Said It Here

Will a melted wire ruin my new starter motor?

A melted wire on an old starter motor can indicate a deeper electrical problem that risks frying a replacement part if installed blindly. Figuring out whether this damage is a normal failure or a sign of an underlying issue prevents the new starter from burning out immediately.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Replacing the starter motor entirely
  2. 2
    Assuming normal wear or corrosion rather than an active electrical fault
  3. 3
    Jacking the engine slightly from the oil pan with a block of wood to gain extra clearance.

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/AskMechanics1 person · September 2026

“Then one day it cranked only once and then never again.”source ↗

“Is this a normal failure or should I be investigating something before I cook my new Denso starter?”source ↗

MDOT_SHOOTA · r/AskMechanics · 2 upvotes
r/MechanicAdvice1 person · September 2026

“I'm doing the notorious f150 starter, and its been a crazy pain.”source ↗

“Now, I'm dealing with the same problem, but trying to get the new starter in. No matter which way I try to get it in, the motor mount prevents it from getting straight into the bell housing.”source ↗

professorpolarity · r/MechanicAdvice · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised