Manager Forum

My son was going to go out in the Caravan (6-3.3L/AT) today until a no start happened.

Starter was replaced less than a year ago. Getting underneath to tap on the solenoid, I did finally notice a bolt sticking out with a loose not. With key on, it would arc and smoke a bit. Told him to turn the key off.

Was thinking that tightening the nut could be the answer at first, I came to realize that the solenoid had broken or melted away. Can anybody tell me what might have happened to it?

I'm looking through my receipts for the extended warranty for that aftermarket starter now. Thanks

Check for a shorted wire from the fuse panel under the hood its a possiblility

Which nut is loose? Is it the one that the main wire goes to? it it was loose it could of melted due to a bad connection

I believe it is the main one; kinda not looking to touch this one too much.

Id put a good starter in it and then if problems still exist check the circuit but that nut may have been loose and overheated

Thanks, I suspect the starter itself was the culprit.

Sounds to me like the nut that holds the main battery wire was not tightened properly at time of installation. That is about the only thing I have seen cause this.

liljoe wrote:Sounds to me like the nut that holds the main battery wire was not tightened properly at time of installation. That is about the only thing I have seen cause this.

Same here. Have seen this same issue on other starters also.

Loose nut is usually the culprit. As we know loose anything in a the wiring causes heat. On situations like this i take a good look at the cable to make sure it's ok.

It's good to see a Tech Guru using a hammer to solve a mechanical issue. I wish i could say "My computer wasn't working quite right so i tapped it with a hammer" life would be so less complicated.

You can it's called "percussive maintenance".

Thanks

Tim Martin wrote:

liljoe wrote:Sounds to me like the nut that holds the main battery wire was not tightened properly at time of installation. That is about the only thing I have seen cause this.

Same here. Have seen this same issue on other starters also.

Ditto, Same here

what no pics?

Here ya go.....

Nice! If I grab that bolt/stud and wiggle slightly, it arcs & sparks.

Let's take this one step better. Broken insulator because the cable was improperly aligned and the starter installed with an impact gun using l10 standard bolts in metric tapped mounting holes. Of course they were bottom holes not through ones with restricted accessibility.

Good thing i was able to take pictures and forward them to the customer as we went. Shops like this make it difficult for me to keep to my non bashing stance.