SO this am my 99 SE spins the starter without turning the motor over. I was immediately thinking "It's just the starter. 7 year old car. Yup just the starter." Of course in the back of my mind I am thinking what if it's the flywheel? I don't know how this flywheel is attached but I do know I won't be driving this car to work this week, and I likely won't be fixing it myself at a reasonable cost either.

So I bought a starter, fought with the connector for an hour this am before taking my wife's Quest to work. Got home late, got back to the Max got the new starter in and guess what same F(*&%ing problem.

Anybody got anything on this? I think I am screwed into getting it towed to a shop for a big bill.

 

So your starter is spinning but the engine itself isn't turning over?

Where did you get the starter?

 

With the starter out, you could have taken a peek at the flywheel...

 

Does it backfire? Do RPMs jump up while trying to start?

 

AutoZone lifetime guarantee Duralast Brand...$139 plus core...

 

I don't have it all back together, just the starter bolted in and the electricals as well. The entire air intake tract is out so pulling the starter again won't be too bad. The old starter gear was in near perfect shape, no broken or damaged teeth at all. We've owned this car since new so I can say there is no reason the flywheel should be damaged as far as the teeth....

 

Alright - you gotta bench test that solenoid 12V should trigger it... same with the starter you just bought.

I say you have a bad replacement starter.. I know it sounds far fetched, but it won't be the first time that the auto-store special starters are bad out of the box.

You can also pull the starter (you're an expert now ) and take a pic of the flywheel - I would be very SURPRISED if there was anything wrong with it.

Could you provide some info on how this problem started... IIRC, you just went to start the car and all of a sudden all you get is the starter spinng, but no engine cranking.. is that correct?

 

Engine does nothing whatsoever with the starter turning, no rpm on the tach...

 

See my previous post - I say you have a bad replacement starter... just post a pic of the flywheel to double check.

 

How far is Neenah from Chicago I'll have the batmobile ready in 2 mins.

 

Car sat for three days. Usually when it sits for awhile, like 5days or more it won't start on the first key cycle (2-3 seconds). Same thing today. But on the second key cycle and ever since it just does nothing at all The engine isn't turning over, the starter spins but nothing else is happening, nothing on the tach, starter is faster than normal etc etc.

Okay more background: 65k, already did the fuel filter, plugs, tranny fluid swap to synthetic, coolant swaps, synthetic oil every 5k after breakin, etc. Well maintained car, completely stock except front end strut tower brace. Noth that any of that affects the starter but just some more info....

 

I will see if I can get a pic of the flywheel when i get the starter off again, not sure if I can get my camera in there to a decent shot....

 

When yo usay it didn't start on the first key cycle.. do you mean it never turned over the first time at all, i.e. turn-key and then nothing (dead) and then you turn it a few more times and it finally the starter responds and the car starts.

 

is the started kickin out?for example theres 2 parts one part that spins and one part that comes out to engage on the flywheel.if ya bench test or have someone start it you should here a click and and the starter spinning

 

Thats the solenoid I mentioned. I bet the solenoid on both starters is not working.

 

aka the plunger i believe. I'd jus rebuild the thing it aint hard and you learn something

 

Okay I read up on the latest posts. I didn't rebuild it or replace the solenoid because the parts are 2-3 days and this is my daily driver. The car never did start this am, just spun. wife watched the accessory belt, nope not turning. Got a starter back to the house via the Quest in time for her to leave again with the kiddies while I went to work on swapping out the starter. Quit after troubles with the wire connector took the van to work after she got back.

Got the starter installed tonight, spun the starter and again engine not starting. Panicked. Imagined the saliva running out of the mechanic's gaping maw as he billed me for towing the car and replacing the flywheel etc.

Went out to remove new starter to physically examine the flywheel, decided to get the wife to watch the accessory belt, this time it's spinning.

So I keep cranking. Sure enough after about 6 cranks of 3 sec or so each time the engine starts to bump a little, like it's hitting on a one or two cylinders every once in awhile. This goes on for another half dozen cranks. Finally I floor it while cranking and it is starting to bump (fire) more and more but still not nearly enough to start.

Finally it increases to the point where it starts, idles a little rough but after a minute or so and a good drive, it runs great.

SO now I am really wondering. Was the original starter really bad or was my wife not looking at the belt close enough? Why with the new starter did it start so poorly? Does disconnecting the battery for an extended period cause the computer to reset fuel/air settings etc (a rumor I heard from an associate at a large high performance exhaust co)? Should I just finish my beer and try to forget it ever happened in the first place?

 

Well, the above post about makes this a moot point, but:
I had this problem over the summer and needed to replace the clutch anyway so I had the flywheel replaced cause that's what all the mechanics said was wrong. I didn't have the problem for about 3-5 months but it's back and I'm blaming the starter not sticking out to engage the flywheel. When I got the parts back after the swap, my OEM flywheel was in perfect condition. So in conclusion, I agree with most of these guys, I think it's your starter. Something I recently noticed with mine is if I let the clutch out after the first attempt and then push it back in it starts fine, but it's probably a coincidence.

 

Your problem is probably a sticking/faulty clutch inhibit switch (The switch that requires the clutch to be pressed for the car to start).

 

but why would the clutch interlock allow the starter to spin, normally nothing happens when interlock isn't engaged.

 

Then I misunderstood your post. I thought that when you said "nothing happens", you meant that "nothing happened", i.e. you turn the key and you get nothing... obviously if the starter spins everytime, then it's not a clutch-inhibit switch issue.