My car is a 95 sohc neon sport manual. When i try to start my car with a key it just makes one click and does nothing no cranking or anything. This first happened at a friends house and i was able to push start the car and drive home just fine. The alternator is only about a year old and is brand new. The car still seems to have plenty of power in the battery because i can listen to the radio and my headlights seemed the same brightness without the car running. The starter is an original with about 127k on the odometer so i'm assuming that's the problem. The battery is also an original though. I just would like to know the best things i can do before i change the starter so i can get the problem fixed the least expensive and time consuming way. Thanks in advance.

 

First thing I would do is take the car somewhere and have someone, or you can check yourself, just check the battery and see if it still has enough voltage. If it does then the problem is either the starter or the alternator. Since you said the alternator is fairly new I would say its either the battery, starter or maybe some wiring. I would just take the battery and starter to say Auto Zone or somewhere like that and they can test both of them to see if they are fine.

 

push start the car then take the negative battery cable off to test alternator.
the only way you can have the starter tested is take it off and take it to an auto store

 

i will first try by removing the battery terminals and testing the voltage with a multimeter on the battery. Than i will clean up the terminals really well and try starting it.

 

i couldn't find my multimeter but i cleaned the terminals with a wire brush real well and the same result. I think i will just bring the battery tomorrow to get it tested. any more ideas?

 

are u getting a clink when u turn the key eash time it will clink once???
starter

 

yep only 1 click than it's dead but the accs will still work ex radio headlights etc

 

this might sound dumn but try taping it with a wrench. i had a car that would click and then nothing. i hit it and i would work.

 

As you have already checked and cleaned the battery connections, make sure the battery and ground connectionsat the starter are clean and tight. Next step would be to verify the battery condition, if it’s ok then have the starter tested.

 

today i took a pry bar and placed it on the starter and tapped it with a hammer a few times all around the starter. I than was able to start the car with the key. I turned the car off and tried to start it again and was unable to start the car and it was just one click. I'm going to replace the starter in a couple of days. How difficult is replacing the starter. I was hoping i could just remove the cooling fan and that would give me enough clearance. How many bolts and where are they located to remove the starter? any tips