TornadoRed
Top Post Dawg
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2003
- Location
- West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
- TDI
- 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
I'm wondering if I'll soon need to replace my starter, or if the problem lies elsewhere.
Sometimes, 20-30% of the time, when I turn the key, there is a hesitation before the starter begins to turn over. It is as if there is a power drain somewhere, and it takes a while before there's enough juice to crank over the engine.
When temperatures are very low, the engine does turn over more slowly, when it is cold. But the starter issue occurs, sometimes, even when the engine is warm.
So far, I haven't been worried about the engine starting, because it always has. But this is not normal, and I suspect that eventually this phenomenon is going to get worse, and someday the engine might not start.
The battery is less than three years old, and I don't think the problem lies with the battery. But the starter -- it's like one side of the starter is good and the other side isn't, and it's just a matter of chance whether it will crank over perfectly as soon as I turn the key, or will hesitate for half a second or so before cranking.
Any ideas? Any troubleshooting suggestions?
Sometimes, 20-30% of the time, when I turn the key, there is a hesitation before the starter begins to turn over. It is as if there is a power drain somewhere, and it takes a while before there's enough juice to crank over the engine.
When temperatures are very low, the engine does turn over more slowly, when it is cold. But the starter issue occurs, sometimes, even when the engine is warm.
So far, I haven't been worried about the engine starting, because it always has. But this is not normal, and I suspect that eventually this phenomenon is going to get worse, and someday the engine might not start.
The battery is less than three years old, and I don't think the problem lies with the battery. But the starter -- it's like one side of the starter is good and the other side isn't, and it's just a matter of chance whether it will crank over perfectly as soon as I turn the key, or will hesitate for half a second or so before cranking.
Any ideas? Any troubleshooting suggestions?