Kia Forum banner

Starter???????

24K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  dchrsf 
#1 ·
Well as summer starts to roll around and the summer festival season begins...

I was dealing with a IAC valve sensor for my 01 Kia Rio... I went today to a junkyard and got a Idle Air Control Valve for $8, off a 03 Kia Rio... I was happy that maybe my hesitation problems would soon be over... As I got in my Kia - Oh man the car would not start... I thought maybe a jump...? What sounded like a starter gone bad.... at least I hope.. All I heard was click or the starter bindex click either in or out but no turning over engine..

Wow...!! I do recall in the last couple of days I would have a dead silence when turning the key.. made sure the car was in park or it had this feeling I was seeing another problem coming up... and it did... Is this the starter????

Like I stated you hear the starter, but no cranking over the engine... Just seems the bindex may or may not be turning.. I know I could take out the starter and have a auto parts store check it.. I read about a relay... Yeah maybe the last few days what I heard was the starter going out too.... HELP - Get this deadhead back on the road.... ha... Peace, Jack Straw
 
#2 ·
Sounds like the solenoid is not pulling lever to push drive pinion into flywheel and turn her over. If the starter motor is spinning and no engine turnover, you have a bad solenoid or something amiss with the lever/solenoid/pinion somewhere. I just looked at the exploded view in my service manual and it reminds me of an old GM starter (the micro version). On the GM's, sometimes just a bad connection inside the solenoid would make them spin but not "pull" hard enough to engage the gear. Jump starting often would work but problem returns soon enough. The issue on the GM was a flat washer plate in the solenoid itself that was the main electrical contact and it would get dirty or arc spots and not make a good contact I have never disassembled my Kia starter, so can't say for sure if it is like a GM and could benefit from disassembly/cleaning/reassembly, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Just lift the car and go in from underneath....as you won't get to much from up top. You might just find a bad connection somewhere and cure your problem right away! Hoping for the best!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Jack don't let the car get the best of you. Can you use a multimeter? use Kia Global Information System (KGIS) schematics to help you diagnois your problem check for 12 volts at starter if it clicks and engine wont turn over most likely your starter motor is bad (brushes on starter motor,or relay that is on starter) but also check your battery connections and your battery also check starter connections for loosness or coroision hope thos helps you out just some things to check good luck with it when you stated you hear the starter does this this mean you hear the motor running or just a click if motor is not running I would think your starter motor is bad good luck with it
 
#5 ·
Things I'd Try...

Put your headlights on and try to start the car. If they dim or go out I'd be looking for bad connections on battery terminals,battery ground wire (to body frame), or battery is discharged or bad. Bad connections and also cause the bendex to chatter or click.

If the lights stay strong (bright) I'd check the voltage at the heavy wire attached to the starter during the attempted start...
If the voltage remains in the range of 10~13volts and the starter doesn't crank the starter/bendex is bad or there is a bad ground wire from starter to body/frame.

If there is low voltage at the terminal (1~10volts) I'd then look for a bad starter relay (usually under the hood in fusw box), a bad connection in the fuse box, a bad ignition switch, or interlock switch on the clutch pedal (or shift lever switch...activated when in "N" or "P" position on automatics).
Dave
 
#6 ·
Yes if your lights dim check your battery conections but if your starter motor is shorted out(I hate to use this term) it will draw lots of current and not start and not run car hence your lights go dim or out. I had a similar problem with my snow plow this winter on my ford f 250 it's nothing more than a starter motor would draw 100 amps and not run lights would dim due to the large current draw when i replaced it and took old motor apart brushes and commutator were a mess just something to think about good luck with it. Do the light test nice post dave
 
#7 ·
Well today... I got my Kia to start up... I turn the key a couple times and click click each time.... Then on the third try it started... I did the lights theory and no dim... but I turn on the radio and fan on high (not sure why) but the car started.. I did clean and changed the ground terminal to the battery... as recommended.. started the car and drove around the block... got to the drive away turn off the car and tried to restart.. no dice.. just click... confused still, but happy to know she ran and ran pretty darn good... I still wonder if its the starter... As I remember when I was younger, I had a 72 Monte Carlo, I recall when the starter was going bad it would start up cold and then drive around for a while and then wouldn't turn over... Is this the same affect?
 
#9 ·
Replaced starter- yea it runs.. BUT! I have a problem starting to develop with the ignition key... WHAT? Yeah seems I have to wiggle the key alittle in order to get my Kia to start up.. The key is worn down.. could this be a ignition key problem or a key itself problem??????
 
#10 ·
I have basically the same issue, and its been going on for the past 8 months. it seems when i turn the key, sometimes, but not always it will simply do nothing, the dummy lights are all on when you can the ignition in the ON position, and the radio are on along with the clock that comes with the car above the av vents.

when I go to crank, during the times it wont start it will turn off the radio and keep the warming dummy lights and clock on, and simply do NOTHING at all, all that will happen is dead silence when i have the key in the crank position. so after holding it there for anywhere from 20 seconds to 2 minutes, will the car crank and start perfectly fine. this is totally random too

So i thought, hey ill buy a 30,000mi ignition from an 03 kia rio off ebay, so i did and installed it myself, and it made the sometimes it wont do anything to a 98% of the time it will crank, but now the problem is starting to come back a month or two after the new ignition was installed, so ive isolated the fact that the ignition switch assembly itself is not the issue,

so going by post #5, davespectra, your basically telling me it could be the interlock switch on my automatic, or the starter, or a ground/electrical issue, correct?

Can you tell me where exactly this interlock switch is?

also, one more thing. Recently 2 times out of the countless times i have started and successfully and unsuccessfully started the car on my first attempt of turning the key, i have heard a sort of a slow chug that chugs twice, then it starts. it sounds like to me like a starter slowly trying to crank, moving slowly twice then finally spinning fast enough to start the car with ease.

that that slow chug sound like a starter to you guys? I suppose i can start with replacing the cheapest thing first, and go from there,

I'd just like to resolve all my issues :)
 
#12 · (Edited)
Hey dchrsf, do what kevster says. Also check your battery connections and starter connections. How old is the battery? Your transmission range switch is on the tranny. If you can get your hands on a DC clamp on ammeter use it to see the current draw on the starter when you get that chug sound get someone to help. If you get a large current draw for an instant and then it goes away Id say your starter is bad either the relaly contact, or motor brushes are to short and sometimes work. Another way to check is to look for a voltage drop on the battery connections. Use Kia Global Information System (KGIS) to find location for the transmission range switch and voltage drop checks. Also try moving your shift lever back and forth or try starting in nuetral maybe you have a linkage adjustment problem on your range switch when it doesn't even click. I hope this was helpful. Reguards ronjohn
 
#13 ·
turned out to be a bad battery guys! never would have thought that would have been it, I had a everstart maxx from walmart with the three yr warrenty and it went out just shy of 2 years, so they replaced it free.

Ronjohn, thats good advice for troubleshooting, you did not type that for nuthin :)
 
#16 ·
The other day, when the problem happened again (where i would turn the key and nothing happens), i tried pressing in the shift button and going down to R(everse) from P(ark) and back up to park, and it started in the middle of this maneuver, so for now I'm going to say the issue for me was the range switch, but ill update once the problem reappears, i haven't had it come back in a day or twos time.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top