Ferreal4

I replaced my starter motor last August. It was a brand new part from Pep Boys, not a re-manufactured one. A few weeks ago I took my 99 XLT off-roading and drove it through some pretty deep water, and ever since occasionally the starter motor would "click" the same way it did last year when I needed a new one. I'd say it would "click" about once out of every five starts, and I would just have to try a few more times until the engine would turn over. Last night it got real bad, I couldn't get it started at all after trying it countless times and tapping the starter with a hammer several times.

I'm thinking it is a terminal connection or something along those lines. Any other suggestions? I have the terminals pulled off right now and I'm scrubbing them with a toothbrush, anyone have any suggestions on how to clean the terminals? Any other suggestions as to what the problem is?

tiresmoke

Did your starter submerge in the deep water? You may have to pull the starter & clean it internally or take it to be tested to see if there is a dead spot(s) in it. Electrical components & water don't play well together.

Ferreal4

I'm not sure if It was completely underwater, I did drive through a deep river. but thats what I ended up doing anyways, I took the whole thing off and cleaned it internally with carb cleaner. When I put it back on I had the same problem, however I eventually got it to start, and then the problem steadily got better. I've started it at least 50 times now and have only had it click once, so the situation has improved significantly. I've started it up multiple times today and had no issues. Any thoughts?

tiresmoke

Carb cleaner won't do much good for cleaning "river dirt". Did you actually disassemble the starter to clean it? or just spray into any opening & hope for the best? A Scotchbrite pad & compressed air work great for cleaning non greasy surfaces such as electrical brush contacts.
>>I've started it up multiple times today and had no issues.<<
This statement would indicate that, what ever was causing poor conductivity has "worn" off & the starter is functioning again.
There may be sealed starters available for deep water & off roading. Google can help best with this.

Marc D

Starter solenoids have a copper disc that rotate each time you turn the ignition key. When the contacts in the solenoid get dirty either by age or water exposure you will get intermittent starting. Using carb cleaner is not a good idea because it will damage the coating on the armature windings and will cause premature failure of the starter. Use cleaners like Super Clean or WD-40 to remove surface dirt. Also you can clean the electrical terminals with a soft wire brush and baking soda. Double check the ground strap is clean to the motor.

imp

Exactly right! The click being heard is the solenoid pulling in, but the copper disc is actually the switch which turns on the motor itself. If it becomes very dirty, burnt, or the solenoid plunger is not moving freely enough to allow the disc to make contact, no crank. imp

Ferreal4

Ok so the consesus is that carb cleaner is a bad idea, but yes I did completely disassemble the starter motor and i used the carb cleaner (before finding out it wasn't a good idea) and scrubbed it with a toothbruch. I took out all the components of the starter and rubbed out a ton of dirt that was caked up in between the magnets and such. Like I said it didn't work right away when I put it back in, but after a few more starts, it has been starting right up flawlessly. So whatever I did it worked because I did all this on Saturday and since I haven't had any problems, I know you guys said carb cleaner was a bad idea but whatever I did it worked.