If your car, truck, or utility vehicle has over 100,000 miles on it, you may need to replace the starter soon. The average lifespan of the factory starter is 100,000 to 150,000 miles. After this time, the starter will likely die. J&S Auto Repair is going to list the signs of a faulty starter below. It’s important that you bring your automobile to our shop at the first sign of trouble. If we catch the starter before it dies completely, you won’t end up stranded with a dead engine. Let’s explain more below.
Clicks
Sometimes, the starter will give you a warning that it is going out. If you hear clicking noises while you are starting your car before the engine fires up, this is a sign that the starter is going bad. Don’t take chances if you hear the clicking sounds. Drive directly to our shop. These sounds are a foretelling of future starter doom. In some cases, you may not hear the clicking sounds at all. If you do, however, take immediate action.
Dead Engine
Eventually, the starter will be unable to get your engine fired up. Consequently, you will end up with a dead engine that will not start no matter how hard you try. In this case, it does you no good to continue to try to start the engine because the starter motor has died. Your engine needs three things to start: the alternator, battery, and starter. If the starter motor is dead, your engine will be dead.
Lights
One way to check to see the cause of the dead engine is to turn on your vehicle’s lights. If they are working, this indicates that the alternator and battery are working. Consequently, the problem does lie with the starter. If the lights aren’t working, you have a dead battery that could be caused by its age or a dying alternator.
Smoke
As we mentioned above, no matter how hard you try to get your vehicle started, if the starter motor is dead, the engine is dead. Trying in vain to get the engine to fire up is simply going to overheat the starter motor and cause smoke to seep out from underneath your hood.
Oil
Finally, even if you don’t have 150,000 miles on your automobile, if oil is leaking onto the starter, it will die. This is an indication that you have a crack in your cylinder block, and, consequently, serious engine damage.
J&S Auto Repair in Warwick, RI, is here to help, so give us a call today. We can test your vehicle’s starter and replace it if necessary.
