- 12/16/2024
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The starter is a vital and very important part of the car, and its function lies simply in starting the engine, and it may seem simple on the surface, but the entire process of starting the engine is a bit complex and needs a group of systems to work together to operate it without issues.
The starter is a mechanical and electrical part located near the engine and is connected to it, it contains a power coil like a dynamo but in a slightly different form, in addition to a mechanical gear, and when electricity reaches the starter, it takes the small gear out of its place and then sticks to the flywheel, which in turn rotates the engine to work.
Since the starter is an important part of the car, you must make sure that it works well in your car, and if you want to buy a car, Motorgy offers you used cars for sale in Kuwait that are inspected and at the best prices in the market, with a guarantee of the safety of the most important mechanical parts such as the starter, engine, transmission and others.
Read more: What is a car's starter?
What are the symptoms of starter damage?
Below, you will learn about the most important symptoms that indicate the damage to the starter:
The engine won't start
The most common symptom of having an issue with the starter is that the engine does not start when you turn the ignition key or press the engine start button, and the possible cause of this malfunction is that the relay or the starter's motor has burned out or there is an electrical issue, and it may be that the car's battery is completely empty of power due to an issue with it, or you may have left one of the lights on for a long time.
Check engine light
There are a lot of cars equipped with a feature that detects the faults of the starter and shows the check engine sign when finding any issue related to it, the check engine sign is one of the most indicative signs of the engine and other electrical and mechanical parts, and if you notice that the operation of the car is not as it was before and the check engine light appears in front of you, the issue may be that the starter is damaged and needs to be replaced.
Dimmed lights
When you start the engine, the starter takes energy from the battery so that it can rotate and start the engine, but if you notice that your car's lights, whether front or interior, become noticeably dim while the engine is running, it means that the starter takes more energy than required to start the engine, and this means that it is close to damage, or the battery could be the cause and needs to be changed as well.
Read more: Signs of a bad starter
Crunching or grinding sound
If you hear the sound of clicking or grinding gears when turning the ignition key or pressing the start button, the cause may be that the starter is damaged or has lost the ability to rotate the engine due to its weakness or that the main gear have worn out and cannot merge with the flywheel to start the engine, or you may hear this sound if you want to start the engine again while it is basically moving, the starter gear will hit the flywheel while rotating at high speed and make a loud sound.
The starter works but the engine won't start
If you want to start the car's engine and notice that the starter works without issues and sounds normal, but the car's engine won't start, the issue may be with the starter's main gear, it may be worn and lost the ability to turn the flywheel, or the gear got stuck inside the starter and did not connect to the flywheel at all, or the gear became loose and did not connect well to the flywheel gear.
Intermittent starting
If you try to start your car's engine, and it doesn't start right away, then you try again, and the engine runs fine, you most likely have an issue with the advance relay, it may be sending full electric current or not sending any power to the advance, sometimes a damaged relay can sometimes cause the advance to make a clicking sound when the engine is started, or the issue may also be due to a faulty electrical system or one of the advance's wires.
Read more: How does the car heating system work?
The starter won't stop working
After successfully starting the engine, the starter should stop working immediately after leaving the ignition key, or automatically in cars with an engine start button, but if the starter is damaged, you may face an issue that it did not stop working after starting the engine, so it will still work even if you try to rotate or press the engine start button again, and the reason is that the starter relay sticks and adheres to each other.
Smoke in the engine compartment
As we mentioned to you earlier, the starter is a mechanical and electrical component at the same time, so its high temperature when unsuccessful attempts to start the engine will cause its temperature to rise significantly, and when its temperature rises, it will emit an odor similar to the smell of burnt wires, and if its temperature continues to rise, smoke will come out of it, and you will notice it from under the car or from under the hood.
