Starters still get "heat soaked"!!??

I have an 89 Cutlass Supreme with the 3.1L engine. My starter was replaced with a New one about a year ago. For the past few months, if I shut my car off after driving around for a while, or running errands etc., sometimes it will take a few turns of the key to get it to start. It might take only 2 tries, it might take 10. There's no real rhyme or reason for it. And when I say it won't start at first I mean it does NOTHING. No noise, no nothing. Not turning over in the slightest.

So people told me it would have to be because my starter is getting "heat soaked"!? Because if I leave it shut off for more than 20 minutes or so, it's fine. It will never do it if the engine is completely cooled down or at least somewhat cool. I know it's not that my engine is getting too hot because I have a temp gauge as well as manual fan control switches so it never goes above 200 degrees in most cases.

It's just starting to get really annoying. I'm so used to it now that I can predict when it won't start right away.

To me, "heat soak" is the only logical explanation I can think of, but if I just replace the starter, won't the same thing happen eventually with the new solenoid? Should I, or can I, install a starter heat shield or something?

THANKS!:)

Reply to
deanbrnz
Loading thread data ...

something like this?

formatting link

Reply to
Sharon K.Cooke

Heat soak could be a problem ... as could sludge build up in your engine. What worked for me was putting some Marvel Mystery Oil in the oil and driving around for a while. 2-3 hours of that solved the whole hot start problem.

If that doesn't solve your problem, though, chances are good something is wrong with your starter. It could be anything from your solenoid getting too hot (perhaps the solenoid is bad) to the armature opening when it's hot. I don't know where you got your "new" starter from, but it obviously has a problem somewhere along the way.

I'm sure Oldsmobile didn't sell these cars new with this problem and most Cutlass owners I know about don't complain about this ... so chances are good it's your starter.

Reply to
Walter

I had starter problems on my taurus last year. When i took the starter off, i noticed it was a rebuild and had a cheap loose solenoid on it. If you wiggled it enough or hit it right it would start. I put one on off my donor motor and all was well. I think many rebuilders are using cheap parts these days.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Urz

Just out of curiosity, what year is your Taurus?

Reply to
Walter

Starters have been a problem with many GM products, especially the big blocks where so much heat is encountered in close spaces.

GM had some metal heat shields they used or retrofitted on some models, to keep manifold heat off them.

I have also wrapped manifolds or headers with special tape to try to get as much heat as possible out the tailpipe.

Lastly, there are remote solenoid kits for some models which can relocate the starter solenoid to a cooler place. These might be helpful.

Reply to
<HLS

Sludge build up in the engine isn't going to stop the solenoid from kicking in. The starter is too tight and the best solution is replace it with a top quality rebuilt one.

Reply to
Woody

It's true that sludge buildup isn't going to stop the solenoid from kicking in ... but it could stop the starter from turning the engine (as the engine is too hard to turn). One may or may not hear the solenoid kicking in when it does, giving the impression of "doing nothing".

Reply to
Walter

The wagon i have now is a 93. I owned a 89, 90 & 93 sedan.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Urz

If memory serves, the 93 should have the "small" starter on it .. in my days of rebuilding starters and alternators, it has been my experience that hitting this small starter never works ... it only breaks the magnets. The "big" starter has the solenoid on the firewall (or fender in most cases) ... but this starter, too, suffered from hot no start conditions.

Reply to
Walter

I don't think so. I think your starter was replaced with a "remanufactured" unit. These are mostly short-lived junk, even the ones that come with a "lifetime warranty" (which means you get to spend your lifetime replacing the part again and again and again, under warranty). There is a chance that you did in fact get a kind of "new" starter, that is, a new copycat from China. These are worse than the remanufactured junk.

Not if you buy a quality rebuild. They come from auto electrical rebuilding shops in your area, check your yellow pages. They cannot be had from auto parts store shelves.

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Some of these starters developed this problem fairly new with OEM equipment. This would seem to indicate that even the OEM parts had some problems, some sooner than others.

Are you saying that quality rebuilds improve upon the OEM items? (Wouldn't be the first time this has been the case)

Reply to
<HLS

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.