Starter, relay, advice for 1991 LeBaron 3.0V6

Discussion in 'LeBaron' started by billccm, Dec 22, 2009.

  1. billccm

    billccm Guest

    Hello:

    Well, my LeBaron almost stranded me at work tonight. No crank. I could
    hear a faint click, all power accessories were there. Battery voltage
    was 13.

    I closed the hood, and tried it once more, and it started (good, this
    car can keep it's reputation of never stranding me in 19 years of
    ownership).

    I have the starter off the car in a box ready to go for core exchange
    tomorrow.

    It just occured to me that my starter relay may be the fault? I guess
    I should replace the relay just to be safe? I know I am throwing parts
    at the car, but so would my mechanic in this case of a intermittent
    crank condition.

    BTW, this is the car that I thought had a faulty ignition switch,
    since multiple attempts would eventually get the car to crank.

    Also, this car has the BOSCH starter. It was replaced with a rebuilt
    unit 11 years, and 44K miles ago.

    So, advice, or opinions on starter, starter relay, or both
    replacement, please!

    Take care, Bill
     
    billccm, Dec 22, 2009
    #1
  2. billccm

    KirkM Guest

    This sounds like the usual bad solenoid contacts problem. I thought
    that only Nipondenso starters had this problem, and not Bosch.

    KM
     
    KirkM, Dec 22, 2009
    #2
  3. billccm

    Bill Putney Guest

    Is the Bosch the one with the round contacts that you could remove and
    replace. I remember some starters that you could do that on, you could
    either swap the positions of the two old contacts or lift them out and
    turn them 180° in their keyed orientations (I forget which - I think the
    latter) - the worn part is mostly on one side of the circle, so by their
    being rotated 180°, you're providing mostly new contact surface.

    But I don't know if that's the starter with that type of contact. Maybe
    someone who really knows will reply.
     
    Bill Putney, Dec 22, 2009
    #3
  4. billccm

    billccm Guest

    Well, she is all back together. The new-rebuilt starter cranks the
    engine twice as fast as the old one. I juts bumped the starter and she
    fired quickly. Hopefully I am good to go. Thanks for all of the advice
    and replies. Merry Christmas, Bill
     
    billccm, Dec 23, 2009
    #4
  5. billccm

    KirkM Guest

    So it was just the starter. Did you replace it with another Bosch, or
    another make?

    KM
     
    KirkM, Dec 24, 2009
    #5
  6. billccm

    billccm Guest

    I went with a Bosch reman from PepBoys. The starter I pulled out was a
    Bosch, and PepBoys offered a "ProStart" reman for $64.99, or a Bosch
    "certified" reman for $94.99. Both hade a 12 month warranty, but I
    spent the $30 more thinking I would get a better starter. Perhaps I
    just wasted the extra money?

    This new starter sounds like an airplane taking off. It seems to spin
    the motor so much faster.

    I also spent the $11 more and swapped out the starter relay while I
    was at it. So far, the car seems to be fixed.

    Take care, Bill
     
    billccm, Dec 26, 2009
    #6
  7. Hi!
    I don't think you did. While anyone can do a bad job of remaking something,
    it seems like the store brands have more of those than anything else. I'd
    favor the unit remade by the company who built it to start with, and I'd
    have probably done the same thing.
    It was probably time, then. The last starter motor I did actually fell apart
    when I dropped it off the engine. I don't know how it even still ran--not
    well of course, but it did.

    William
     
    William R. Walsh, Jan 6, 2010
    #7
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