I have 96 blazer that is not currently starting. I just bought the vehicle with 27k miles on it. I've only had the vehicle about a week now. Did not notice any starter issues until the last couple of days.

The symptoms are the starter spins but does not engage into the fly wheel(If you try enough times to start the vehicle, it will occasionally kick out into the fly wheel and start the engine). No clicky noises, just a spinning starter motor, but not engaged/turning the fly wheel. When the solenoid does work, it sometimes only partially IE. the engine turns over for a couple of revolutions, but then the solenoid releases and the start motor is just left there spinning not engaged to the fly wheel.


I knew there was going to be few gremlins with the truck when I bought because of its age and lack of use. So, I'm saying to myself, "Ha, starter/solenoid must have gone bad from sitting so long(ie. contacts corroded or something like that). No big deal, I'll just get a replacement starter and install(Yeah, I read the install nightmares for these trucks already). I get my tools, prep the truck for the worked to be preformed, go to remove the starter when I notice there's already a new NAPA starter motor already on the truck(can't be stock as I'm sure stock starter motors don't have the NAPA label on them, and this starter motor looks brand spanking new.

The add for the car sad it had a new battery and no mentioned of new starter. I bought it from a wholesaler and this was a one owner truck.

Does a solenoid not kick in if:
1) There's not enough power IE. Too small battery(not enough cranking amps)?
2) Other electrical issues?

Even though the starter is new, could the solenoid be defective?

I would hate to go through the pain of removing the starter and then have it benched tested only to find out it's not the solenoid.

 

It is possible that the bendix doesnt kick out and engage the flywheel, but unlikely. Usually if there is a voltage issue your starter will engage but not turn. If the starter is not engaging, then it could be a bad starter, or since the problem is intermittent then it is possible you are missing a few teeth on your flywheel. Next time it doesnt start put a wrench on the harmonic balancer and turn the engine, if it still doesnt engage try a new starter. If the starter engages after turning the engine, a new flywheel may be in order. Good Luck!

 

^^^^^^ This.
Technical term for automatic is 'ring gear' but true nonetheless. If you move the crank and still dont at least hear 'grinding' then it is definitely a bad starter. And may be, anyway
- Correction: Old Skool {below} is right. 'Flexplate' on automatic. Both flywheels and flexplates have ring gear for the starting system.

There is a weak link between the solenoid and the bendix on some delco-remy type starters but I am not sure they apply here.
In the old versions, the contactor for the starter winding could not make unless the sol plunger moved enough to engage the bendix gear.

 

and/or flexplate

 

Went ahead and replaced the starter, everything appears to be fine now. I'm 99% it was the solenoid, but I didn't want to play a trial and error fix routine, so I figured just to replace the whole starter.

Kudo's to the persons on the forum who outlined how they removed the starter. I didn't even need to throw out a few f-bombs during the process.

Oh, NAPA wouldn't warranty the bad new starter that I removed. They said I needed to be the original owner and have the receipt. I picked the bad starter off the counter and went to Bond Auto.

 

That's the beauty of this site. People report how they approach a difficult task andmake everyone else's job easier. Does not always happen,, esp on 'ask' and 'fixya'I understand WHY they wont but, while I despise people who break stuff then exploit liberal return policies such as at Lowes, I will always do the same as you did.

Never reward bad product by buying more of it.

 

For future reference: The drive unit in the NAPA starter was faulty. The drive unit can be replaced separately for under $20. Never did care for Never Any Parts Available warranty policy or their high priced stuff. I agree with pettyfog: "Never reward bad product by buying more of it." Ya did the right thing going elsewhere.

 

Has anyone here had any starter issues on 71 blazers? Mine grinds even after installing a new starter. Tried shimming and it works for a day or two and then grinds again. Could it be a heat issue since its nestled above the header?

 

I have a 96 blazer that randomly grinds and won't start, I just replaced my second starter,it keeps killing solonoids, could 2 starters really have faulty solenoids?

 

[QUOTE=burt222;521458]I have a 96 blazer that randomly grinds and won't start, I just replaced my second starter,it keeps killing solonoids, could 2 starters really have faulty solenoids?[/QUOTE

Did you recently have any work done on it? Did you just buy it from someone? Some things to look out for is a novice mechanic putting a flex plate on backwards. Another is using a rebuilt from a different truck and not removing the Bering if you went from auto to a 4 speed.