This morning I went out to just move my 96 Max to the street and when I tried starting it, it didn't even turn over. All I heard was clicking (starter?) which eventually stopped. The more I tried to start it, the shorter it clicked for. I then tried jumping it and nothing then either. It must be something with the starter, right? I haven't ever had to change the starter so it must just be showing it's age.

Any ideas? I have been away at college for a few months and I just got home. Last night I got home and just drove the car up the driveway and it started right up. Maybe a little rough, but I just figured it was due to the cold weather. For reference, it has been below freezing these past few days, I think.

I'm so bummed. Any help?

 

Sounds like a dead starter - give it a whack and see if it starts...

I would recommend an OEM replacement, over an Autozone... but it's up to you.

 

Its sounds like the starter as njmodi stated, mine went out in the cold too. Dam these 4th gens suck in the cold!

 

isn't there something about regreasing? if that's just too much of a mess, i would rather just get a new one. are they refurbished, or completely new?

 

could be a bad battery/alternator also.... check the battery terminals with a DVM as someone is cranking the motor over...

 

if you take in your starter, they will give you a rebuilt one for a cheaper price

i paid about 60 for mine when i gave in my old one. its been working for about 2 years strong now

 

so best bet would be to replacae the starter, it sounds like. On motorvate.com, he removed the starter and regreased it in order to get rid of a whirring sound. However, mine doesn't even start. Does this mean that it is completely shot and regreasing wouldn't help? It would be nice to know for sure, but I suppose it's hard to say.

Perhaps the grease in there has solidified somewhat under the cold conditions and a regreasing would lubricate it a lot and allow it to work. Also, would white lithium grease work for the regreasing?

 

Regreasing won't help fix the problem - it just helps eliminate squealing/binding..

 

Before you go replacing a starter, make sure that the battery isn't dead. I tried boosting a friend's car back in the summer, and the same thing was happening. Even with a boost off my battery, nothing. So just for kicks, I pulled out my battery and placed it in her car. It started right away. Turns out the battery was dead as dead.

Now, does that make sense to anyone? Does that mean that when you boost another battery, your not supplying the same CCA's as when the battery is connected directly?

 

rocco, i'm confused. you said that you put your 'dead' battery into your friends car and it worked? doesn't that mean that the battery wasn't the problem? i'm confused. shouldn't i put the battery from my friends car, or any working car and see if that works? if it does, then i could assume that it is in fact my battery that is bad. that would be a good idea before messin with an alternator and i could try that fairly quickly.

 

this happened to me once too, it was the battery

since it's cheaper and much easier to diagnose than a bad starter, i would input a battery that u KNOW works first..

and also, all the lights were working and stuff, but it just didnt have enough juice to power up the car

 

that makes sense as my interior lights were going, but there just wasn't enough to crank over the starter. i hope this is the problem! I know my dad's or sister's cars work just fine, so i'll swap one of those out and see. if it works just fine, i'll grab one right away tomorrow.

so, to kinda change the topic of this thread, what's a good battery with a lot of cold weather cranks? deep cycle? what have you had good experience with in cold climates?

 

i just grab the one most reasonably priced and that has very high CCA (cold cranking amps)

 

The clicking noise when you try starting it is usually the battery. It is very common for weak and old batteries to go bad once the cold weather starts. Check you battery before you change the starter for symptoms of a bad battery.

 

updateL i switched out the battery from my sister's car and it started up just fine. so I think I'll head over to Sears and find a good deal tomorrow. thanks for the help.