wolftickets

my car makes a ERRRRRR SOUND, no spark and not even tring to start. its started by flooding, sat for a week or 2. got new plugs today and still ERRRRR, my WIFE is killing me, i sure would love any advice.

thanks.

Jaime Enriquez

it may be more of a "keeech..rwerrrrrrr..." or as you stated....the solenioid is juicing but no turning it sounds like. Easy to remove and have tested.

stevensimon

iTrader: (11)

i just replaced my starter this weekend.

it cranked slower and slower till it would just click. i took the battery to the AZ and they said it was fine. pulled the starter out. it was toast even though it still kind of worked.

djessence

can you describe this ERRRRR is greater detail? like a groan sound or a screech? as steven stated, itll crank really slow. or if it is fubard with sit there clicking away. As well sometimes when it is starting to go it will crank normally but at the end it almost sounds like the solenoid gets stuck and it will grind like you over started it...even though you didnt.

Have a feeling the ERRRR you described is not the starter
BUT i was just looking through this and this is the process of testing the starter at home

To test it at home first inspect the pinion gear and the ring gear on the engine where the starter was attached. Look for severely damaged teeth. If there is damage, replace the starter or flywheel. Use your battery charger or jumper cables and a car battery. Hold the starter on the floor with your foot. Connect the negative cable to the body of the starter. The flange where it bolts to the engine of transmission works well, now touch positive to where the wire enters the motor body. (NOTE: Be careful to NOT touch the starter body. Doing so may cause a fire. As usual, I am not responsible for anything.) The starter pinion gear should sprig forward and spin. (If you have a cheap, low current charger, it may overload. Starters consume LOTS of power.) If the starter works, several consecutive times, it is good. Sometimes, however the problem is intermittent."

came from the thread https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/end-all-no-start-threads-warning-book-inside-162062/ which may help for further diagnosi

Nicholas P.

iTrader: (1)

Starters do not usally go bad. Either they are good or they just completely give out.

83rx

it kinda sounds like a problem im having right now, the starter is spinning and you can hear it spin, its almost like its not connecting to the flywheel at all, but then when the car warms up its fine i can turn it off and it will be fine for the rest of the day untill i shut it off for a long time, i was going to start this same topic but since its already here i might as well ask, any help would be great, thanks

jonfc3s

iTrader: (3)

This sounds like the solenoid is just going bad. You can either replace the solenoid or the whole starter. Also, make sure you have a clean lead and ground connection, gunk builds over the years.

Jon

83rx

thank you, i i thought i might have just destroyed the flywheel or just broken some teeth off of the flywheel.

jonfc3s

iTrader: (3)

No problem

micah

Mine just did the same thing on saturday.. Took it out and bench tested it... same thing.. definitely went bad over time... slow and slower... getting a new one tomorrow.

The sound it was making matches pretty close to what you describe...I mean.. I think..

85 FB

I've never heard of a starter going slower and slower until it died. They draw power from the battery. When the battery gets weaker, then the juice supplied to the starter is not as great, and the starter cranks slower.

When my starter went, it just plain went. No warning signs. Worked one day, stopped the next. Replaced the starter, all is well again.

RX-7 Chris

iTrader: (19)

In the past I had the starter sound like it was getting worse and worse. I turned out to be a bad batery cable. It looked fine but when I took it out I notest it had caroded on the inside.

micah

Dunno man... I guess the bearings could start to fail.. causing excess resistance on the armature... just an idea.. In my mind, it should fail the way you describe. "All at once or not at all" since its such a simple device.. brushes are the typical failure point other than the solenoid... but... this last one failed slowly... over the course of a month or so.. until finally it wouldn't turn over at all.

Edit: I replaced ALL of my charging/starting system cables/wires (despite them looking perfect) prior to replacing the starter as I suspected it was that at first as well.

83RxV6

sounds more like the bendix isnt moving out to the flywheel like its supposed to some times the bearing or arm it floats on will get damaged and the gear will not move out like its supposed to i am having the same issue with my car right now and if i just tap the ignition really quick twice all of a sudden itll start without a problem when this problem happens its better to just get a new starter there not that expensive, unless i have a hookup and dont know it i searched at my local Checker/Kragen/Schucks and there only like 60 bucks for the whole thing and there lifetime warranty Maybee the place i went to had the part for like 20 years and just wanted to get rid of it i dont know but i got a good deal

stevensimon

iTrader: (11)

the starter rebuilder guy told me that they get clogged up with oil and dirt/grit over time. so they have to pull a higher load to turn. eventually the load gets so high that it almost becomes a dead short. but yeah.. after i got a new starter in there, it feels like a whole different animal. starts first revolution and no cold flooding issues. with the other starter, even though it was cranking at speed up until last weekend it took a bit to get it started and one rotor would always be flooded out.

new starter= happy fb

85 FB

Ditto. When I replaced my starter, that thing spun my motor like a damn top! I was very happy.

83RxV6

glad to hear its fixed