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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Engine/Drivetrain => Topic started by: Edahall on August 17, 2010, 12:33:33 pm
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Vehicle: 1990 Chevy Suburban
The starter on my Suburban all of the sudden started making rapid clicking noises and just barely had enough power to start the engine. I got about 3 additional starts so that I was able to make it back home and then it went stone dead. Turning the ignition key to start results in nothing, not even a click. All the other electronics work normally. The battery is topped off. I pulled the starter out and had it bench tested at an auto parts store and it worked fine. I reinstalled it and it is stone dead. What do you think? Is it a bad fusible link or bad ignition switch?
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See if you are getting power to the starter (disconnected) when switch on.
I would say it is your switch.
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Something that is often overlooked...Grounds grounds..a lot of times grounding straps are left off and sometimes rust and fall off. make sure you have at least two good grounds to the block. Old starters are prone to end up with worn shaft bushings on both ends,,, under cranking load, the armature touches the field magnets and grounds out. Also check the solenoid.. they receive a lot of heat soak from the exhaust and are a common prob especially with chevy. if you find this is your problem you can replace it and if you want to prevent it in the future you can use a solenoid remote mount from somewhere like summit to keep it from the heat here's a link http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1750/
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Bench testing is to verify your rebuild was successful, other than that it is a useless test. If you crank it and it clicks sounds like your battery is dead or you have a bad connection. If you verify there is ample cranking amps and it still machine gun clicks just replace the starter. (verify the engine isn't siezed)
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Turns out, it was the starter. I had my wife turn the key to start while I checked voltage to the solenoid and to the starter. Both had good power so I knew it was the starter and not the wiring. I ended up putting in a brand new starter from O'Reilly's that had a lifetime warranty. Since my truck has the 6 speed manual transmission, I had to buy a starter that fits a 2001 Dodge 1 ton. Anyways, it turns over the engine so much faster than the old starter. I kept the old starter to rebuild and keep as a spare. I'm thinking, the contacts may be all that's wrong with it.