Sulaco

Car has always been "slow to start" as though the battery were weak. The battery was replaced a little over a year ago. I replaced the aux battery a couple months ago. Car never started "normally" and always cranked as if the battery was weak. But it would always start.

Then, a few days ago, I go to start the car and instead of cranking, I hear a cracking/vibrating sound; kinda like what happens when the battery is low. I turn the key back off and wait. I pop the hood to inspect. I notice a weird electrical burning smell.

I get back in and try it again, car starts this time but the starter sounds different. Car starts. I go home.

I get home, into the garage, kill it. Start it back up, but starter still sounds strange again. No time to deal with this, I hook it up to battery tender overnight so I can look the next day. Now, no start. Just makes a "click" sound as though the battery is too weak to crank. But battery is fully charged.

I mean, all this sounds to me like the starter just fried. But I've read stories online about it being a potential relay/fuse situation preventing 12v from reaching the battery. Anyone got tips on where to start? Where are the locations of these relays/fuses/junctions I could look at to start checking and measuring voltage? Replacing the starter looks like a huge pain in the *** so if it's something simpler I'd love to prove that before I perform surgery.

Sulaco

bad starter, just replaced it, and it's fine now.

a real bear of a job because the aftermarket header had to come off first.

corvettekyle

How does the new starter compare to the old? Since I got my car it has always been “slow to start” , I was told it is normal for these starters. Is the new one the same or does it crank quicker?

testknight

Thanks for following back up with what you found. Sorry I didn't see this before as starter would have been my first guess based on previous experience on different platform.

Sulaco

bad news: that was the first symptom my starter was on the way out.

good news?: it took it almost 3 years of slow-to-crank symptoms before it finally fried the solenoid.

my new starter sounds like a spaceship compared to my old one. It cranks easily 10x faster, instantaneously. I only buy name brand; which is Bosch in this case. Remanufactured.