Hi guys, my wifes 95 Corolla has an intermittent problem. Occasionally when you turn the key to start it, everything works but the starter. All the lights and accessories work with the key on but you don't even get a click from the starter. If you try it a few times, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I checked the battery and it is sitting at 13.5v and the charging system is putting out 14.6.
I just need to know where to start to track this down. Thanks in advance!!
I'm also curious to know what could cause this, because I'm experiencing the same thing... also intermittently. I'm almost sure there's just a "dead spot" in the starter (solenoid), but not 100% sure.
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Last edited by ToyRolla97; 12-21-2010 at 12:52 AM.
If everything works but the starter does nothing, it's probably the starter bruh. Good news is that its an easy job to do. I would get a duralast unit from vatozone because the lifetime warranty is nice.
yeah just replace the starter. Remove the passenger side wheel then the splash shield. Its two bolts 14 mm. Make sure to take out the wiring first. There are 2. One is held by a 10 mm bolt the other you just have to press and pull out.
Lifetime warranty may be nice but how many times do you want to swap it? The company mentioned above has had severe quality problems in the last few years. I dont buy much of anything from them anymore.
For the OP- replace the starter. Anyone you ask would have given you that answer.
The symptoms sounds like worn out copper contacts inside the starter. Typically there is a click, then you try it many times and all of a sudden it starts. It can go for days or weeks without any problem and then suddenly it starts happening again.
It is not very hard to fix, you probably just need to replace the copper contacts (about $30 from the dealer and maybe less elsewhere). You only have to remove 2 bolts to remove the starter, it is a bit awark to access though.
Once the starter motor is removed from the car, you need to open it and get to the inside to replace the contacts, very straightforward. This has happened to me and to several other people here.
Replace the starter. Anyone you ask would have given you that answer.
-SP
Come on now, don't bash someone for asking a question. Isn't it better to play it safe and ask questions than to go uninformed? Maybe you didn't mean to, but that didn't come across very friendly. We're all just here to learn and discuss, right?
No bashing intended. He KNEW the answer but didnt act on it.
-SP
Hang on second here. If I knew the answer, why would I go to the trouble of signing up here and posting the question? I'm no rookie, I've been building and repairing vehicles since the early 70s and I know my way around well enough to have never in my life paid anyone to fix anything on a car, truck or motorcycle or anything else motorized for that matter. The reason I asked was that instead of trying to hunt down a bad ground or short, I figured maybe someone had the same experience and I could save some time.
I didn't think it was the starter because when you turn the key, there is nothing. No click, nothing. Usually when a starter fails, there is at least some indication that power is actually getting to the starter solenoid.
For those of you that gave friendly advice, thank you, for those that had nothing good to say.......well I just leave it at that! :P
If the solenoid itself is bad (not the contacts) there will be no "click."
If you were no rookie, then you would have taken out the starter before asking because you knew it was a problem.
I fit your same description. I do all my own work because the persons who were paid to do it did such a crappy job I knew I could do it better.
Hope you get it fixed easily.
-SP
I'm not sure why I have to explain my every move here but since I'm getting bashed every time I post I'll just explain a bit further before I'm on my way.
The reason I didn't take the starter out first thing was because I wanted to have a good idea what the problem was before starting to tear this vehicle apart in the cold. It's in the neighborhood of -20c daytime high here and I have no garage at the moment, so some of you will understand why I'm trying to narrow this problem down before I freeze my ass off fixing it.
Thanks for the help anyway. I'll go elsewhere next time.
Terry- Sorry this thread came out so badly. There are soooooo many peole that post messages wanting the answers to everything without doing a lick of work themselves. Yours appeared to be the same. If there was some wacky malady that affects these cars there would be multiple posts about it. Thats why newbies in forums are always told to familiarize themselves with the search button. Japanese cars in general are pretty straight forward with no wacky engineering (hmm unklike say FORD!)
They are pretty easy to diagnose. I think 85% of the posts about our aging cars are age related MAINTENANCE issues that are overlooked. How can we determine whats wrong if a poster hasnt done any maintenance himself? I have seen hundreds of posts (not just here) where a simple cleaning of the battery terminals fixed a wide variety of annoying problems.
Still wishing you the best for an easy fix when the weather warms up a bit for you.
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