16v suddenly cranks slow, won't start

[treed2 at wsu.edu (T. Reed)]

Yeah, this definitely "feels" like a grounding issue.. but it should have
been fixed by now with the cleaning I did. I have this feeling that one of
those ground wires has just corroded inside the crimp and has very high
resistance. Even though they're only a couple years old, they're probably
due for replacement. Too bad all my 4 ga/8 ga wiring stuff is hundreds of
miles away :(

I have a feeling it's time for a (bus) trip to walmart to pick up some $3
battery cables..

-Toby

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004, C Boyko wrote:

> I used to have weak starts, and then finally it just wouldn't start. Okay,
> let's be realistic, it's happened a lot, not just once, this is my car I'm
> talking about. But one other thing you could try is jumpering to the tranny,
> at one point mine was completely lacking that ground strap, at another it
> was loose. Both times gave a weak start. Or no start.
> Cathy
>
>
> >From: "T. Reed" <treed2@wsu.edu>
> >To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org
> >Subject: 16v suddenly cranks slow, won't start
> >Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 23:28:31 -0800 (PST)
> >
> >Grrr
> >
> >Just when I thought my car was going to make it a month or so without
> >breaking, this happens.
> >
> >The car had been starting reasonably quick.. not immediately but after
> >about 1 crank cycle. About a day ago, I drove it to the store, parked,
> >went in, came back out and tried to start it again. The starter just went
> >wuH, wuH, wuH slowly and didn't kick over the engine. If I held
> >the key at start it would begin to slow down even more. As a quick fix I
> >tried popping off the battery terminals and putting them back on, hoping
> >it might free some corrosion. Nope; had to get help from a passerby to get
> >the car push-started (I was in a perfectly flat parking lot).
> >
> >Got home, parked, still wouldn't start.
> >
> >So today I popped the hood and tried to jump start it with a spare car
> >battery - didn't help. Checked battery voltage: 12.20V
> >
> >I tried attaching the jumper cables to the battery and directly to the
> >starter + terminal and metal case to bypass/augment the in-car wiring. No
> >help.
> >
> >I pulled the battery terminals and cleaned minor corrosion off them with a
> >dremel and a wirewheel. Then I pulled my chassis ground bolt and cleaned
> >all the lugs on it as well.
> >
> >Measured the resistance from battery (-) to the radiator bracket as 0.2
> >ohms. Measured the resistance from battery (+) to the starter (+) terminal
> >and it was 0.1-0.2 ohms. The 8 ga wire is relatively new and in good
> >shape. Likewise for the ground strap.
> >
> >Nothing was working so I push-started the car and let it idle for about 25
> >minutes to charge the battery. I parked it on top of a hill and turned off
> >the engine. It started with the starter after some hesitation. I figured:
> >okay, just a low battery. Parked and let it idle some more, then turned it
> >off and ran inside to grab my cell phone. Got in and tried to start it:
> >wuh---wuh---wuh again.
> >
> >Hooked up a voltmeter so I could watch the volts as I was cranking but
> >freakishly it started and I decided to drive around some more. Well, long
> >story short I got in to a muddy driveway and the engine stalled. I spent
> >15 minutes turning the car around by pushing it back and forth and turning
> >the steering wheel. Push started it on the way out of the driveway and
> >drove back home. What a pain; I'll never do that again.
> >
> >It has only started twice by the starter since I monkeyed with
> >everything.. and both times it was very "strained". It has not-started
> >countless times since then, however. So the problem is far from being
> >cured or intermittent.
> >
> >So here's where I'm at:
> >- the battery seems to have sufficient power. (Also, it was replaced about
> >   2 months ago.)
> >
> >- the battery terminals and chassis ground have been cleaned of corrosion
> >
> >- the starter (+) terminal looks okay. The starter has its own aux. ground
> >   strap at the lower starter bolt.. it might be slightly dirty or oily but
> >   I didn't have the tools handy to pull it in daylight today.
> >
> >- hooking up a second battery seemed to have no effect
> >
> >- nothing I did above seemed to have any effect whatsoever
> >
> >- the starter is a bosch reman and was replaced ~17 months ago. It has
> >   been starting fine (as long as there is sufficient battery power).
> >
> >- stock battery/starter wiring has been replaced ~2-3 years ago with
> >   8 ga copper with crimped ends. (i intend to solder new ones soon; but
> >   its a pain to solder something so big)
> >
> >
> >So what the heck?! I'm fresh outta ideas unless my starter has somehow
> >died on me.
> >
> >-Toby
> >
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