MaineI30

As many of you know I sold my 95 SE to my brother and his starters keep failing. He puts a new one in, works for a bit, then it cooks.

Apparently the mechanics are blaming "aftermarket electrical work" for this stuff, but that seems preposterous to me.

A new alternator was recently installed by a Nissan mechanic, I'm just not sure if it was before the starter problem began..

Any ideas?

Eric L.

I would check the battery cables, especially the one that leads to the starter. Excessive wear on the cable may lead to excess current reaching the starter.

You would have thought that after four starters, they would know the problem by now.

MaineI30

I know, I'm ticked, and I hope he's not paying for those starters. I'll tell him to check into the cable.

Anyone else have ideas why this would be?

Daniel B. Martin

"He puts a new one in ..." Do you really mean new or do you mean rebuilt?

A properly rebuilt unit is as good as a new one. However, some some sleazy operators buy large quantities of used parts from wrecking yards, test them, and return the bad ones. They take the good ones, clean the exterior, apply a coat of silver paint, sell the parts as "rebuilt", and hope they won't fail during the warranty period. In the business, this fraudulent practice is called "Spray And Pray".

sleeper

if you put a new starter in your car, and the battery is weak, it will destroy the starter. you heard it here first, at sleepers back yard mechanics, lol.

Daniel B. Martin

Can you substantiate this idea with a pointer to a repair manual, magazine article, web site, etc.? I cannot understand why this happens and your post did not offer an explanation. I'm not saying you are wrong, and I'm always eager to learn more.

sleeper

actually when i installed a new starter in my postal jeep, i read the instructions, and that's what it said, NEW STARTER + BAD BATTERY = DESTROYED STARTER. i would think that the starter isn't getting the voltage required. and if it's a rebuilt one it would be all the worse. check with the starter manufacturers, they may be able to verify this, with some theory. ttyl, sleeper.

Zack_Rad

Power is proportional to voltage and current. If a motor is "trying" to generate a certain amount of power and the voltage drops too low, the motor will draw more current. A slow spinning DC motor also draws alot of current due to the lack of counter-voltage generated by the motor, believe it or not. This will burn up motor windings and carbon brushes on all sorts of motors. That's one of the reasons that alot of large motors start with push buttons. The buttons will cause the motor to shut off if voltage drops too low. (like a dryer). The second reason is why your lights dim when you start your vaccuum and then brighten up when the motor comes up to speed.(the ac version)

-Zack