New Starter Will Spin - Won't Engage

[ChevyMan1989]

Perfect!! Thatts what I was looking for. So is item 17 the actual wire and I need to check the points at item 14 and 16 for good connections? Or is item 17 a connection point? Sorry I can't tell in the diagram.

[ChevyMan1989]

Another update by the way- I've really been cranking it over and I tried adjusting it a hair (there is minimal wiggle room with the guide pin in the block) and now it will grab sometimes. Usually I have to hold it over for 5-7 seconds until it grabs a little bit it will.

[Blue Bowtie]

Yes, Items 14 and 16 are fasteners connecting the ground wire to the engine and frame/strut tower.

Since you were able to coax a little movement out of it and it would engage, even intermittently, that just about reaffirms the problem is with alignment/spacing. The big question is how it got out of alignment in the first place.

[ChevyMan1989]

I agree! That's what I've been trying to wrap my head around. The alignment was fine before I took it out but out of alignment after. I was gentle pulling t out too..

[ChevyMan1989]

Is it possible that being low on oil could cause the starter to have a rough time turning over the motor? It acts like it wants to start but it's almost like the starter is drawing too many amps. Voltage drops at battery from 12.3v to 9.3v. I checked voltage drop across ever power and ground, everything is good, no parasitic draws, etc...

[Blue Bowtie]

9.3V is not ridiculously low while cranking. Depending upon the CCA capacity of the battery and its state of charge, it could be completely normal.

More importantly, is it engaging and cranking the engine more reliably now?

[ChevyMan1989]

The batter is a 48 series battery with 730 CCA and around 800 CA. I've tested the battery and had others test the battery to double confirm that it's good and it checks out every time. It seems like sometimes when cranking it is closer to starting the longer or more times I try cranking.

It is still not really cranking. I think it may have been engaging this whole time but because of the slow crank I thought it was just spinning freely....

The only things I still notice that may be of help is that;

The starter seems to work better after cranking longer or multiple times.

When cranking, the first couple turns are very slow then all the sudden it speeds up like it's going to start then goes back to slow all while holding to key to crank.

I still hear a clicking every 2/3 seconds while holding the key to crank. It's like after so many turns of the starter it clicks on little click.

[aleekat]

What was the original symptom that caused you to suspect the starter?

[ChevyMan1989]

The original cause for replacing the starter was that it would intermittently not start. It happened maybe niece a month, then once every 2 weeks, then every single day. Voltage was always good. When it wouldn't start every day, it would still start cold but would not start if I drove until the car was warmed up and shut it off then tried to start again. It's like something got hit and wouldn't allow it to start. Now it just won't start all together cold or warm...

[ChevyMan1989]

Basically when cranking cold, it used to crank just fine. Then when it would warm up, it would crank very slow and do exactly what it's doing now, while cranking it will crank slow then speed up all the sudden then slow again back and forth never turning over.

[ChevyMan1989]

Update:

It seems like it's getting even harder to fire up now, as in it is cranking slower and harder (voltage the same), and there is now a white fuzz noise coming through the speakers in the car with the stereo being off.. I can't begin to understand this. I keep thinking it's something electrical somewhere.

[ChevyMan1989]

ANOTHER UPDATE;

It is NOT the speakers. I am hearing a screeching or slight squeaking noise coming for the battery location inside the car????! This has to be the issue as it barely does anything when I turn the key now

[ChevyMan1989]

Ok now I have codes popping up and car won't make a noise when I turn key. U0100 lost communication with ecm/pcm, its flashing service battery charging system on dash, battery saver mode on dash, fuel is now reading empty and I had a quarter tank, lights on dash are very dim and SES light is flickering very fast. Battery is around 12v.

Any ideas?

[Blue Bowtie]

Get the battery charge up to the full 12.6-12.7V and start checking connections.

[ChevyMan1989]

When battery is disconnected it reads about .7volts higher than when it is connected. Is this normal or is there a drain?