Yesterday car struggled for the first time to turn on, now this morning it just clicked a few times, alarm and door chiming still works, and it wont start. Is my starter dead? If it is where is it located in case i gotta give it a couple whacks
not always true but most of the time clicking means good starter selanoid so typically good starter... probably just need a jump battery might be on the way out... i work in a parts store and this is the time of year for that
Since some of the tests will bypass the safety interlocks, make sure that the car is in neutral and the parking brake is set. Becoming a pancake isn’t part of the repair process…
Check battery, terminal connections, ground, starter relay switch (also known as solenoid) and starter in that order.
1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check battery.
2.) Check the battery to engine block ground, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall.
3.) Jump the big terminals on the starter relay next to the battery with a screwdriver - watch out for the sparks! If the engine cranks, the starter and power wiring is good. The starter relay is also known as a starter solenoid.
4.) Then pull the small push on connector (red wire) off the starter relay (Looks like it is stuck on a screw). Then jump between the screw and the terminal that is connected to the battery. If it starts, the relay is good and your problem is in the rest of the circuit.
6.) The starter may be hung, loosen up the bolts that hold it on, and give it a good whack with a big hammer. Tighten up the bolts and try again.
7.) If that doesn't work, use a jumper cable from the positive lead on the battery direct to the starter post where the big wire from the relay connects. If it cranks then, it is the power wire from the relay gone bad. This will be hard to do, since there isn't much room to do it.
8.) Pull the starter and take it to Autozone or Pep Boys and have them test it. Starter fails test, then replace it. If you got this far, the starter is probably bad.
I jumped the car, and it worked. I then took it to a shop for some tests and they said it was the alternator. The alternator that I had on was pretty new, but i heard they fail a lot on the 5.0. I was told to replace the alternator so i did and now it works, but the battery levels are kinda low on the gauge, could it just be that i need to charge it up again since the previous one was bad and drained the battery? The reason I ask this is because i wanna know if i shouldve just replaced the battery and not the alternator, mainly because theres about a $250 difference. But now since ive had the new alternator it works like it did before.
I jumped the car, and it worked. I then took it to a shop for some tests and they said it was the alternator. The alternator that I had on was pretty new, but i heard they fail a lot on the 5.0. I was told to replace the alternator so i did and now it works, but the battery levels are kinda low on the gauge, could it just be that i need to charge it up again since the previous one was bad and drained the battery? The reason I ask this is because i wanna know if i shouldve just replaced the battery and not the alternator, mainly because theres about a $250 difference. But now since ive had the new alternator it works like it did before.
A parts store or a shop should have bench tested both components for you.
If you have over ~ 12.6 volts at any time (using a real DMM, not the stock gauge), then the alternator has some output.
Posting some multi meter numbers would help others to help you (voltage at the battery with the car off, voltage with car idleing, voltage at 2K rpm, etc).