Starting issues - slow to start up

My car is having some issue with starting in this cooler weather. It will start after about 3sec of cranking, then the stupid starter sticks and makes the grinding sound.

 

Naturally, I bought a new battery thinking my old battery did not have enough cranking amps to get started. But even after the battery swap, its still doing the same thing.

 

Would the starter be the real issue here?

 

I've also read on here that it could be the fuel pump? Tonight I turned the key to let the fuel pump and lines pressurize and waited 5 sec, then tried to start it and had the exact same results as above.

 

I replaced the fuel injectors about 1500mi ago with OEM injectors, would these have some weird effect on start-up?

How many miles?

I have just under 103k miles

I will try tomorrow when it's -4 out and tell you how long mine cranks

Well it's only 4 degrees out right now and it took a few seconds to crank. If I had to guess the motor turned over a few times and slowly.

The starter sticking/grinding may be due to the grease on the shaft being gummy and/or the spring is too weak to retract the starter gear.

 

To me it sounds like your starter is weak, either because of a bad ground or the armature is failing. If it's drawing a lot of amps then the red cable off the battery will get warm to the touch. I've seen them smoking on my small blocks. Excessive amp draw is caused by a bad ground, failing windings, or a sticking armature shaft/bearing.

 

Check your battery clamps for corrosion and use di-electric grease on them to protect them. Check the grounds on the block to body as well.

 

On cold days here in Wisconsin mine takes 3 to 5 seconds of cranking before it fires and if it's really cold the starter squeals like there's a cat under the hood. Scared the crap out of me the first time I heard it.

 

The injectors will not cause the starter to lock up.

Hey... it's -4 out. It's not gonna start like it does when it's 30 out.

 

Other than the known issue of the sticking starter, this all sounds normal.

Thanks for the info guys. Ill check all the connections and grounds.

 

As for the injectors, I know they wouldn't cause the starter to stick...lol. But do you think the fuel pump is too weak on start up to have enough pressure, etc?

 

So are Subaru's generally known as being weak in cold starts? Its just weird to me being in AZ, the coldest it will get here is in the high 20's where Im at.

I would pull the starter out and grease up the gear shaft, this is a common issue with most starters after several year. Did mine earlier this year because it was sticking, now it works great even in cold weather.

I'm in the same boat, Spooie, minus the starter sticking. I'll have to crank it for about 4 seconds, and sometimes even have to do a few cycles of that before it'll start up. I was worried my fuel pressure was dropping, but after a fuel test, it seems to be holding just fine. Seems like it's a lame common issue.

Yea. It's called winter. Stuff doesn't work the same as it does in summer.

here's a little more info on the disassembly and grease move.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/swooshing-screech-sound-cold-start-up-starteri-ps-pumpi-audio-205081.html

 

Having the same issue (5 degrees this am) I'm tearing it apart this weekend. I'll post up some pics if it works.

I should have mentioned that sometimes I have to crank both my LGT and my OBXT twice before they will start in the winter

 

The only reason we think this is abnormal when it happens is because usually our Subaru fires up right away.

 

My 82 Monte with electric choke and a Quadrajet would sometimes drain an entire battery and still not start.

Thanks for the info guys. Ill check all the connections and grounds.

 

As for the injectors, I know they wouldn't cause the starter to stick...lol. But do you think the fuel pump is too weak on start up to have enough pressure, etc?

 

So are Subaru's generally known as being weak in cold starts? Its just weird to me being in AZ, the coldest it will get here is in the high 20's where Im at.

 

 

Very common problem with the OEM starters. My wagon did this for years when it was cold out. My 09 Spec B also dose it.

 

You just need to grease the starter shaft.

 

Both cars will also take a extra revolution before firing up and running when it's very cold.

 

It's all normal.

…….So are Subaru's generally known as being weak in cold starts? Its just weird to me being in AZ, the coldest it will get here is in the high 20's where Im at.

