a few weeks ago, i went to turn my car on and when i turned the key nothing happened, no clicking noise so i know its not the battery. i hit the solenoid a little bit with a rod and then the car turned on when i turned the key. this happened a few more times later, but it would make a sound like its turning on but then i wouldnt, then id turn the key again and nothing again (then id hit tap the solenoid again). now for the past few days my cars battery has been dieing. im 90% sure that my starter is draining my battery. am i correct? could it be something else? thanks!
?2011-12-13T19:25:27Z
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When you mean hit the solenoid with a rod, do you mean jumping the solenoid by touching the ground and positive together or hitting the actual starter or hitting the solenoid. For the first it would probably be a bad connect somewhere along the ignition system. For the second it means you possibly need a new starter. For the third, maybe you just need to tweak the solenoid because of again, another bad connection somewhere connecting the power to the solenoid.
Unless your car is old enough (approx 15-20yrs) then the solenoid is not your problem. Tapping the solenoid used to be an old trick with cars that had voltage regulators. I'm sure you don't. The solenoid is a sealed electrical component with no moving parts ( tapping would do nothing to help it operate). What is probably happening is the low voltage being put out by the battery (you have a rapidly deteriorating battery) is insufficient to power up the solenoid, and/or it is causing it to heat up due to the poor source of electrical power. Your tapping is just coincidental it cooling off. Stop by a dealership.They'll check your battery for free. Jonathanright.com
Starters can't drain batteries. You need to have two very inexpensive tests done. A load test on the battery to see what the reserve capacity is or an amp. draw test on the starter if the battery tests OK.
People such as yourself have a habit of "knowing" their batteries are OK. My question to you is what tests did you do to prove it! Did you check the individual cells with a hydrometer? Did you do a voltage drop starting test? You didn't have a load test done yr you would have said so.
If you whack a starter solenoid with a rod and it starts what does that tell you?