Starter Solenoid on way out?

[magicmike]

How concerned should I be?

Went to start the car and "......" nothing. Heard the fuel pump etc running, headlights ok not dimming. Opened hood, whacked the starter with the butt end of my mag light, went back and it turned over on the first try.

I've seen this before "sticky solenoid" I think?

Its started fine about 3 or 4 times after that. How concerned should I be? New starter ASAP or what? This starter was replaced about 4 years ago now with NEW oem subaru part# and the engine only has 5-10k miles since then.

Thoughts?

[BSOD2600]

or bad contacts in a spot or two. I guess it really depends how long you are happy to keep whacking the starter before you replace it.... I did this for a few months before I replaced the damn thing.

[magicmike]

good nuff, thanks! keep driving it til I total it is the answer lol

[rallyak]

i don't know how often it happens but both of mine has done this and had to beat it with any thing hard i can find. The weird thing to me is it only happens about once a year and I start my cor 50 to 75 times a day and both of mine has the original starters, but I do have a spare but never had to use it in the last 10 years.

[Legacy777]

I'd just pick up some new contacts. They're pretty cheap and you can replace them pretty easily.

[ACVWguy]

I'd just pick up some new contacts. They're pretty cheap and you can replace them pretty easily.

That's what I did. Only cost me $6.95 at my local starter/alternator rebuilder and took me about 30 mins to pull, replace contacts, and reinstall. It will only cost you $26 to rebuild the entire solenoid mechanism. A rebuilt unit at my FLAPS cost about $110 so I'd just rebuild it myself.

[dafrompa]

find a shop that will rebuild your starter becasue it will be cheaper then buying another rebuilt starter. I know if your area has an automotive eletric shop but look it up. Their's one in my area that only charges $20.

[jp233]

I have this problem that started on two different OEM starters (ok each one has about 175k miles each). I turn the key and no cranky.

I've replaced the two brass contacts and the plunger in both starters, as both had nice little carved out wear spots on them. Parts from Nations Starter & Alternator - http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/aboutus.html

But I am still having the same problem. Actually, it may be even worse for one of the starters.

The battery is new.


Sometimes, when the thing wont crank after the 3rd or 4th try, I can sometimes take the key out of the ignition, flip it over, and then it will fire right up. The key is a copy of a copy of.... who knows how many copies it is past the original.For some reason, it is particularly bad with my wife. I thought maybe her key copy is particularly bad, so she's used my key (which has a lot more wear on it) with the same problem.

Is it something worn within the starter motor? My dad seemed to think it was just worn spots in the motor, creating a dead spot.

I've got both starters out and sitting in the garage, because I've got two cars two motors and a load of parts sitting around to hopefully get finished with two good cars here shortly.


I was thinking about taking both starters to a local shop and having them look over the rest of each one, or does anyone think it's actually the ignition switch or something?

[BSOD2600]

1) You can possibly get a new key cut from the VIN code at the dealer for ~$15.
2) The ignition switch contacts could be on the way out. I had to replace mine in the '94 TW (there is a thread somewhere with pics), as new reman'ed starters were still having the occasional starting problem.
3) both oem starters could have bad spots

[vrg3]

The question is whether or not you're hearing the click of the solenoid.

If you are hearing the solenoid click, the ignition switch is okay. Even though you replaced the solenoid contacts, it is possible that the motor brushes have worn out (which is usually what causes the "worn spots" your dad's talking about). That takes a lot of wear, usually, so it seems odd that both your starters would exhibit the problem. It might be reasonable to have a shop take a look, or it might be simpler and not much more expensive to just buy a remanufactured starter.

If you're not hearing the solenoid, then you may well be right that it's the ignition switch. The fact that sometimes removing and reinserting your key makes it work makes me lean towards that explanation too. Flipping the key around has nothing to do with it, though, and neither does the worn-out-ed-ness of the key ; if the cylinder turns, it turns. Next time, you can just try pulling it out and putting it back in.

Huh -- does your wife have more keys on her keychain than you do? Subaru ignition switches seem to be sensitive to having too much weight put on the end of the key. If she does, and if the ignition switch is going bad, that might explain why she experiences the problem more than you do.

If you do find that it's the switch, replace it and then use a separate keychain with fewer keys on it for your car.

[jp233]

Ah.

Well, both starters have/had identical mileage on them, around 175-180k.

Yes. I hear the solenoid click everytime. But.... I still think the ignition is suspect.

OH - I forgot to mention. Some or most of the time, it actually doesn't crank right at that tiny instant when the key is turned to the START position (against the spring-loaded stop). Sometimes there is a full second between when the key hits the stop of its travel, versus when it cranks. But when it cranks, it starts every time.

Genius. My wife has a gaggle of keys on that boat anchor that she calls a keychain. She has tried taking the key out and re-inerting a million times, and sometimes it's just dead. She has tried it for 10 minutes before and nothing. But it's also happened when I've given her my key, which only has a small fob with it and that is the ONLY thing I carry with my Subaru key.

It is very strange though, it just does not happen to me very often, especially since replacing the contacts. Like once every 2-3 months, and I drive it almost every day. It happens to my wife almost every time she drives it.

For now, I'll probably just make her put her Subaru key on a separate ring, or just give her my key when she drives it. If it gets worse, I'll definitely look to replace the ignition switch contacts... or just see if a loca shop will rebuild fully on the cheap since I've already done the contacts. I have a plethora of places to check on for that.

thanks!

[jp233]

OH.

SH!7 STICKS.

I forgot also. The 94 car has an old alarm system on it. I never got a remote when I bought it and never looked into it. But it's all wired up and stuff, and I've never ripped it out. But it must be wired into the ignition, because when the alarm goes off when the battery power is removed and then put back on, turning the ignition key silences it.

SOAB. I bet that's it.

[vrg3]

Hmm, I suppose it's possible that the ignition switch might be conducting just enough to make the solenoid move and click but not enough for it to push the plunger all the way up against the contacts, but I don't think I've ever heard of that.

All the rest of what you say does definitely sound a lot like the ignition switch.

You might also want to take a look at how the starter is wired into the ignition switch. There are a lot of shoddy alarm install jobs out there.

[Legacy777]

I agree....check out the alarm wiring. I was surprised the place who did mine, did it wrong, so you could start the car right up with the alarm on.

[jp233]

So here I am, reviving an old thread because I wanted to close it out.

My cranking issues have gone in and out over the past two years, on both cars. Mainly, it never happened. Once out of a few hundred cranks.

Anyways, my 94 started developing a delay between when the key would get to the full crank/start position vs. when the starter would actually crank (in the end, upwards of a solid half-second).

I ended up ripping out the entire old alarm system, and re-splicing the two ignition switch wires that were clipped into by the alarm.

Well, it's been a few weeks since then and it sure appears all is well. I sure was lazy, but it just happened so infrequently to me that I left it alone too long. I thought the alarm reached out to a lot more places that I'd have to get into (all the doors, etc), but luckily I just ripped out everything under the dash, and the horn in the engine bay. All seems well, but I'm sure I just jinxed it.

[Legacy777]

Well hopefully it stays fixed