How would you know if your started is going out in your 2003 cavalier?

Answer 1

You may not know in advance. But if you really pay attention, you can usually tell. First sign is, it will fail to start sometimes. For example, you may get in turn the key and nothing happens at all, you have power, but nothing else, no crank at all, but if you listen closely, when you turn the key over, or if you have someone else turn the key over, while you listen under the hood, you may hear a clicking noise. That would be the solenoid, more often than not, it is the solenoid which is often attached to the starter that actually goes out, instead of the starter itself. so if it clicks, and does nothing else, wait a second, try it again, or maybe even the next day, it will start, that is a very good sign that your starter or solenoid is going out. What can you do in a pinch? beat it with a tire iron! no joke. BE CAREFUL of the wires attached to the starter and/or solenoid. Take a tire iron and hit the starter a couple of good times, from the top or bottom of the engine, doesn't matter, whichever is easier to reach with out hitting the wires. IT will likely start. If not, you can spark it. But you may short it out. So I won't tell you how to spark it, I don't want to be responsible for a short in your wiring. They are very easy to replace/install, and fairly inexpensive. You can probably get one at a discount auto parts store for between 50 and 120 dollars, depending on the car, it (yours) should really be around 85 dollars. It takes about 20 minutes to install, and you dont need any special tools, just a couple of wrenches. Good luck.