Will Rain Short The Starter?

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Deemar
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It's exposed under the car, will heavy rain cause it to engage while driving? It's kind of a strange placement.
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Tom
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It should not, but the terminals on some cheaper starters are not physically separated the way they are on the originals. On those starters, there IS a chance of moisture engaging the starter. It happened to me many years ago after washing my car. Kind of a one in a million thing. You need to be careful to ensure the big battery cable lug does not spin and get close to the smaller terminal -- the closer they are, the higher this risk. With a factory style starter, it should never be an issue. Did this happen to you?

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Deemar
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Tom wrote: Mon Jul 14, 2025 8:48 pm It should not, but the terminals on some cheaper starters are not physically separated the way they are on the originals. On those starters, there IS a chance of moisture engaging the starter. It happened to me many years ago after washing my car. Kind of a one in a million thing. You need to be careful to ensure the big battery cable lug does not spin and get close to the smaller terminal -- the closer they are, the higher this risk. With a factory style starter, it should never be an issue. Did this happen to you?
No but just looking at it hanging under the car, it seems like water can get spit up from the road and connect the terminals. We got some tornadoes here yesterday so it rained like crazy. I took another car instead of the 944 but it made me wonder what would have happened if I drove the 944.
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Tom
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If you are under there, take a picture of where the wires attach and I might have some suggestions. It's a very rare issue if everything is isolated per the factory set up. Many will say it is a non-issue, but in my experience it's a good question and worth being aware so you can minimize the risk. Separately, don't drive in Tornadoes. :)

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O875
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On some of the (later?) cars there is a rubber boot over the main feed to the starter, which may have been added to reduce the chance of a short.
Screenshot 2025-07-16 at 19.12.04.png
Screenshot 2025-07-16 at 19.12.04.png (247.31 KiB) Viewed 169 times
item 19
part number 999 659 006 50

I'm planning to put one on my car when all that is connected up again.

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