Starter Will Not Engage

[cheetah85]

I have been having an ongoing problem for about 2 months now. When I turn the key to start the car, I have to try it for about three or four times before the starter will engage and start the car.

It has a brand new battery and I had it tested at Advance Auto Parts and it tested fine under a load.

A couple of days ago, I tried to start the car and it finally would not start at all. I purchased a new starter and after installing it the new starter will not engage either. When I hit the key, I could hear the soloenoid powering the starter and the starter was making a pinging sound like it wanted to engage but it couldn't. Thinking the new starter was bad, I took it to Advance Auto Parts and upon doing a bench test, it tested fine. I also had the old starter checked and it also tested fine too.

So the starter itself can be ruled out as the culprit.

It seems like the starter isn't getting enough power from the battery.

I am at a standstill here. I have read in a couple of forums on this site that the ignition switch or clutch switch could be bad.

Is there a test I can do to diagnose the problem? I know this is something simple I am overlooking.

[festiva67mpg]

try this

use your booster cables to connect the batt + to the starter at the large terminal not the small one and the try to start your car as you normally would if it start the you will need to replace the batt + wire or repair the circuit be sure to put the car in neutral and do not make contact with both terminals at the same time. you may just become the first person ever to run them selfs over with there own car and that would be unfortunate,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and funny......relay realy funny. good luck

[batstiva]

I agree that the issue is likely your positive battery cable. Also agree that you should be very careful and not run yourself over. People talk about us West Virginians enough as it is.

[ejp2fast]

is the starter and solenoid an assembly? may be the solenoid or relay.

[mechanicaldj]

most likely bad positive or negative battery cables and/or terminals

use the jumper cables to bypass the originals,
red cable to the large terminal on the starter
and
black cable to a clean spot on the engine or transaxle

but keep everything still connected
then use your key to start it

[James Yanan]

I had the same problem earlier this year. Some timey starter, altenator not charging the battery. I checked and double checked both. It turned out that the 3 main fusable links were weak once I replaced them with the cartrige type all was fixed. I cleaned the terminals with a nail file before replacing. Hope this does the trick. Little Tykes

[sanjeet]

If you have a high mileage it could be the ring gear is worn and the starter will not engage properly, the starter motor driving pinion is made of material that is harder than the ring gear, and yes it is possible to fit a new ring gear.

When you have this problem the starter will not mesh with the ring gear and simply will not engage to turn the engine over, good one to check and the starter may engage if you turn the motor over by hand and try to start in a different position, if you remove the stater motor you may be able to check the ring gear for wear.