Guys

A couple of weeks ago I took my car to an engine wash. after that, the alternator stopped working. Now that i fixed the alt, the car is not cranking. Checked the fuses and the starter relay and everything is ok. Went down the car and checked if the starter solenoid was receiving voltage and yes, it had voltage when the ignition key was in position III. Also, I connected the starter solenoid direct to the battery with a jumper wire and nothing.

Does the starter solenoid must do some noise when I apply voltage to it? I remember that when I have had low battery and I tried to crank the engine, I hear a ticking noise from under the car. Is this noise produced by the solenoid? Today when I connected the solenoid directly to the battery, there was no noise.

Should I replace only the solenoid, only the starter or both? how can I diagnose each component?

Thanks!

 

Clicking noise woul d be the starter solenoid.
remove the starter and check the ground, or you could try connecting a jumper to the negative terminal of the battery to the body of the starter and try to bump it with the key. Also, disconnect the high current side and make sure the contacts are clean. I had a jeep with an intermittet starting problem and it ended up being a dirty connection

 

Make sure all connections are clean and tight, not only the positive cable both ends, but also the ground cables, all 4 ends.
You could have a bad solenoid though.
If the solenoid is engaging, you will hear a single click each time you turn the key to the start position.

 

Thanks guys for the tip.

Now... taking out the starter is a two bolts job, right? Is there any oil I have to drain before that?

Thanks!

 

No oil to drain.

• Disconnect neg cable at battery
• Remove starter heat shield if present
• Disconnect small solenoid lead
• Disconnect battery lead from starter
• Remove two starter mounting bolts
• Remove starter

I find it easier to remove the upper bolt using a long extension that reaches in front of the diff.

 

Do in this order as i did this job last week on my daughters DII. I had mine rebuilt but had to take out and out back in as we thought there was a problem with the rebuilt one and forgot to disconnect neg cable. Talk about welder... It was all good though. You will need the 8mm allen ket socket to remove starter bolts. It's actuallty the easiest things i have done on this truck. If you put up on jack stands you will need a step stool to put top bolt in starter . You will need a extension for the bottom bolt. i used a 8" one. If the overfill cap is grinding your chest when you are working on the top bolt you are doing it correctly...

Have fun, Chris

 

If you hear the click, but nothing happens is it still the solenoid or starter itself? Mine will start fine one minute and the next time not. It's getting more frequent. I noticed that when it is not starting, if I turn the key really slow, the point just before the click, there is a magic spot where it seems to consistently get it going again.

 

The ignition key lock operates eventually a starter relay in the underhood fuse box. You can take out the relay and test from there with a wire jumper. If it test good with a jumper, IMHO if you have to sneak up on it, the ignition lock might be involved. Won't matter if it is solenoid or starter, it is a PITA the first time you remove it.