OR maybe I should have named this post “How to help others not make my same mistakes,” I learned from my first purchase of a remanufactured starter. My first one started out as a dud when I thought it may have been something else wrong with my car when I was sure it had nothing to do with the starter because I had just purchased it. So I’m troubleshooting other area’s of the starting system of the car with my dad and it all came up a dead end there was only one other solution. We pulled the starter out and did a hot wire test to the starter, grounding the body of the starter on the negative side of the battery and hooking a positive side to the battery side of the solenoids and another wire to one of the other ignition contacts on the solenoid to engage the pinion clutch to see if the starter was even working.
Which it wasn’t engaging and wasn’t even spinning, it was dead as a doornail. THIS was my FIRST experience with a remanufactured starter! So we returned it and tried another remanufactured one more time around trying to save money. The first one still had the warranty so we tried again.
Yet ANOTHER dud! We returned it again. We decided to go with a new one. Then the store employee told us he wouldn’t sell us a new one because he thought we were hooking it up wrong! So we went to a different auto parts retailer and we bought a new one from them with a lifetime warranty and none of the mouthy comments. We got it home, put it in the car and proved that the car actually lives. Another life lesson learned about rebuilt parts to never go with again.
And another thing, we live in the age of technology so now when you shop for auto parts you can check out reviews, star ratings, prices all at a quick glance at all auto parts in local areas. Don’t be so quick to just pick the first one. Don’t be impatient. I have learned to have great patience when searching for that just right part. Some companies and some parts are not the quality they used to be, so do your homework it pays off in the end! Your wallet will be thanking you!
