The starter on my car has burned out 3 times now-

Question

each time it was after I took a long drive, turned the car off and turned it right back on. There were no other warning signs at all. Obviously the starter isnt the problem... so what could be burning the starter out?

Answer 1

HI

  Sounds like your having heat soak of the starter.. It is a common problem on cars with headers as the headers over heat the starter causing it to swell (per say) and then not work or turn very slowly.. If you let it cool down an hour or two with the hood open and it starts. I'd say that would be the problem.. the you would just need ether a heat shield or have the exhaust moved..

good luck

Tim

Answer 2

If your original starter had shims under it and they weren't replaced or the starter wasn't checked for proper spacing when it was replaced, the bendix could be hitting the flywheel too hard when it engages ruining the new starter.  Heat soak is a real problem also, but like was already mentioned.  Normally after it cools off, it will start your vehicle okay until it gets heated back up again.

Answer 3

Correction. aftermarket (especially rebuilt / remanufactured) starters can be bad out of the box, or even a batch can have problems.

However, the best thing would be to test the battery voltage draw when engaging the starter.  ( if the starter is bad, it should show enough load to lower the voltage to as low as 7 volts in some instances)

If the voltage doesn't change, it is most likely the solenoid.

Since you did not put your vehicle make etc, I would suggest testing the charging system.  If a bad regulator allows overcharging, (too much voltage)  it can fry your battery, alternator, and send excessive voltage to starter/solenoid/relay...

If the starter is bad, warranty should cover it.  but if there is premature failure over and over, it could be related to wiring, regulator, even bad grounds.  You should verify it's not just 3 junk starters.  Once that is established, auto electric shop if you are not familiar.  Knowing the vehicle info would help.