I think my starter went out.. My car won't turn over.. and there's a slight "click"... but now it wont even click.. ah! what do I do?? How much do starters go for? and how much would labor cost? I live in southern california.. Ah! I have no money and I have work tomarrow! oh no..... http://www.nastyz28.com/ubb/frown.gif

First, remove the battery cables from both the battery and the starter and thoroughly clean the ends. At the battery, make sure you pull the bolts out of the cable ends and clean under them too.
Then try again. Have someone measure across the battery before trying to start the car, and also during the attempt to start. If the battery voltage falls really low, you simply need a different battery.
If the battery stays up in voltage, you go to the starter next. Usually, if the starter is causing this kind of failure, it either has bad brushes or a bad Bendix. Both parts are included in the cheapie $10 starter rebuild kits at the auto parts stores.

My car wont even make a noise now.. no volts, and my RPM meter is stuck at 1500..

and how would I clean them? wet cloth? dry?

Moving to Engine Topics...

sounds like a dead battery..

do any of the lights turn on or anything like that?

<font face="Arial,Verdana" size="2">Originally posted by 1981coupe400ci:
sounds like a dead battery..

do any of the lights turn on or anything like that?</font>


Yep. No volts at battery equals dead battery. Time to buy a new one.
No volts at starter, but good voltage at battery equals bad cables.