Starting/Starter troubles

[Bryan E 2]

Alright, I need confirmation of the issue that I am having. When I turn the key over the motor turns over for a second and then you hear the starter still turning but not the motor. Sometimes there is a clunk sound before the starter spins freely. Is this the starter going out or another issue? Also could the battery not be sending enough juice to the starter?

 

[Lloyd Ledford]

pull out the starter and manually turn the engine while looking at teeth on flexplate, may have a few ground down.

 

[Igor Smetaniuk]

Bryan,



It might help to give as much detail as you can.



How old is the starter?

Have you experienced any slow starting?

Did everything work fine when you turned it off last?

Have you checked/cleaned your battery connections?

How old is your battery?



I just changed my ORIGINAL starter last month on my 2001 ST. The solenoid would just spin but starter wouldn't engage. Got a remanufactured Motorcraft from Rock Auto.

 

[Yardsale]

There seems to be enough power to the starter motor, and it's not interrupted.

If the solenoid were bad, the pinion gear would not engage and the starter motor would not turn.



Broken pinion gear?

 

[Bob Floyd]

Starter Bendix is failing you can replace it alone with the drive gear not a bad job or just replace the starter.

 

[Yardsale]

I don't think the current design (electric) is of the Bendix type (inertia).



This has me wondering if it's possible that the electromagnet could fail such that the solenoid could still function as an effective relay (continuing to provide power to the starter motor), but no longer drive the pinion gear in to the flywheel.



Either way, solenoids can be tested and are relatively inexpensive.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I'd pull the starter, check the flex plate teeth, check the starter pinion gear, replace the solenoid (not real expensive), clean and tighten all the battery cables, look for missing ground straps, etc.