Dodgy starter, screeching belt..

[Saggy]

My girl's Jeep has started giving her some problems lately. She'll take it somewhere and then come back out and try to start it and nothing. Says the starter won't even start turning, but that if you open the hood you can see something on it moving.

 

Other thing is there's a belt that's screeching pretty badly. Only happens when she turns the AC on...

 

 

Both issues just kind of popped up after a few months after she tried letting a friend put in a new stereo. He screwed the wiring all up, so now there's no stereo and the little dash-board computer thing she had on it doesn't function either. There's a few other issues that kind of tend to tell a wiring problem... Her door charm instead of a bell is just a weird "ticking" and one of her blinkers is acting pretty dodgy too.

 

 

I'm thinking that when the guy f*cked up the wiring, he caused a short circuit somewhere, killed the fan motor ( so the belt is dragging on the pulley ) and caused either over-voltage or under-voltage to the starter. It seems to work after you let it sit for a while, so I'm thinking maybe the heat from the short is causing too much resistance and it's not getting enough voltage. All the fuses are okay.

 

 

I'm more of an electrical guy than a car guy though, so I'm wondering if it's just not something totally different. I'm worried that it is a short with the electrical system though, because that won't get any better with more usage. Do starters typically just "go bad"? It also seems like far too much of a coincidence that these problems cropped up after the guy messed with the wiring.

[Burbalade]

 

Other thing is there's a belt that's screeching pretty badly.  Only happens when she turns the AC on...

AC compressor locked up? Try turning it by hand.

 

Doesn't make sense that something under the hood would be moving if the starter isn't turning.

 

Starters do go bad from time to time, or it could be you battery wires. They sometime corrode under the sleeving, giving the starter less power, making it harder to start and putting more wear on the starter. But that doesn't sound like your problem.

 

I say try to retrace any wires that don't look factory. If you can't find anything obvious, take it to a professional.

[Carlover325]

If my Jeep's been sitting for a while, and I turn on the AC as soon as I start the engine, it will make a squealing noise for about 3-5 seconds. I think the serpentine belt needs to be tightened.