Starter malfunction / check engine light

[macyot]

Hi Nation,
A quick post before heading off to work on my bicycle! Had trouble starting my 2000 Camry, 110k miles, yesterday morning. The starter motor turned over very slowly and protested with a lot of noise. The car did start & run fine but I noticed a terrible smell like overheating break pads so I planned on swapping out the starter motor this weekend.... The car again started with difficulties leaving work yesterday but the check engine light appeared. This morning the starter cannot generate enough revolutions to turn the motor over. Any thought on this being an underlining transmission problem and not actually the starter motor? Thanks for any suggestions

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by macyot

Hi Nation,
A quick post before heading off to work on my bicycle! Had trouble starting my 2000 Camry, 110k miles, yesterday morning. The starter motor turned over very slowly and protested with a lot of noise. The car did start & run fine but I noticed a terrible smell like overheating break pads so I planned on swapping out the starter motor this weekend.... The car again started with difficulties leaving work yesterday but the check engine light appeared. This morning the starter cannot generate enough revolutions to turn the motor over. Any thought on this being an underlining transmission problem and not actually the starter motor? Thanks for any suggestions

Seems insanely unlikely that this would be a transmission-related issue. Did you check the battery voltage and the voltage at the main starter terminals while she was cranking? Before I starting shotgunning expensive parts, I'd make sure the battery was up to snuff and that I got the same symptoms if I ran a direct jumper down from the battery to the starter contacts.

[Mike Gerber]

^ I have to agree. I would also suggest getting the code read from that check engine light. Places like Autozone and some other auto parts stores will read the code for free, if you can get the car there.

Mike

[macyot]

Thanks for your reply Mike. So as you know cars never strand anyone with tools in convenient places... Bench testing the starter at a local shop today produced quite the impressive amount of smoke and foul odor. Replacing was quick & easy but having removed the battery also cleared the check engine code. This is still a mystery to me and I will have to wait and see if the car throws it again.