TheFCDrifter

So, after replacing the battery on my car, believing it to be the source of the problem (which it at least partially was, because it was diagnosed as dead at autozone), I went out and drove for a couple days, I have a coolant seal leak, and I attempted to fix it by using Alumaseal which seemed to somewhat fix it. Either way, the first couple times the car was very hard to start. After that, no smoke, and a lot easier to start. My neighbor wanted a ride, and so I did that, and in doing so I flooded the engine.

I performed the usual procedure, take out EGI fuse, crank, put back in, try again. After a few turns at this, the car was cranking noticeably slower, until it completely quit. I thought I had killed the battery, but later tried banging on the starter and it slowly began cranking again.

This leads me to believe my starter is dead or I have some sort of related electrical problem. I am going to have the starter tested, because, at least to me, having it not work, then banging on it and having it work is a sign that it is going out. But, my tachometer and other gauges (including dummy lights) have also gone out, which leads me to believe the problem is more serious than I think.

Also for those of you seeing and being concerned that I'm driving the car on a coolant leak I am watching my fluid levels and not pushing the car, I read that the rotors&housings can become rusty with coolant in the housings so I sometimes take it out for a spin to prevent that.

1) Should I replace or rebuild the starter, I am seeing starters online starting at about $80, but they are stock and if there is something more reliable and powerful I can use I'm all for the extra cost

2) How can I go about diagnosing what else is electrically going wrong with my car? I've never messed with car electric and I don't want to splice the wrong wires to test them and whatever else can go wrong. I plan on simply visually inspecting the wires for fraying until I know better.

Thank you for reading my post, sorry if it was a bit wordy I just wanted to explain fully.

DC5Daniel

iTrader: (10)

I would suggest solving one problem at a time to continue the troubleshoot....first I would verify with a multimeter that the battery is at an appropriate voltage. Next, when you finally get the car started verify that voltage has increased to somewhere around 13.8-14.4V indicating a healthy alternator/charging system. If these things check out, I would agree that the starter is showing signs of failure and a replacement would be in order.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Gauges are powered by the Meter fuse. Make sure the charging system grounds are good. Placing voltage to the starter solenoid will tell you if the starter is good.

TheFCDrifter

Problem is, I don't know how to use a voltmeter to do any of that. How did you guys learn? Is there a book I can purchase to learn?i think I can figure out testing the battery, I do know that a voltmeter has a positive and negative and for a battery thats pretty self explanatory, but past that I'm not sure I would know where to connect the leads.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

Get a voltmeter and set it to volts.

Place the negative lead (black) on the negative terminal of the battery.

Place the positive lead (red) on the positive terminal of the battery.

With the engine off it should be around 12.6 volts but AT LEAST 12 volts.

While cranking it shouldn't go below 9.6 volts but absolutely no more than 9.

With the engine running it should be about 14 volts or more, but AT LEAST 13.4

Video: How to Test a Car Battery with a Multimeter | eHow.com

TheFCDrifter

Thanks for the reply, any information on how to test the other components would be great.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Placing voltage to the starter solenoid will tell you if the starter is good.