Hi guys driving home today my 3.5ltr 99mdl altera violently spluttered then once in the driveway died and wouldnt start again. No noise to the engine at all. Dash lights radio windows work. My engine light stays on when ignition is on. I lifted the bonnett and could smell smoke and appeared to be coming from starter motor area. I did hear a whining noise before arriving home. Could it be my fuel pump died? Im not to cluey on mechanics in cars so help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

may need to run an CEL (check engine light) check on it, could maybe be possible what madmax said on the other post about the large fat wire that runs to the starter motor, has it been running fine before hand?

Ty for your response and madmax much appreciated.Yes on the way to the shop it seemed to run fine. Although as soon as i started it to come home i heard a faint whining sound coming from engine. My first thought it may be the fuel pump as the last couple of weeks it spluttered on accleration but would feel ok after a few seconds or so. i did add fuel injector cleaner to my fuel today but surely that wouldnt make my car die would it? I will check cable to starter tomorrow as i prey its just that.

Sounds to me like the starter motor went haywire and kept running when you started the car(the whirring) and overheated (the smoke). It's not likely to be the fuel pump as it's in the fuel tank and nowhere near the engine.

. . . . . just a guess though, needs looking at . . . . .

thankyou again. I replaced starter checked cables car starts great. Now the other problem the car splutters when i put my foot down but in idle its fine.Could this be a spark plug problem?? Causing insufficient power?? Also have any of you guys changed them yourself and if so is it easy enough to do rather than get ripped off by my local mechanic. Which i might add tried to charge me a few hundred bucks for a reco starter. Im not that silly lol

could be spark plugs, dizzy cap, rotor button, spark plug leads, coil, or even a bad fuel filter, even the throttle body could need cleaning. i guess there is a good start