What causes a starter to drag sometimes, then work fine afterwards?
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Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jun 2013
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From: Knoxville, TN
What causes a starter to drag sometimes, then work fine afterwards?
Hello Honda-Tech Forum!
Question 1: What would cause a starter to drag and almost not start, then work properly afterward?
Question 2: Will a starter work sporadically when it's starting to go bad?
The starter on my 2000 Honda Accord earlier today was dragging. It would almost not turn the engine over. I was at the grocery store.
Then I got home and parked. I turned the engine off. I re-started the engine. The starter worked fine.
I called AAA. The driver came. He tested the battery. He said that the alternator was working fine. He said the battery is in good shape and is well charged.
Thanks.
Question 1: What would cause a starter to drag and almost not start, then work properly afterward?
Question 2: Will a starter work sporadically when it's starting to go bad?
The starter on my 2000 Honda Accord earlier today was dragging. It would almost not turn the engine over. I was at the grocery store.
Then I got home and parked. I turned the engine off. I re-started the engine. The starter worked fine.
I called AAA. The driver came. He tested the battery. He said that the alternator was working fine. He said the battery is in good shape and is well charged.
Thanks.
MM Gruppe B
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,025
Likes: 109
From: 94577/Gaillimh
Re: What causes a starter to drag sometimes, then work fine afterwards?
What do you mean by dragging?
Is it getting hung up on the flywheel after starting or is is just slow to turn over?
Getting physically hung up is most likely from a problem with the bendix or solenoid not properly releasing after the key is let go.
Before blaming the starter, verify your ignition switch is not sloppy, if you can turn your key more than usual to start or run the car then that maybe the issue as the switch maintains contact in the III(start) position when it is in the II(ON) position.
If it is slow to turn over then it is most likely a battery voltage drop issue, the battery is being drained or is no longer staying properly charged.
Verify the battery is clean and not sitting in a pool of electrolytes, this would cause a slow drain from the conductive electrolytes causing a small drain from terminal to terminal, clean the battery and battery tray.
Verify the battery is fully charged, holding a charge overnight. 12.4V is a fully charged battery, anything less is a drained battery.
Verify the battery terminal connections are clean and tight.
Verify the battery cable connections to the car harness/body are clean and tight.
Verify the ground wires/bonding jumpers are clean and tight.
If the battery is slow to start the car initially, but after a 20+min of running the car is easily restarted, then I would suspect the battery has a low charge or low charge capacity and with a fresh boost from running/charging it has enough voltage to restart the engine, especially if the oil is still warm/low viscosity.
Unless the battery was load/stress tested it it hard to know its actual condition. I don't think AAA guys have carbon pile testers on their trucks, a voltmeter may show fine voltage wise but under stress you really need to see how the battery reacts.
Is it getting hung up on the flywheel after starting or is is just slow to turn over?
Getting physically hung up is most likely from a problem with the bendix or solenoid not properly releasing after the key is let go.
Before blaming the starter, verify your ignition switch is not sloppy, if you can turn your key more than usual to start or run the car then that maybe the issue as the switch maintains contact in the III(start) position when it is in the II(ON) position.
If it is slow to turn over then it is most likely a battery voltage drop issue, the battery is being drained or is no longer staying properly charged.
Verify the battery is clean and not sitting in a pool of electrolytes, this would cause a slow drain from the conductive electrolytes causing a small drain from terminal to terminal, clean the battery and battery tray.
Verify the battery is fully charged, holding a charge overnight. 12.4V is a fully charged battery, anything less is a drained battery.
Verify the battery terminal connections are clean and tight.
Verify the battery cable connections to the car harness/body are clean and tight.
Verify the ground wires/bonding jumpers are clean and tight.
If the battery is slow to start the car initially, but after a 20+min of running the car is easily restarted, then I would suspect the battery has a low charge or low charge capacity and with a fresh boost from running/charging it has enough voltage to restart the engine, especially if the oil is still warm/low viscosity.
Unless the battery was load/stress tested it it hard to know its actual condition. I don't think AAA guys have carbon pile testers on their trucks, a voltmeter may show fine voltage wise but under stress you really need to see how the battery reacts.
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