My starter is stuck cranking what do i do?what is could be wrong?

Question

is this the soleniod attached to the starter?

Answer 1

There is a good chance that the bendix the starter gear spins on needs lubrication. It would be best to pull the starter and spray it down with lube, then have it bench checked at a starter rebuilders shop.

Answer 2

Take a hammer and whack the starter a few times and see if that will disenguage the soleniod . If you can see the  soleniod tap on that. Otherwise you need a new soleniod, if it is a sealed unit and you cant remove it , take it apart and replace it. If this is not something you want to do, just buy a new starter. I would take it apart just to see how it looks, it is not like you will ruin the starter or anything. Got to learn somehow so you have a good chance here.

Answer 3

The starter is fine, the solenoid is fried. If it's a sealed unit you will replace it.

Answer 4

As indicated, this is a solenoid issue.  The solenoid is the mechanism that slides the starter gear down the shaft so that it will engage the flywheel and turn the engine.  Most starters have the solenoid/relay integrated into the starter itself.

Tapping the starter with a hammer will work ONLY IF the problem is that the gear is stuck in the engaged position.  If the gear's return spring is broken, this will not work.  Hitting the starter harder with the hammer will only damage the starter.

If it is an electrical problem ("the solenoid is fried"), you will need to replace it or the starter.  If you are mechanically inclined at all, you may be able to disassemble the starter and find something simple that can be fixed (broken wire, loose connection, etc).

Be advised; starter moters are very powerful electric motors and have very powerful magnets. Take apporpriate precautions.  You really, REALLY don't want to be bench-testing the starter with a car battery and jumper cables, and get your finger caught in the starter gear while it's spinning... trust me on this one.

Answer 5

It could be the solenoid sticking, the starter bendix hanging up, or a rough flywheel ring gear.  You  need to check all three.