Start problem?

[saintsairforce]

Hello,

The other day I noticed my car (91 laser, 2L, non-turbo, fwd, 4 speed) was having a hard time starting. At the time I suspected either the battery or the altenator. The fallowing day I went to start the car, and nothing. I had power inside and the head lights worked fine. So I pulled out my meter and tested the battery to be sure. 12 volts, good. Next I checked the haynes manual and fallowed ther method of testing. I final think that it is the starter. After spending a good half hour looking for it I found it. I tried running a jumper wire from the + terminal and then I touched the battery quickly to see if it would turn. nothing. I then pulled out my trusty hammer and gave the starter a few nice taps. I tried it and the car started up no problem. Today I'm noticing that the car is hard to start and am pretty sure I have to do something with the starter. I was thinking about pulling it out tonight and pulling it apart to clean up the contacts, and inspect bearings and such. I'm hoping this works. I called around for a replacement starter but they are pretty pricey here. Any tips for working on the start? Any thoughts on what the problem might be instead of the starter? Thanks for any replys.

Ricky

 

[importboost]

Clean all contacts. The slow turning is the cause of higher resistance than what it is supposed to be. Could be internal or external. So check your grounds and check for any loose connections. You will probably find that the feild winding is worn and when you tapped on it, it caused the winding to move and make a full connection.

 

[larsenracing]

The luck I have had with trying to clean then and work on them it just happens again. It's a temporary fix then it will happen again in a few months so you may have to just fork the doe out and buy a new one. But I guess on the other hand your not really out anything by trying the cleaning thing maby you would get lucky any how good luck.

 

[JessesTalon]

Just replace the starter, its not like its a expensive part to replace...

Looks like you did your research on how to test it...

Another thing is check for resistence in the wire from the starter to the battery

 

[jastermerrel]

Starter rebuild kits can be bought, i dont know any prices though. Just an option.