sid827

Hello All,
I have a 2002 Tracker Base. Last June (2018) I replaced the battery and now I have a situation where the car will start with no issues, I'll shut off, but will not immediately restart. I get a no crank condition. No clicking, no noise whatsoever. If I wait 30 minutes or so it'll start again. Has anyone come across this situation or have any ideas on what it may be?

Thank you

oilcanhenry

My educated guess without knowing more is that something is getting hot. Does your starter have a heat shield? How about the wires?

sid827

Thank you for your response. It doesn't have a heat shield. Nor do the wires. The tracker is a manual, so I can and have push started it with no problems. Maybe a ground issue?

oilcanhenry

Could be but I doubt or it wouldnt start. Bad starter would be a good guess.

L84sky

Here's why a bad starter is a good guess. The Tracker starter motor has two coils. The pull-in coil is required to engage the pinion drive lever
which simultaneously moves the internal switch from OFF to ON. The current path for the pull-in coil is through the starter motor --- the only
device that draws enough current to cause a heat related problem. If no pull-in current flows through the starter motor, the motor will not
turn. It won't even click.



If the pinion drive lever does engage, the internal switch places 12 VDC at the bottom of the pull-in coil. With the held key in the START
position there is also 12 VDC at the top of the pull-in coil. The difference in potential is zero so no more current flows through the pull-in
coil. At that point the hold-in coil is the only thing keeping the starter engaged (until the key is released).




If the brushes, commutator or windings are not passing current when hot, the starter will have to be repaired or replaced.
A remanufactured starter from RockAuto averages around $150. A starter/generator shop might be able to fix it for less.

sid827

Nope. Changed the starter yesterday. I took it to a car wash to clean the engine compartment out and it wouldn't start. After a minute it did start.

L84sky

The complete start circuit for a 2001 4-door Tracker is shown below. If the starter motor has been ruled out as the source of he problem,
there are three other possibilities:

1. the starter doesn't have a good ground
2. the current from the battery (shown in red) is not reaching the starter
3. the start signal (shown in green) is not reaching the starter

The starter gets its ground when it is bolted to the engine block. It is possible that the ground cable connectors are corroded or loose.
One end of ground cable is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. The other end of ground cable is bolted to the engine.
(under the alternator on my V6).

The resistance in one of he cable connectors could be getting hot when the engine cranks the first time. That heat could cause a
temporary expansion of the metal that opens the circuit. Having just changed the starter, the connection on that end of the (+) cable is
probably tight. An easy way to check for a bad connection at the battery is to put voltmeter leads on the positive battery terminal
and the cable connector around it. Watch the meter as someone cranks the engine. A good connection should have virtually no
voltage drop. If you see a volt or better the connection needs to be cleaned and retightened.

The last possibility is the signal from the key is not reaching the starter. This is not a high current circuit and should not be getting
hot, but then again there's no proof your problem is actually heat related. If this were my car, I would run a 6 foot jumper wire from
the "S" terminal on the starter to one side of a 12 volt light bulb (or a $4 Harbor Freight test light). I'd run the jumper through the
passenger window and ground the other side of the bulb inside the cabin. Then I would watch the bulb when I cranked the engine.
If the bulb lights when the motor doesn't crank, the start signal circuit is good and the problem is in one of the battery cables.