is this a bad starter?
 

i had experienced a couple of non-starts with just clicks then subsequent start. get a brand new interstate - the problem went away for a few days then returned - not clicks but a slight hesitation from time to time followed by a successfull start. today it would not turn over after i left it all day at the train station. then it clicked and it started. i made one stop on my way home and this time it refused to turn over - no click no nothing. i had to call for a ride home. called AAA then waited by the car - tried again just to be sure and it fires right up! i left it at my mechanic. i figure the starter is busted - either the solenoid, brushes or both. what do you guys think?

Could be. First thing in order would be to check all your connections to the starter, battery cables etc. Is it random, time dependent, or temp dependent?

BTW: My car refuses to start when it's been sitting in the cold. No click, nothing. On the second or third try it'll fire right up. So far, it's been tough to duplicate what my wife has told me, so I'll wait. Did the same thing last winter, I tuned it up and replaced teh OVP. By the time all was said and done it was spring so the hard start issue disappeared - until now.

that's exactly when it started - with the first cold spell. my old battery almost passed the load test on the third load but a couple tenths of a volt and i had not been using the car much. i double checked connections - tried the old trick of keeping the headlights on - it didn't even dim as i tried to crank it. that told me there was no load. so my reasoning is that the solenoid is stuck open sometimes...

It could be a faulty K38 relay. This relay is a starter circuit interupt controled by the anti theft alarm control unit. I just had a car towed in yesterday with this problem. The relay is a small silver cube relay located behind the instrument cluster on your car. Have your tech check this out. Hope this helps, good luck, Robert.

would the k38 allow the clicking or hesitation on initial start? if it is just a starter cutout then i would not even get clicks or the hesitation and then be able to start would i? this problem is intermittent and my tech did not have a problem starting it this morning. :mad:

Sorry,You are right. If the k38 relay is bad nothing will happen. I would suggest having your tech check to make sure all the connections are clean and tight. If all the connections check out ok it is probably a bad starter. Robert

The same thing happened to me last winter. Took it in twice and they could never get it to NOT start. It even sat outside in near zero temps. I finally said the hell with it. :rolleyes:

If you find the culprit, please post your results. I'm guessing the starter at this point as well.

update:

had to replace the starter. there was a "bad spot", i guess it had to do with brushes & commutator. $260 installed...

Thanks Joe,

I suspect the problem on my car are the shifter bushings. This AM, I twisted the key 5 times, then jiggled the shifter and it started.