Starter going bad?

[kleenax]

The last few days, when I crank my truck over, the sound is different. It almost sounds like the starter is making a "wheezing sound" when it's cranking. Sometimes cranks kind of slow, sometimes faster than normal. Is this the starter going bad?

I know for a fact that the starter only has about 30,000 miles on it, but that has taken about 4 years, and it appears to be a replacement starter. What's the life-expectancy on these things anyway?

Do I need to start thinking about replacing the starter, or could it be the batteries?

[jabink89]

very well could be the starter. what size batteries ar ein your truck. how many cold cranking amps. if the sre small they can wear out your starter prematurely as i just found out. they say to to have any smaller than 850cca per battery. if you need a new starter maybee get bigger batteries if you dont have them already, might help it last longer.

my starter did the same thing when it went bad sometimes it would crank good, sometimes slow, and sometimes fast, but it was definately noticable.lasted about 2 weeks after it started acting up.

[Snotzalot]

>if the sre small they can wear out your starter prematurely as i just found out.

Please provide a link to this information.

[asauer]

It's standard electrical principles...
If batteries are small/weak, when excess current is drawn the voltage will drop. When the voltage drops, the starter will draw more current to get the same output power.
Power(watts)=VoltagexAmperage
If voltage goes up, amperage draw goes down. Inversely, if voltage goes down, current must go up to maintain the same output.
What I'm getting at is if voltage drops below normal ranges, the excess current will cause excess heat and problems.

[Mr_Roboto]

When voltage goes down current (amps) goes down. The wattage (resistance) is a constant.

Yes bad batteries are bad for a starter, but only because you crank the motor longer (generate more heat). Starter motors have no internal ventilation and will build heat rapidly and dissipate it very slowly.

As to the original question, have your batteries load tested (individually). A battery that does not put out full voltage, or does not maintain it will make the starter crank very slow. Also check all your electrical connections for looseness or corrosion.

[kleenax]

Strange;

Although I've not been able to check the batteries (can't read the labels), the thing starts fine when it's cold. The only time it doesn't want to start is when I shut it off for 20-30 minutes (after it's warmed up) and then try and re-start it.

Like today, I came out from having lunch, and the darn thing didn't want to start (slow-turning over).

I will clean the terminals & check all connections tomorrow.

[johndeerebones]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kleenax</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Strange;

Although I've not been able to check the batteries (can't read the labels), the thing starts fine when it's cold. The only time it doesn't want to start is when I shut it off for 20-30 minutes (after it's warmed up) and then try and re-start it.

Like today, I came out from having lunch, and the darn thing didn't want to start (slow-turning over).

I will clean the terminals & check all connections tomorrow.
</div></div>

Dead give away, starters will crank harder with more heat soak. I am looking for a new starter on ebay for my truck right now.

[Snotzalot]

Agree it's your starter.

[asauer]

Mr_Roboto, I hate to tell you, but you're misinformed. Wattage is equivalent to power, not resistance. Resistance is measured in Ohms, not Watts.
And yes, as voltage goes down, current MUST increase to keep the power output the same. Voltage is potential (think of it as water pressure), and current is akin to water flow rate (gallons per minute). Resistance (Ohms) is simply the 'backpressure'.
Think of it this way, if your water pressure (Voltage) is lower than normal, will it not take more volume (Current) to fill a bucket up in the same amount of time as normal water pressure??
As a matter of fact, even the resistance in electrical components is NOT a constant- they either have a positive or negative temperature coefficient, which means that as the electrical device is either heated or cooled the resistance (therefore current flow) will either increase or decrease, depending upon its properties.

Why do you think the 6Volt systems have been phased out for so long, being replaced by 12V? And also why does the military use 24V systems? Because the 12V systems need 1/2 the current to achieve the same overall wattage as 6V, and 24V systems need 1/2 the current as 12V. Bottom line- the wires can also be 1/2 the cross sectional area, saving weight and money. The other reason is that low voltage systems inherentley have high line-loss. This is why the power companies use high voltage lines (440V for the small telephone poles), then use transformers to step that voltage down to 220V.
Clear as mud??

[Snotzalot]

&gt;Mr_Roboto, I hate to tell you, but you're misinformed.

You could have made a pleasant informative post by leaving out the above comment.

[asauer]

Probably so. I apologize.

[Mr_Roboto]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: asauer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Mr_Roboto, I hate to tell you, but you're misinformed. Wattage is equivalent to power, not resistance. Resistance is measured in Ohms, not Watts. Welcome to Ohm's law which is a fairly simple algebraic equation. All three elements are related and when you change one then another will change also.
And yes, as voltage goes down, current MUST increase to keep the power output the same. We are talking about a simple motor. The only way current (amperage) is going to increase is if resistance decreases or voltage increases Voltage is potential (think of it as water pressure), and current is akin to water flow rate (gallons per minute). Resistance (Ohms) is simply the 'backpressure'.
Think of it this way, if your water pressure (Voltage) is lower than normal, will it not take more volume (Current) to fill a bucket up in the same amount of time as normal water pressure??
As a matter of fact, even the resistance in electrical components is NOT a constant- they either have a positive or negative temperature coefficient, which means that as the electrical device is either heated or cooled the resistance (therefore current flow) will either increase or decrease, depending upon its properties. Yea when metal heats up its resistance increases. I did not consider that point to be relevent to the simple point I was making.

</div></div>

There ARE some motors that work as you describe, because they have special windings and switches that make the motor "bigger" under startup and heavy load conditions. Air compressors in particular use that type of motor.

[kleenax]

Ok,

so I went ahead and took a chance with one of these eBay starters (with no core charge) with only a 1-year warranty since they're new and not rebuilt. I might be sorry, but this seller appears to have an excellent feedback record and sells a lot of these. Below is the link to the one that I purchased.

[censored].com/3xbt4m

[kleenax]

[censored] in front of that com.

[kleenax]

Now that is strange indeed. Ok, so I purchased THIS Item number 130175206767 on eBay and we will see how good of a starter it is.