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The starter in the 2000 Cadillac Deville works in the same manner as most automotive starters. A solenoid sends an electrical impulse to the starter which, in turn, causes a gear within the starter to turn. This causes the engine to roar to life. If the starter fails, the engine doesnt start. When this happens, the only way to remedy the situation is to remove and replace the starter with a new one or a rebuilt one.

Instructions

1

Drive the Cadillac Deville onto a set of front-end ramps to gain ground clearance between the bottom of the vehicle and ground. Pull the parking brake to prevent the Deville from rolling off the ramps while you are under it.

2

Open the engine hood and remove the negative battery connector from the battery. Use an adjustable wrench to loosen the nut on the connector.

3

Locate the starter on bottom of the engine, on the drivers side of the Deville. Use the replacement starter as a visual aid. Its located behind the bell housing, between the transmission and the transmission cross member.

4

Remove the starter wire from the back of the starter. The wire attaches to the starter with a small nut. Use the adjustable wrench to remove the nut and then slide the wire off the threaded post.

5

Disconnect the wiring harness on the starter solenoid. The solenoid bolts to the starter, thus it gets removed with the starter. To disconnect the harness, push down on the release tab and pull the harness off the solenoid.

6

Remove the three nuts that secure the starter to the bell housing with a 7/16 wrench. Hold the starter with one hand while you remove the final bolt.

7

Pull the starter out of the bell housing and place the new starter into place. There is a small gear on the end of the starter that meshes with the flywheel in the starter.

8

Secure the starter with the three bolts and the 7/16 wrench.

9

Reconnect the wiring harness to the starter solenoid on the Deville by pushing the connector onto the solenoid until it snaps into place.

10

Reconnect the starter wire onto the end of the starter.

11

Reconnect the negative battery connector.

The proper nomenclature for a starter drive is a Bendix. The starter motor drive shaft has a spiral groove on which the Bendix rides. The Bendix is normally posed next to the motor when not in operation. When the motor is actuated, the spinning of the motors shaft causes the Bendix, complete with gear, to move away from the motor where it engages the flexplate gear. When the motor stops turning, spring pressure retracts the Bendix to its stationary position.

Instructions

1

Try to start the engine. If you hear a loud whirring noise, the starter motor has engaged and there is definitely something wrong with the starter or flexplate gear. If you hear no sound, the starter has not actuated.

2

Open the hood and test the battery voltage with the voltmeter. Connect the red voltmeter lead to the positive terminal on the battery and the black lead to the negative terminal. There should be 12.5 volts or better. If not, charge the battery and test again. If it does not take a charge replace it. If it does take a charge, watch the voltmeter as a helper turns the key to start. If the voltage remains constant, a wire or solenoid problem exists. If the voltage drops below 10.5 volts replace the battery. Check the alternator output if the battery took a charge.

3

Check the power to the starter solenoid B+ terminal. This is the wire cable directly from the battery to the solenoid. Place the black voltmeter lead on a good ground and probe the solenoid terminal with the red wire. Battery voltage should be present if the wire and battery terminals are good.

4

Check the S-terminal on the solenoid. This is the small terminal that receives power from the ignition switch that actuates the starter. Remove the S-terminal small wire and probe it while a helper turns the key to the start position. It should have power. If it doesnt, the ignition switch is bad. If there is power at both terminals and the starter just clicks or makes no noise at all, replace the starter. If the starter runs but does not turn the engine proceed to the next step.

5

Remove the negative cable on the battery using a wrench. Raise the front of the vehicle with the floor jack and place the jack stands under the frame. Lower the vehicle so that it rests on the jack stands.

6

Remove the starter bolts with a socket and pull the starter out. Disconnect the large primary power wire on the B+ terminal and the small wire on the S-terminal using a wrench. Lay the starter on the ground in front of the vehicle.

7

Test the starter using the jumper cables. Connect the black lead to the negative terminal on the battery and the other end of this cable to the body of the starter. Connect the red lead to the positive terminal on the battery. Take the red lead in hand and momentarily touch the large stud just below the large B+ terminal. Watch the starter Bendix. It should immediately snap out to the end of the starter motor shaft as the motor is spinning. As soon as the motor stops the Bendix should retract. If not, replace the starter. If it does operate perfectly, the problem is the flexplate gear. The ring gear that surrounds the flexplate is what the Bendix engages to turn the engine. This requires removing the transmission and torque converter in order to replace.

The starter solenoid in your Ford serves to convert the relatively low voltage from the battery to high voltage in order to start the engine. If you are having problems turning on the engine, you may be considering having your local service center replace the solenoid. Before you do that, test the solenoid to make sure you dont have a bad battery. Its job you can do yourself even if you dont have technical knowledge.

Instructions

1

Turn off the engine, remove the ignition key, engage the parking brake and raise the hood. Connect a voltmeter to the battery to test the charge.

2

Connect the red and black leads from the voltmeter to the batterys red and black terminals. Look at the display for the volt reading. If you have less than a 12-volt reading, replace the battery or charge it with a battery charger.

3

Locate the starter which should be next to the engine on the right side. The starter is the small black box with a wire coming out of it.

4

Locate the grounding cable coming from the starter. If you see rust, or that the grounding cable is disconnected, clean it with a rust cleaner and reconnect it to the grounding bracket on the right of the starter.

5

Use your voltmeter to get a reading from the two wires coming from the starter solenoid and going to the battery. If you do not get a 12-volt reading from the starter wires, you need to replace the starter.

Like most other motorized or powerful electric devices on your car, the starter doesnt draw its power directly from the switch used to trigger it. Instead, the ignition switch triggers a sort of secondary switch, known as a relay or -- in the case of a starter -- the solenoid.

Starting System Basics

When you turn the ignition key on your car, the key closes a gap between the positive wire on your battery and a positive terminal on the starter solenoid, When the circuit closes on the solenoid, a switch inside of the solenoid closes and closes another circuit that links the battery and the electric motor on your starter. Hypothetically, you could just run a wire directly from the battery to the ignition switch and then to the motor, but that would require a lot of very heavy-gauge wire and a heavy-duty switch.

How a Solenoid Works

When electrical current from the switch enters the solenoid, it energizes a small electromagnet inside the solenoid. This electromagnet pulls on an metal arm attached to the batterys positive terminal against a metal plate attached to the starter terminal. In this way, the starter solenoid mimics the behavior of the ignition switch; you can think of the starter solenoid as a second ignition switch that sits in line between the battery and the starter.

Divorced vs Integrated

Modern starters generally use a starter solenoid integrated into the body of the starter itself, while older cars typically use a divorced solenoid mounted on the wheel well or firewall. The integrated solenoid and starter package is cheaper to produce and install because it reduced the number of connections in the electrical system and the machine processes necessary to install a separate solenoid mechanism in the engine bay. To locate your starter solenoid -- be it divorced or integrated -- simply follow the thick, red cable connected to your positive battery terminal.

Failure and Troubleshooting

A clicking starter solenoid usually indicates low battery power. The main starter circuit closing draws a great deal of power from the battery, which temporarily deprives the ignition switch of the amperage that it needs to trigger the solenoid. When the main circuit opens, power returns to the electromagnet, the circuit closes with a sharp click and the cycle starts over again. In this scenario, divorced solenoids have a slight advantage over integrated solenoids, since a driver can simply jump the exposed battery and starter terminals on the solenoid with a screwdriver. This circumvents the whole on-off-on cycle, possibly allowing a driver to start the car when he might otherwise end up stranded. This may be technically possible with some integrated solenoids, but the integrated solenoid is by nature harder to get to.