Get a car from the stepson. Car is dead at a stoplight and won’t start. According to him, just died at stop with no sound. Friend who “knows cars” repeatedly tries to start it thinking starter is 2 weeks old and that is the problem. Smoke starts coming from the general area of the starter. Within 72 hours the battery is at 0 volts.
Put it on a charger/starter. Charge it a little bit, turn the key and the needle swings all the way to the right. Take it off the charger and throw a voltmeter on the battery poles and I can see the voltage drop. To add to the confusion, the crank pully won’t turn (at least with the belt on) so everyone says it’s seized.
If it is the starter, will banging on it help to unjam it? Do I need a new started (theoretically it’s under warranty) and/or a new flywheel? Most importantly, can I put it in neutral (it’s an automatic and move it?)