Alternators & Starters

ALTERNATOR

If you've noticed your car acting up lately, or it's time for one of your regularly scheduled maintenance services, bring your car to Mr. Nobody Tire. Do you hear strange sounds like knocking or grinding? Have you begun to notice fluids leaking underneath your car? Is it time for your inspection or tune up? We've long been the choice for alternator repair and replacement in Gastonia, so whatever you need, come see us today!

A bad alternator could be the cause of your dead battery.

If you're having to constantly jump your battery, or if you just replaced it with a new battery that still doesn't seem to hold a charge, then it's a good chance that the real problem is with your alternator.

When you're driving your car around the Charlotte North Carolina area, the alternator provides electricity to various components like your dashboard lights and air conditioner. Any extra power it creates gets stored in the car's battery for later use. If your alternator isn't charging you battery, then the next time you go to start your car, you have to deal with the frustration of a dead battery.

This is often misdiagnosed as a bad battery, especially if it's an older battery, but you can save time and a further hassle by having your car serviced correctly by out trained mechanics. Bring your car or truck to your shop just West of Charlotte in Gastonia North Carolina for alternator repair and replacement that you can trust.

Customers call and ask us to help diagnose their car not starting, and what they are experiencing with their car or light truck. This is not an uncommon inquiry, but it takes some information gathering each time to provide the best response. Our first question to them is when they turn the key what do they hear? Is the engine turning over? Is there a clicking sound? In this case the reply was, "when I try to start it nothing happens, the lights and radio are fine. Also I tried to start it with jumper cables hooked up and still there was no sound when I turned the key." With that information my first thought is the starter is the problem. Although it could be many other factors such as a loose power cable to the starter, but those symptoms narrow in on a starter problem.

STARTER

The root of the starter engine is of course the ignition. When you turn your key it allows electricity to flow from the battery to the starter motor and complete the circuit for the first revolution of your engine.

replace bad strater motor There are two devices which allow the ignition to fire and start the engine, the Starter Engine and the Solenoid. Since automobile manufactures deemed it more efficient, the solenoid is most commonly attached to the starter. These two devices in conjunction provide a jolt of electricity from your battery to make the engine to “turn over”. Furthermore, the starter also draws in a mixture of fuel and air to provide the initial explosion your engine requires in the beginning of its cycle.

If your car tries to start, but can’t quite get the job done, it could possibly be the starter seeing some trouble. There are generally only a few things that can lead to a starter engine misbehaving.

Weak Battery: A Weak or undercharged battery cannot provide the starter with enough electricity to turn the engine over. Your car may make a rapid clicking noise, or just never quite get started.

Solenoid: Since the Solenoid and the starter work in conjunction to get the car started. If the solenoid is cracked or broken you cannot get the charge needed to begin running on gasoline.

Bad Wiring: In order to take the charge from the battery, basic wiring is required. More than anything else, time and heat can take the worst toll on basic electrical components. A simple process of replacing some wiring can be all that’s required.

There are also a few mechanical issues that can arise with a starter engine that would cause it to fail. The Flywheel, for example is made up of multiple interlocking “teeth” which moves the crankshaft and pistons. Over time the flywheel can degrade and cause the starter to cease functioning. Ultimately, because almost all of these components are inside a metal casing and are not meant to be serviced individually, it is best to replace the entire starter motor. This ensures that your vehicle will start reliably for years to come.

The process of troubleshooting a starter engine and solenoid combo can quickly become a tiresome task. Let Mr. Nobody Tire take away the stress of figuring out the problem and provide a quality service for your problem. Our technicians are expert with discovering the issue and finding the best long term solution. Plus, we provide Towing to the shop for service. So if you can’t get your vehicle fired up, give us a ring and we’ll get you back on the road.