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Battery cables? Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:14:40 In Reply to: Re: Need more symptoms, Temmy, Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:51:27 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
That stutter sound is classic of not enough cranking voltage. I would start by pulling off the battery clamps, and brightening up (with sandpaper or Scotchbrite) the inside of the clamp and the outside of the posts. Inspect the cables - do you see a whitish or greenish powder inside the wire strands? That's a sign of corrosion and it would be good to replace the cables.
Basically, you've got a poor connection in the main path from the battery to the solenoid to the starter. That's a high current path. When electrical connections get dirty, the resistance goes up. It doesn't take much resistance at all to prevent enough current from getting to the starter. And when dirty connections get warm, the resistance goes up - the wrong direction. And the current through that resistance heats it up, making it even worse.
I'd start at the battery, because that's most accessible. It's not enough to clean up the surfaces you can see - it's the mating surface of the inside of the clamp to the outside of the post that pass the current. After that, remove and clean where the big, fat red cable meets the starter. Yes, that is a pain, and MAKE SURE you've disconnected the battery first! Don't forget the battery ground cable where it meets the chassis.
If all that is OK, I'd suspect the solenoid is getting tired.
I assume the car cranks just fine when cold. If not, how old is the battery?
posted by 76.196.10...
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