You can expect to get 100,000 miles or more out of the factory starter in your automobile. There is one thing, however, that can damage the starter motor prematurely. This thing is motor oil. If you cracked the head gasket or the cylinder block in your engine, the motor oil will leak all over the starter. Unfortunately, this will cause a premature death of your starter. Whether the starter dies because of motor oil or age, here are signs that your starter is going bad.
Strange Pre-Ignition Noises
There is no guarantee that your starter will start to make noises as it goes bad. You may simply end up with a dead engine one day without any warning. This being said, if the starter clicks or whirs before the engine starts, drive straight to our shop. This may be the only warning that you get. We will inspect the starter and replace it right away if it needs it so you don’t end up with the following problem.
The Engine Will Not Start
An engine will not start if the starter is not working. The starter turns over the engine for the intake of air and fuel. The engine needs both of these things in order to produce combustion. It also needs the spark plugs to ignite the air and fuel, and the starter sends electricity through the plug wires so they generate sparks. If the starter is not working, none of these things will happen and you will not be able to get your engine started no matter how hard you try. Unfortunately, you will be stranded.
The Lights Are Illuminated
Before you grab the jumper cables and flag someone down to jump-start the battery, perform a simple test to make sure that the problem is the battery rather than the starter. This test is to turn on all of your vehicle’s lights to make sure they illuminate. If they do, the battery is fine, so do not jump-start it. Rather, the reason why your car won’t start is because the starter is dead.
You Smell/See Smoke
Finally, if you try and try again to get the engine started, you may overheat the starter motor and you will see and smell smoke coming out from underneath the hood. This is one time when you should give up if at first you don’t succeed.
Have your vehicle towed to our shop so we can test the starter and replace it if necessary. We are a full-service auto repair shop, and we are here to help.