ericcarter Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 So I tried to move the wife’s car tonight and as I went to start her 14 Edge SE 3.5L, it would crank, but not start. I heard the starter spinning but it seemed to not engage. So I did a little research and was told to tap the side of the starter and try again. So I took the air filter off and did so. The car cranked again, and started a little roughly. So I put the air filter and assembly back on and now she starts fine. I’m wondering what the problem was and if anyone had the same issues? Or if anyone has a way to keep this from happening again. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulSchott Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 Tapping the starter is an old trick. It may fix it forever or it may work for a few days. I believe these starters have a solenoid that engages the gear with the fly wheel. If the mechanism is sticky of the solenoid is weak the motor won't engage. I would be inclined to change the starter for reliability reasons. I don't think your wife will be happy having to bang on the starter to get home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted February 4, 2020 Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 How many miles on your Edge? Don't typically see issues unless located in the "hot zone" - Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, Texas or the like. Failures are really rare. Have you checked the battery and cabling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericcarter Posted February 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 The car only has 94k miles on it. Went and had the starter tested and it tested good. Along with the battery and alternator. Everything passed. So now I’m at a point where I don’t know what else to check. Thanks for the input guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted February 6, 2020 Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 If the failure is intermittent, there could still be a problem with the starter (e.g., internal short). Did you by any chance observe the RPMs at the time when it was spinning but not engaging? When you had the starter tested, was there a readout of how many amps it was pulling? The expected values for a 3.5/3.7 setup: General Specifications Item Specification Normal engine cranking speed 200-250 rpm Starting circuit maximum voltage drop (Engine at normal operating temperature) 0.5 volt Starter motor maximum load current draw 800 amps Starter motor no-load current draw 60-80 amps Starter motor normal load current draw 130-190 amps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1004ron Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 On 2/2/2020 at 10:39 PM, ericcarter said: So I tried to move the wife’s car tonight and as I went to start her 14 Edge SE 3.5L, it would crank, but not start. I heard the starter spinning but it seemed to not engage. So I did a little research and was told to tap the side of the starter and try again. So I took the air filter off and did so. The car cranked again, and started a little roughly. So I put the air filter and assembly back on and now she starts fine. I’m wondering what the problem was and if anyone had the same issues? Or if anyone has a way to keep this from happening again. Thanks in advance. You might get a better response if you posted in the appropriate subsection of the forum. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.