10 replies to this topic

[hohieu]

I have had a string of bad luck with the new year -- hope it is not a sign of things to come.

I went out to start the car this evening and just heard clicking from the starter. I tried tapping the starter and solenoid with a hammer, but it would not turn over. I have a 99 forester with almost 99k miles on on the odm.

I am guessing that only the contacts need replacement. Would I find the contacts in the solenoid portion of the starter/solenoid assembly?

[frag]

Yes. They are a couple of L shaped copper contacts.
Make a search here and you'll find lots of info + pics.
Seems the hardest part is removing the lower nut holding the
starter to the bell housing.
Good luck!

[color-blind]

I have had a string of bad luck with the new year -- hope it is not a sign of things to come.

I went out to start the car this evening and just heard clicking from the starter. I tried tapping the starter and solenoid with a hammer, but it would not turn over. I have a 99 forester with almost 99k miles on on the odm.

I am guessing that only the contacts need replacement. Would I find the contacts in the solenoid portion of the starter/solenoid assembly?

Many just replace the starter contacts. Yet it is better if you replace both contacts and the plunjer at the same time. If you can find a local electrical rebuilder they will have the contacts and plunjer in stock. If you can't locate the plunjer be sure to clean it up good. Good luck.

[lmdew]

I can send you a good used starter for $25. Larry
Lmdew@hotmail.com

[DerFahrer]

It might be the contacts, and it might be the starter solenioid itself.

You can replace the contacts first (an interesting little tidbit of information, Toyota starter contacts are identical to ours ) and see what happens. If that doesn't fix it, then you need a starter solenoid, or basically just a new starter.

[hohieu]

Thanks for all the help.

A Nor'easter is bringing heavy rains just in time for me to address my starter issues. I hope to get to it tomorrow and will let you know how it goes. Hopefully the rains will have passed through by that point.

One thing I've noticed in the pictures posted on this site is that the contacts posts are mounted on the sides of the solenoid. The terminals are mounted on the end (flat side) of the solenoid on my 99 forester.

[hohieu]

Removed my starter and disassembled the solenoid. It seems like a sealed unit. I can't gain access to the contacts without damaging the solenoid. Is it possible that some some solenoids are not rebuildable?

My solenoid looks nothing like the ones in the pictures posted on this site.

[grossgary]

it's also a good idea to check your battery terminals. corrossion or a loose connection can prevent the starter from drawing enough amps to turn over. starter needs alot of amps, that's why successive attempts to start kill the battery quickly. also - is the battery good? a weak battery can do the same.

[hohieu]

I checked the battery, cleaned the leads and terminals but it still wouldn't turn over. I tried tapping the solenoid with a hammer and it still wouldn't go.

Thanks for the the offer, Larry, but I needed to get the car back on the road quickly. My local autozone had a rebuilt starter for 124.99+tax with a lifetime warranty in stock so I went for it. 1stsubarparts.com sells the solenoid separately for @$215, much more than the autozone rebuild

I was a bit disappointed that the contacts were not readily accessible on my starter solenoid as they seem to be on those pictured on this and other sites. Again, mine seemed liked a sealed unit and I did not want to risk attempting to dismantle it for fear that Autozone would not accept it for the core charge so I just bolted in the rebuilt unit and it started right up.

Thanks for all your input.

[lmdew]

Could have sent it out 2 day FedEx on Monday, O-well. Glad you got it back on the road.

[hohieu]

A little obsessive, but I did want to clarify the issue of replacing contacts for others on this site. I am under the impression that many of those on this and other sites who have successfully replaced solenoid contacts on starter assemblies that look like the ones on the following two links (ebay provided the easiest links with pictures).

http://cgi.ebay.com/...sspagenameZWDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/...sspagenameZWDVW


My starter looked more like the one on this link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...sspagenameZWDVW

These seem to be the two types of starter designs.

I removed the solenoid from my starter, which resembles the one pictured in the third link, but the contacts seemed to be sealed within the casing. Has anyone successfully replaced the contacts on this type of starter solenoid? If so, how the heck did you do it?

For others considering this issue, you may want to confirm what type of solenoid you have before attempting to replace the contacts.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know why starters are designed in these two ways. It seems that easily rebuildable units such as those pictured in the first two links make much more sense.