| Author | Content |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 12:45 AM Post #7329879
| It's a 1976 Chevy Silverado 3/4 ton. Think 350? It quit running, and makes no noise when DH tries to start it. No clicking etc. He replaced the starter. Still didn't work. Had the starter checked. Not the battery 'cause everything else works. i.e. heater, lights, etc.
Any ideas? |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
December 3, 2009 12:59 AM Post #7329912
| DH says check to make sure the soleniod is getting power to it? |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 2:04 AM Post #7330138
| Before I tell him, can he tell me now to check that? Just in case he asks. Thanks, |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 2:10 AM Post #7330168
| He said no, that is his whole problem. The solonoid is on the starter. no juice to the unit. Thanks, |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
December 3, 2009 2:21 AM Post #7330217
| Is the solenoid separate? Can it be replaced or is it an integral part of the starter? DH isn't nearby at the moment but the older starters could be turned over by crossing the two nuts on the front of it with a screwdriver ( obviously make sure it is out of gear ). Will this one crank that way? |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 2:32 AM Post #7330260
| No, he already tried that. Solonoid is part of the starter can't be replaced by itself. He thinks there is a short in the wiring some place before it gets to the starter. He said the auto parts checked the starter before he bought it and said it was good. They said they checked it. He didn't see them. The first one he bought from them and put in wasn't good. |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 2:35 AM Post #7330274
| Forgot to say when he tried that test you said he didn't get any reaction. LOL, is that a word you would use in this situation? |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
December 3, 2009 2:40 AM Post #7330289
| I would be skeptical of the starter itself. A friend that is a mechanic says it is not uncommon to repeatedly receive defective parts. Unfortunately there is no way to get the truck to them to let them check it... but I'd sure pull it and protest again. They would see a "reaction"! LOL |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 2:48 AM Post #7330313
| You and me both. But he is so frustrated with it at this point, after taking them in and out 3 times, that he has made arrangements to have it towed to a garage for them to work on. $150 for towing alone. The nearest tow is 20 miles away and he tows it to a garage 45 miles away in the other direction. Then the garage bill. We'll see. |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
December 3, 2009 2:57 AM Post #7330335
| Man, it could only be worse if he were the garage repairman and got repeated defective starters. They can't begin to bill for their lost labor. I'd resist the tow for one more starter. But I'd get one somewhere else and when that one worked, I'd return this one and they'd refund or they'd eat it. Grrrr! |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 3:10 AM Post #7330367
| That's what I wanted to do. The next closest auto parts is another 45 miles away then if that starter didn't work either it would have to be a short like he says. Such is the cost of living rural. We pay for it. Every time we turn around.
I just donated a Jeep Grand Cherokee that had close to 400K miles on it and still ran like a top because we live so far out that we can't take a chance on being stuck. BUT, it also had a critter smell in it that I could not get rid of. They had chewed a hole in the fabric to get into the overhead console and lived in there including urine before we could figure out where the smell was coming from.
My last Subaru had over 300K miles on it and was still running good when I got rid of it. We really do get our money's worth out of the vehicles. |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
December 3, 2009 12:17 PM Post #7330913
| AT least yours is a '76 ~ these new rides with computers and circuits and whatever would be impossible to work on under that shade tree.
We are almost as remote as you are and I appreciate it with a few exceptions. A mechanic friend found when he returned a defective part, the local parts house would shelve it and return it to him in exchange for the next defective one. He found this by marking it in some manner to prove it was the same one. Meanwhile, he was spending his time R&Ring these defective parts as he couldn't charge the customer for his labor. He is now officially out of business and working in maintenance for a larger company.
At any rate, living rural we keep more than one vehicle running at any given time and find the older vehicles are good as we can maintain them. Our 'down to it' vehicle is a 78 Jeep CJ7. It is power nothing and basic. (hardtop but no headliner and I can open the doors and hose it out) It cranks and runs without fail and I can work on it. Just not a comfortable over the road ride so we don't drive it daily.
Does your husband have a test light? If so, he should work his way back thru the wiring to check the circuits. Also, test the ignition. That vintage also had a safety switch that worked in conjunction with the gear shift lever. Has he tried placing it in neutral and cranking it? That is assuming it is an automatic.
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hcmcdole
Powder Springs, GA (Zone 7b)
December 3, 2009 12:35 PM Post #7330931
| Are all the cables in place to the starter? I know it shouldn't happen on a Chevy since the cable should be bolted to it but I had a 82 Datsun King Cab back in the day and it failed to start the day after I had some work done on it at the dealer. It died in a hardware store parking lot and I looked over all the obvious while there. I came back to it later that evening and pulled the ignition switch and took it back home and metered it - checked ok. The next morning I was able to get it push started (manual trans) with the wife driving while I pushed with the car. Got it into the garage and noticed a dangling cable - weird? I finally saw where it went - it was a simple push on connnector to the starter. That fixed it!!!
Also check the starting relay. If it isn't clicking then it might be the probem. |
Jnette
Northeast, WA (Zone 5a)
December 3, 2009 4:49 PM Post #7331604
| LOL, that is the biggest problem. He is not a mechanic. He is a city boy transplant that has actually come a long way in the 15 years we have lived here. Had to. You are right about the old ones being easier to work on but believe it or not there is not even a mechanic in this area. I used to work on my vehicles and really did enjoy it. But, age and arthritis caught up with me.
There is not enough business in these rural areas to support any of the trades. Meaning mechanics, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc. When we need one, we think there would be a lot of work for one in the area, but there really is not. Therefore we have to pay trip fees and high prices. Very HIGH trip fees. They start the clock running as soon as they get in their vehicle to head this way and charge their going rate for all the time to get here and then double it for the return. Then they add in the time, labor, and parts. Cost me $350 for an electrician to come up and change a display in my oven. Think maybe he changed a light in there. Could have bought a new oven for that. And that was 5 years ago. Wonder what it would be today. |
hcmcdole
Powder Springs, GA (Zone 7b)
December 3, 2009 5:36 PM Post #7331740
| That is expensive. I ordered a handle for our dishwasher and for the life of me could not see how they squeezed the two plastic pieces together (I thought the part was just a bit too big to fit). Finally called a repairman and the guy used a duplicate part ($5) but had to charge $95 for the trip. Next time I will just replace the dishwasher (I did replace the control panel recently - no squeezing two plastic pieces together this time but the original screws seemed to be stripping out and it is only five years old).
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