IanS

iTrader: (4)

Last time I had a similar issue it was a bad ground. I know the ground is now good (4 ga from batt to starter bolt) as is the positive wire which was also replaced bigger and better. Can a starter motor simply turn slowly if it is bad? Solenoid kicks right every time but engine turns over slow.

When I say slow I mean if your battery is about dead but has just enough to turn it over - thats the speed Im talking about here. Battery is brand new. I also have a battery charger with jump start and doesnt help. Pulled plugs and rotated by hand. All seems good there.

I guess I dont want to change the starter if I dont have to. Of course that means Ill have to dig through my stash of stuff and find one.

Ideas?

IanS

iTrader: (4)

Seems to be intermittent issue. I went out earlier and cranked it and it cranked normal. Then I went to Auto Zone to order plug wires and when I came back it is going slow again. Im kinda pissed because I could have drove it around a bit today.

Is what I am explaining sound like a starter issue or something else?

IanS

iTrader: (4)

Figured it out. Come to find out the Neg connector at the battery was SLIGHTLY corroded. Apparently not quite a good enough connection to let the starter go fast but enough for everything else to work properly. There you have it.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

Glad you found your issue.

To answer your initial question, it is possible for a starter (or any electric motor) to fail in such a way that it loses torque. Can happen through excess brush wear or contaminated brushes or commutator, through mechanical binding (usually results in burnout) or a shorted winding that is reducing the effective number of turns in the motor, and thus the available force. Since a shorted winding also drastically increases current, they tend to burn open not too long after.