i have a 71 maverick..i was driving for about 20 min..when i stopped to put gas the battery was dead or it seemed dead bcause the car wouldnt turn on..the only thing it would do is a buzzing noise...not the solenoid bcause that makes a clicking sound..so i went to pick up the car from the gas station after i got out of work and it turned on...and i was driving the car to my girlfriends house 2day and it died and now its making that same buzzing noise when i try to start it..when the car was turned on i removed the positive cable from the battery and the car was still on so it cant be the alternator..and the battery was tested and its perfectly fine..could it be the starter.?any idea what the problem is..???
so its jus that...it cant be the battery cus all the lights are still on...they jus kinda dim...kay thanx ill put in a new starter 2morrow
The buzzing sounds like a poor connection in one of the battery terminals to me. I would take the battery cable entirely out of the terminals (unless you have the molded type that does not come apart) and wire brush the heck out of them. Make sure the cable is good and tight inside them when you tighten the screws back down. It would be better if you just replaced both terminals. They are cheap and probably need it anyway. Then, if it doesn't start report back here and we will help you figure out the problem.
Oh yeah, one easy test is this: If it buzzes and the lights are dim, leave the lights on, while watching the headlights grab the cables one at a time around the battery connections and wiggle the heck out of them. If the lights brighten back up, you found the culprit.
it could also be the cable from the solinoid to the starter. sounds like you fine when the car is cool but when it heated up you have the problem. its going to be the starter or bat cable. if you replace the starter it would be a good idea to replace the bat cable at the same time. also its a good opertunity to upgrade the starter to the newer style that is lighter weight and is a stronger one.
exactly when the engine is cold it turns on and when the engine is hot it doesnt..imma try all ur guys advices today..if problem continues i'll come back with more info...thanx in advance
okay i changed the starter and the cable that goes from the starter to the solenoid...after i noticed that the belts from the alternator where loose...could that of been the problem..? the car wouldn't turn on until i jumped it...so now it works:bananaman..hopefully it stays like that...well thanx and ill let you guys know if it ends up doing what it was doing...
Using a volt meter (multimeter on volts) place the red lead on the Battery positive post (not the clamps) and the black lead on the negative post. While cranking (or trying to) you should read more than 9.5 volts. If it is less then you have a bad battery - replace it. Next put the red lead on the battery positive post and the negative lead on the battery cable clamp. while cranking the engine (or trying to) you should have less than 0.5 volts showing on the meter - more than this means the connection is bad clean and retry the test. If you get less than 0.5 volts then move the black lead to the the end of the cable at the relay (solenoid) and measure the voltage again. It should be less than 0.5 volts. if it is more then the cable is bad - replace it. if it is less than 0.5 volts then move the black lead to the large post the cable is connected to. test the volts again (always while cranking the engine or trying to) . It should be less than 0.5 volts. the next check is to move the black lead to the other large post on the relay and repeat test. then to the cable end connected to the relay, then to the cable end at the starter then the post on the starter. These tests should all show less than 0.5 volts. any component that is over 0.5 volts is bad or corroded. If it can be cleaned then clean it and if it is a wire then replace it. From the negative side place the black lead on the negative post and the red lead on the clamp. Crank the engine (or attempt to) and check the voltage. As before it should always read 0.5 volts or less. for each successive test move the red lead to the next connection and retest. Keep going until you get to the engine block. These tests are call "Voltage drop tests" and are used to identify any open, resistive, or shorted connections. They are the only reliable way to determine bad components without random replacement of components which is time consuming and expensive.
