Pay attention to what is happening if you notice your car’s starter making any unusual noise. You’ll want to troubleshoot so you don’t get stranded on a busy day.
Slow starting can be caused by the battery, battery cables, or starter motor. You can usually check your battery for free anywhere that sells batteries. If the battery is good, you should check all the connections to make sure they are clean and tight. It’s a good idea to check the voltage at the starter end of the large wire that runs from the battery to the solenoid to make sure you’re getting full voltage at the starter.
If you hear a click, but the starter motor won’t start the engine, there’s a good chance the problem is that the solenoid switch won’t connect battery power to the starter motor when activated. Again, make sure the battery and cables are not the problem. Now you can try popping the two large lugs on your starter solenoid with a screwdriver to see if the starter works without activating the solenoid. Make sure to park the car and set the parking brake first. If the motor turns and sounds good, your problem is with the solenoid and it needs to be replaced
Another problem that can arise is that the starter motor does not disengage with the flywheel. This generally makes a lot of noise and causes a lot of wear on the starter gear and starter bushings when turning the starter motor at high speeds. Sometimes the starter motor does not disengage even after the engine stops. If you have a manual transmission, you can try leaving the car in gear and rocking it back and forth to release the starter from the flywheel. This is usually caused by a broken or weak spring that helps the starter to retract when power to the starter is cut off.