wildmanee

Have a problem that's really been annoying. Past month I've started my car, and it struggles to start (chugging). Sometimes, when I put the key in in the ignition, and turn to on, nothing will come on. However, if I wait a little bit, the interior light can be turned on with power and the door ajar alarm will be heard once I open the door. Sometimes power will come on after a couple minutes and I will be able to start my car (albeit with the slow start). New battery, replaced the positive terminal, and checked my grounds. What could this problem be? I also notice dimming of the headlights when I'm idling at a stoplight, and when accelerating they brighten. It also seems that the longer the car sits, the more of a chance it has to start up. Could there be a short somewhere? Alternator going bad? Faulty ignition switch? Really don't know what to do about this one. I kinda ruled out the alternator due to the fact that I have started the car several times, and while driving there hasn't been any issues. Grrr, electrical demons...


Also should mention that there is a whine upon accelerating, gets higher pitched. I guess it could be the alternator, but it does not explain why I can still start my car after several weeks.

nbkoontz

This sounds almost identical to problems I have had this past week. It turns out that my starter went bad, causing the intermittent start/no start with accessories working. Also, my negative battery terminal came loose from the cable, which you might want to look at, too.

But from what you described: chugging engine, nothing coming on, waiting a while and then it starts, etc., I'm wondering if your starter is on its way out. Also, my dash lights dimmed under the same circumstances that you described... I even replaced my battery--twice in a week, but fixing the negative terminal seemed to take care of that.

Good luck!

wildmanee

Funny that you say that. My starter's a strange thing. I remember last fall there was a 1 week period where the car would not start (the starter was the culprit, accessories came on, but no crank from the starter). But, if I tried it again after a while, the starter would wake the car right up. Last winter when it started, it sounded as if the starter would die, had a pretty loud angry noise. I should probably replace it before I get stranded.

I should've probably took the previous warning signs, but I guess my theory was as long as it still worked it'd be fine (and hopefully for a bit longer, haha). Thanks for helping me confirm the problem!



Edit: Recently replaced the positive terminal and today I went out and stripped the corroded wire down to the new, untouched wire, as well as adjusted the negative terminal (tightened that ***** down!). Hopefully it should help. Won't replace the starter yet, but I'll keep my spare in the car along with some tools.

Banned_one

I have run into a similar starter problem. If the car sits for 4 or more days it doesn't want to crank right up. I usually have to turn the key a couple of time (only getting one click from the engine bay), then let it sit for a few minutes before trying again. It tends to start up with no problem after that. So I just don't let it sit for more than 4 days, even if I just go out and start it up.

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