Brand new battery.
Car runs perfectly if started via pushing and popping the clutch.
Key in ignition, turned to Accessories: Everything works. Dash lights, head lights, wipers, etc.
Key turned to Start: Silence. No click, no hum, no buzz; nothing.
I’ve tried tapping the starter with a hammer, but truthfully, I’ve never tried that method before, so I’m only 80% sure that I’m even hitting the starter at all. And I’m positive I’ve not hitting it properly.
Before I order a new starter, could this problem be caused by anything else that I’m not thinking of? I’d hate to change out the starter only to find out that it’s some other problem. (Like I did with the new battery. . .)
Could be a faulty ignition switch or clutch safety switch. I’d connect a test light or voltmeter to the starter’s “trigger” terminal to see if it gets a signal when the key is turned to start. If yes, bad starter; if no, bad switch or wiring.
I had a similar problem a couple of years ago with my previous car. The AA came out and spent an hour checking stuff with a computer attached to no avail. He was convinced that it was a problem with the ECM, (although he did go old-school and whacked the starter motor a few times) but in the end, he gave up and we had it relayed 120 miles to my local dealer. They fitted a new starter motor and cured the problem
I think if there’s no click or other sound when you move the key between On and Start, your starter solenoid (a heavy relay) is not acting. Maybe it’s bad, or maybe one of the other things that enable it (Littleton lists some) isn’t working right.
Would I be right guessing that when you turn the key to Start, your lights and heater fan and other accessories don’t dim or slow down (as they usually would)? Perhaps, if they dim down a great deal, but there’s no sound or indication the engine’s turning over, you have a loose connection somewhere in the heavy wiring that goes to your battery and solenoid and starter.
I had an insulating washer/spacer crumble in a Honda solenoid, and the pieces prevented the starter from any response at all. At the time the model was too new for rebuilt starters to have appeared, so we took the thing apart and manufactured a washer from fiberglass fabric and epoxy. Performed flawlessly for several years, until I sold it on.
The starter is usually located on the driver’s side of the car, attached to the bell housing for the transmission. If you are tapping it be gentle but firm, make sure you are not hitting the solenoid. Beware that this usually only works one or two times.
Good luck with the repair. Diagnosing and repairing your car by your self can be very gratifying. :)
Check your battery cable to the starter…my truck was having an intermittent starting problem a couple months ago with the same symptoms as your vehicle and it turned out that the cable was almost completely corroded through near the starter. Although the lack of a click makes me lean towards a dying solenoid.
Some cars even have the actual electrical component of the ignition switch linked to the ignition lock cylinder by a rod and mounted on the steering column, loose bolts can cause your issue.
First step is to to verify voltage at the solenoid terminal.
Gary T is correct. Start by checking the connections with a volt meter to find out where the power is active and where it stops, or is weak. You can trace the power to where it no longer flows well to a connection, a cable, or a faulty part.
And then eliminate the simplest possibilities before the more complicated ones. There is a very appropriate saying that applies to car diagnosis. “When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras”.
Since the car runs fine after a push start and the accessories work well, it is probably not a charging issue (alternator) or a battery issue. A battery is just for starting power, the car runs off the alternator when it is running.
So the first issue to eliminate is the power from the charging system to the starter. Be sure of the integrity and connection of your main power cable to the starter. And if it is a manual transmission car be sure that the clutch switch is good. There is a switch that is activated when you push the clutch pedal down that can go bad. Wet shoes, snow, these can corrode that switch. And the floor mat can interfere with the switch.
After you are reasonably sure that you have power to the starter, it might be the starter. They do go out. But the connection, cables, switches are the simpler thing to eliminate first.
I’ll give another vote for GaryT’s suggested method. Start at the hot terminal for the starter and work back from there testing the output terminals of things leading to it. When you hit a point where the test light or voltmeter reads, it’s most likely the last item you tested or the wire that’s leading to it that’s faulty (obviously, if it lights at the starter, it’s the starter that is bad). Test the input terminals to the last item that didn’t trigger the tester, and if it lights, it’s that item. If it doesn’t, it’s the wire leading to it.
I might be able to provide more specific testing advice if you let us know make/model/etc. of the car, but I’m only really likely to be able to do that on an old car. But who knows? We might get lucky!