 

I think mine actually starts a little quicker at 10 degF than at 30 degF. Weird. But it takes around 2-4 seconds to start at freezing temperatures, with a nearly new AGM battery. I remember cold starts being quicker when the car was new, but maybe my memory is misleading.

and here's an even more detailed walk-through of the disassembly/grease job. I actually had some pretty bad corrosion on the electrical connections that were slowing down the starter.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/starter-removal-disassembly-grease-reinstall-pics-218329.html?p=4670579#post4670579

Hey guys, I believe I am experiencing this same problem.... if left untouched (assuming this is the problem that I am in fact experiencing), will this kill the starter? I live in Maryland, close to PA, and it definitely gets cold and stays cold throughout the winter.

Yes, the stater and battery don't like the cold too much. The best thing to do, is grease up the starter shaft, clean all connections from the battery to starter, and connect a battery tender on the battery if you don't plan on driving it for several days.

Back from the dead. I'm getting this issue right now on my Legacy GT. I do not live in cold climate areas. I recently changed the battery cable assembly which includes the start of connection grounds and both positive and negative sides of the battery however the positive battery terminal at the transfer from the old cable. I have put noncorrosion greasy Finley as per we do with battery replacements done at work so it's very thin like skin layer. This only started developing recently and it's been good since replacing the cable. Any additional ideas of what it could be? Crank angle sensor?

 

There is no corrosion on either of my connections to and from the battery along with all the way to the starter. The starter was replaced with one from O'Reilly's or year ago.

Are you sure the grease is not an insulator? I would check the 2 grounds at the bottom of the car.

 

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Yea, I clean the battery terminals, then install the cables then put grease over the top and around the bottom to seal out moisture. the terminals go together dry and clean.

 

Or are you saying the starter is making the grinding noise after it starts ?

Are you sure the grease is not an insulator? I would check the 2 grounds at the bottom of the car.

 

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It's used for large batteries to resist corrosion. Wouldn't I have had the issue almost immediately?

 

I will double check things but it sounds like it could be a battery issue so I put my battery (optima yellow top) on a tender and it is fine. Car doesn't sit and gets used every day.

 

The two grounds you are referring to are the braided cables going from the chassis to the engine?

It's used for large batteries to resist corrosion. Wouldn't I have had the issue almost immediately?

 

I will double check things but it sounds like it could be a battery issue so I put my battery (optima yellow top) on a tender and it is fine. Car doesn't sit and gets used every day.

 

The two grounds you are referring to are the braided cables going from the chassis to the engine?

 

I'm not sure about the grease because I don't use it. But like max said the terminals and contact points are dry except for the top and bottom.

 

And yes the 2 grounds on the bottom go from the chassis to the heads or in my case 1 ground goes to the exhaust header.

 

If the grounds are cleaned or replaced, I would try wiping away that grease to see if it helps.

 

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I'm not sure about the grease because I don't use it. But like max said the terminals and contact points are dry except for the top and bottom.

 

And yes the 2 grounds on the bottom go from the chassis to the heads or in my case 1 ground goes to the exhaust header.

 

If the grounds are cleaned or replaced, I would try wiping away that grease to see if it helps.

 

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Yup, got it. It's all dry and no corrosion is building up on any of the battery or ground connections to the cable I replaced and put the anti corrosion grease on. I will need to double check the ground connections to the head since I've gotta resolve a leaking valve cover gasket soon. Visually from what I can see it's not oily or greasy.

 

 

Yea, I clean the battery terminals, then install the cables then put grease over the top and around the bottom to seal out moisture. the terminals go together dry and clean.

 

Or are you saying the starter is making the grinding noise after it starts ?

 

 

 

The starter doesn't make a weird noise in my car. It just sounds like the car is struggling to start and is delayed in started than what I'm used to hearing since it started happening about a week ago.

Battery is the culprit as I was suspecting all along. Optima is under warranty as I haven't had it for 3 years yet. Replaced it and it's all good now.