HELP with hard-start issue.

[stevetatro]

Friend of mine has a '96. He says it's had a hard time starting recently, especially after sitting out all night, or all day for that matter. Says after he gets it started and drives around, subsequent starts seem much better. He sometimes even hears a "whirring" noise (not cranking) while he's trying to fire it up.

He thinks the problem is the starter, and I think he should make sure it's not his battery before he goes and buys a replacement starter.

FWIW, he has 90k miles, original starter, battery is a AutoZone special, 1.5 years old (still under warranty).

How might I go about figuring out for sure what the problem is? Can I somehow check the volts with my multimeter? If so, what voltage should I see when the car's off, and for the heck of it what voltage should I see when the car's on?

Also, if we determine that it is the starter (and even for future reference) is the starter as easy to remove/replace as it is on the old SHO? On my '93, it's just a few bolts and it falls right off (almost).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[muslhed]

I would recommend that you take your specially equipped Auto-Zone car to Auto-Zone, and have the "automotive specialists" there check out the battery and alternator. They have this neat lil' machine that can tell you in about 1 minute if you have a battery problem, or a charging problem. Actually, any battery store or mechanic shop can perform this simple test. You probably have a bad battery. The whirring that you hear, probably is coming from the alternator working it's butt off, trying to charge that "special" battery! Get an Optima, and forget about battery problems. Just my 2 cents!

 

[ricky]

AUTOZONE will test battery for free. If the noise is the starter spinning without turning motor, the starter is bad. Just a 2 bolt hook up.

 

[99V8SHO]

I sometimes have a problem with start-up, but not the kind that this guy is having. After sitting out for a few hours, it sometimes hesitates for a few seconds before starting up. shrug

 

[v8sho98]

He thinks the problem is the starter, and I think he should make sure it's not his battery before he goes and buys a replacement starter.


Sounds like a grounding problem. Have you checked the ground strap that goes to the starter nut for corrosion/damage? Fix/replace that first and see what happens.

 

[stevetatro]

We did find that the ground wire that goes to the starter was VERY corroded. We cut that connector, cleaned off the stud and nut, installed it with a new connector on the ground wire, and all seems okay.

Now he just has to take back that rebuilt starter he doesn't need!

Thanks.