr..cr.cr..cr.cr vroom cr.cr.cr vroom

 

yea, he told me that i can do that, but i didn't want to break it.(dont know my own strength.)