Not turning over, bad starter?

[281pony]

i moved my car out of the garage, shut it off. nothing was unusual. i washed the car, and decided to clean my engine bay a little

i sprayed with the hose carefully, then whiped some of it down. after i was done i took it around the block and again nothing was unusual. it got up to temp, came home and shut it off.

i just went out to go to the store and it isint turning over at all. the first time i attempted, it made a small snap/pop sound then nothing. all lights, interior lights, ect work fine. but it is not cranking at all. my fuel pump is priming, everything else is normal.

does this sound like the starter got wet/ruined? anything else i can check?

my terminals are clean, wires are all connected. car was fine, then it sat for around 2 hours after spraying it and now nothing. thanks for any advice

 

[ECU5.0]

id check the distributor cap just to make sure its not all wet underneath. but thats probably not the problem

 

[281pony]

distributor is dry.

anyone have any other suggestions or does it just sound like starter? that one pop/snap sound it made, then nothing after that has to indicate something. seems like starter?

 

[HISSIN50]

it's late, leave it till morning and try it again. you got water somewhere, and water eventually evaporates.

as long as the solenoid, battery connections and motor ground are clean and dry, you should be alright.

you could try jumpin the solenoid to rule out part of the starter circuit, but i think it will fix itself.
good luck.

 

[281pony]

ill try that method. hopefully tomorrow it is fine again, or else im going to replace the starter. i went out and checked everything to the best i could right now and it seems fine. all grounds connected, terminals/connectors clean, ect.

im guessing that it is water related, but i did drive it after i sprayed the engine and nothing was wrong. so maybe during the drive it got circulated or whatever happened.

tomorrow will tell, if it doesnt start, im going to replace starter and go from there.

 

[HISSIN50]

please post again tomorrow before you replace something. look at the cause and effect - you sprayed water on the motor. while it can temporarily knock stuff out, the components are made to get wet. it is probably a bad connection - the starter failing would be a fluke. it is suscepted to water all the time.

if you get it to run, id let it idle for awhile to heat up and boil stuff off. i know you drove it after washing, but water may have made its way somewhere it shouldnt while driving.....

good luck.

 

[281pony]

alright, ill see what happens.

i was thinking water got somewhere when driving. the car got up to full operating temp. and sat warm for several hours. if its not dry by tomorrow to start ill be looking at what to replace im sure.

 

[HISSIN50]

that is the thing, you should not have to replace anything. you just need to find what got wet and get it dry.
jumper cables make nice temporary ground, etc for testing. i just dont want to see you dump money into parts that were ok and that dont help you get running.

good luck.

 

[281pony]

pos isint starting still its hot enough outside to register my autometer gauge up to 140 without the car being ran so im pretty sure that would have dried up anything.

all my grounds are fine, just assuming something is out now. does that snap/pop sound it made identify anything to you hissin? my cousin asked me if it was a static type sound which it was and said to check battery connection. ive gone over the terminals with sandpaper, and connectors, tightened them, ect. so im pretty much ruling the battery out.

 

[87'GTstang]

You could have always shorted something out with that little water-spray-escapade. Possibly the solenoid or starter itself, it does happen. Does the car make any other sounds while trying to start or was that one snap/pop sound the last sound it uttered?

 

[jrichker]

Here's a checklist:

Check battery, terminal connections, ground, starter relay switch (also known as solenoid) and starter in that order.

A voltmeter is handy if you are familiar with how to use it to find bad connections. Measure the voltage drop across a connection: more than .5 volts across a connection indicates a problem.

1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check the battery. Most auto parts stores will do a free battery check if you bring them the battery.

2.) Check the battery to engine block ground, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall.

3.) Check the cables for cracks in the insulation, and corrosion around the wire where it joins the connector. Look for swelling of the cable’s diameter which would indicate corrosion inside the cable. Bending the cable can often reveal corrosive damage inside the cable when the outside looks OK.

4.) Put the car's transmission in neutral or has someone press in on the clutch. Then pull the small push on connector (red wire) off the starter relay (Looks like it is stuck on a screw) and jump it to 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.

5.) Remember to check the ignition switch, neutral safety switch on auto trans and the clutch safety switch on manual trans cars. If they are good, then the relay is bad. See http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/...23d8019595f.gif for a very good diagram of the starter & neutral safety switch wiring

6.) 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 are good. The starter relay is also known as a starter solenoid.

7.) 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.

8.) Pull the starter and take it to Autozone or Pep Boys and have them test it. If the starter fails the test, then replace it. If you got this far, the starter is probably bad.

 

[281pony]

the snap/pop sound it made was the last thing i heard.

ive checked all wires, grounds, ect. ill have to check the relay by jumping as jrichker suggested. then i am clueless.

since i drove it after i sprayed the engine bay and it was fine. im guessing while driving whatever happened did so then. so i'm thinking it is going to be in the relay or solenoid.

 

[281pony]

i had the car up and got a look at the starter. it was loose as a 10 cent hooker so i tightened it down and figured that had been my problem.

still nothing.. i dont understand this, everything seems ok. it just out of nowhere stops attempting to turn over

 

[HISSIN50]

i had the car up and got a look at the starter. it was loose as a 10 cent hooker so i tightened it down and figured that had been my problem.

still nothing.. i dont understand this, everything seems ok. it just out of nowhere stops attempting to turn over

if you are careful, you could run a jumper cable to the cable side of starter solenoid (from the pos cable). you would be applying direct battery juice to the starter from the battery. i would be very careful, and know that you must remove the cable to disengage the starter.....

just tryin to think of ways to isolate the problem. good luck.

 

[281pony]

got it running again. it was my starter and solenoid. solenoid must have gotten water in it, and starter went out at the same time.

70 bucks but it starts alot stronger then before, and turns over period

thanks for all the advice

 

[87'GTstang]

got it running again. it was my starter and solenoid. solenoid must have gotten water in it, and starter went out at the same time.

70 bucks but it starts alot stronger then before, and turns over period

thanks for all the advice

Yep, that's what it sounded like. Glad you got it going again. I'm assuming you had the stock starter, otherwise you wouldn't be as excited about how much faster/stronger it starts

 

[281pony]

i was pretty suprised when i got under there and was able to wiggle the starter back and forth almost an inch and fingertighten the bolts.

some more of the quality work i found from the previous owner. i will also be doing my own transmission now since he so kindly left bolts loose all over down there, should make the job much easier

87Stang, im assuming it was the original starter. it had motorcraft labeling.