Expert: Antonio Ibarra Jr. - 4/4/2011

Question
Hey Antonio,its kinda embarrassing, teenaged son, while starting my 93 E-150 van, turned the ignition BEYOND the start position. Ignition stayed stuck there for about 3-4 min, til I arrived, heard grinding &smelled a burning smell from under the hood. I wanna kill him but its not his fault. SO, it ran ok that day, today, when I try to start it, only one click from the starter relay (solenoid) and that's it. Its not the battery, that's fully charged. Any idea what was burning and if the 'overcranking' of the ignition is related? Another post mentioned that even though the solenoid clicked once, the inside of the guy's solenoid was melted. I'm not an expert but I'm pretty handy with cars. Any help is appreciated. Thanks alot.

Answer
Hello Patrick,

This happens a lot with "NEW DRIVERS", not to worry, as it can be fixed, and is something that once done a driver will never do again.  Just make sure to show or tell your son that once the engine fires, you can let off the key, and that it doesn't have to be turned with the strength of the incredible hulk. lol.

OK, so onto your questions.

One of two things has occurred here:

1. The starter solenoid and maybe the relay also are burned out, I would replace both just as a precaution.  

2. The starter itself burned out.  If this is the case then the starter will need to be replaced.

If it were me, I would replace the starter, the solenoid and the starter relay, just to be safe, however, that decision is up to you.

However, to answer your second question, there is no doubt in my mind, that the over cranking of the engine and starter caused this problem, as it is directly related to burning out the starting system.

One final note here, when checking and replacing the needed parts, also be sure to check all the wiring going to the starter system, to ensure there are no burned or broken wires, even the ground wires, as that too can cause this problem and is related to over cranking the engine and starter.

PS:  Don't be too hard on him, I must admit that when I was a new driver I did the same thing, and burned out my dads starter, it didn't get quite as far as smoking, but I still killed the starter.  Me and him replaced the parts together (he is a master mechanic) and it was a great bonding experience, and got me interested in auto mechanics and cars in general.

Now here I am 11 years later and I myself am a certified master mechanic specializing in Automotive electrical, and running my own successful auto customizing, upfitting and repair business.  Hopefully, if you will be doing the repairs yourself, and he helps you with it, it will not only teach him how that and other parts of the car work, giving him great useful knowledge that he can use forever, but I hope that it will be as great of a bonding experience for you and your son as it was for me and my dad, and you'll get to show him about cars, and have a new common interest.  =)

Good Luck.

Please keep me advised of your progress and let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Thank you.