Buggy starter??? edit - FIXED!!!

[Herm99]

Could this be anything other then my starter?
Last few weeks, about 3 different times, i'll go to my car, go to start it and nothing, just a click...no cranking at all. Then if i let the car set for a minute, try a few more times, eventually it will start right up. Its like the starter just goes totally dead for a few moments. Last night was the worst though, wouldnt start for a good 5 minutes...took a pry bar and smacked the starter real good, then it started.

Could this be a bad connection, corroded cables, or just a bad starter??
Thanks

[skid542]

My bet is the contacts in the starter are going bad. This happens occasionally. You can either rebuild or get another starter.

[evolutionmovement]

Could be a dead spot. If it's not contacts, it's on its way out. I don't know if you really can rebuild them anymore. I know the alternators cost at least 3 times more to rebuild than buy new OEM. I recommend used OEM or new if you can afford it. Nearly anything alternator or starter from auto parts places are junk, lifetime warranty or no (especially if they have an attached service dept., like Pep Boys, since they don't cover labor with the warranty). At least with these cars, you're not out labor charges when they go since they're such easy jobs, but it's still a PITA to be stranded (if you have an automatic).

[Herm99]

alright, thanks guys..figured as much..i did find one from autozone for $79 with warranty...its not dead yet, worked fine today...so maybe i'll wait a bit longer and buy an oem one.

[skid542]

[shameless plus] If your car is an auto, I have one I'd be willing to let go cheap. It's got some miles and I can't garentee how long it'd last but by cheap I mean $20 plus shipping. [/shameless plug]

[Herm99]

[shameless plus] If your car is an auto, I have one I'd be willing to let go cheap. It's got some miles and I can't garentee how long it'd last but by cheap I mean $20 plus shipping. [/shameless plug]

i'll definetly give it some thought, i'm not going to replace it anytime soon, even if it goes out on me i'll just drive my S4 till i get a new one...i might try to run this starter into the ground.
I'll shoot you a PM when the time comes...thanks man.

[the_watts10]

yeah mine used to have that problem and i just beat the starter so much i guess it must have popped something back into place because now it starts perfect ( well almost perfect)

[evolutionmovement]

I had mine doing this for over a year (very occasional) until I took the car off the road. Still have the new starter waiting in the back seat.

[92ss satinsvoice]

it used to happen to me. then i figured out that i had a lose ground.

[the_watts10]

yeah that was probaly my case but i never messed with it though and talking about fixing things going offroad my power windows were jammed and went offroading and fixed them ha ( must have been a rock stuck in it or something)

[Herm99]

Just an fyi for those following this....it was not the starter...but the cables going to the starter. The last couple weeks this got worse and worse, and to the point where it did it almost every start up and nearly left me stranded, it would take about 5 minutes of wiggling the battery cables before it would start.

So last saturday i yanked the starter out and took it to autozone and they tested it, it tested good, they tested twice just to be sure...so my only option at that point was to replace the negative and positive battery cables. Autozone sells an upgraded cable for our cars, its a 2 gauge wire as opposed to the 4 and 6 gauge subaru uses. So i bought both of them and for $16 and a few minutes of labor, my car is starting like a champ every time now.

I inspected the old cables and they looked pretty nasty, both of them had some hairline cracks in the casing, and the ends at the battery connection, the wires were pretty brown and just discolored. So replace those cables! Hope this helps someone.