I know the Ignition Switches in these cars are suspect, but I'm having an intermittent issue that I would like some advice for, before I just load both barrels of the parts shotgun and yell, "Pull!!!" This issue started about a month ago.

For a week, my car will start completely normal. Every time. Then for a few days it will do this weird thing. I turn the key to start it, and the starter motor will rotate the engine to sound like "Ruh-nuh-nuh" exactly 3 beats, if you know what I mean. Then, the starter just stops. I turn the key again, and it does the same thing, "Ruh-nuh-nuh" then stops. The rotation of the starter is not slow, and the battery appears to be at the proper voltage. The car usually starts on the second or third try. And sometimes, you can hear the grind of the starter still engaged for a split second when the engine does fire and start. To be clear, the typical problem noise I'm hearing is NOT a started engine which then cuts out. It's just the starter turning the engine.

I tried leaving the battery on a 6-Amp charger for a few hours, and it went up to 14.6 volts, reading full. No difference... "Ruh-nuh-nuh" then stop.

Then after 2 days of this issue, it just frickin' evaporates. It goes a week happy as can be, then another couple of days of "Ruh-nuh-nuh" then stop.

I have the most likely culprits being the ignition switch, the starter motor itself, or the "Left Field" choice being the Crankshaft Position Sensor. This is the first car I've ever had this issue with, so any similar history and/or tests I can perform would be appreciated.

('98 Cabriolet, 2.8 AFC, 76,000 miles)

Cheers,
LG

 

I pulled the battery out last night. I disconnected the (-) cable from the body of the car, and could see that the connection from the cable to the car wasn't smooth or even. Except for one small area, there was white powdery corrosion that had worked its way between the body and the cable connector. I hit all of the metal bits with some corrosion dissolver and a dremel metal polishing tool.

I also disconnected, cleaned, reconnected and coated the battery terminals and hardware. Once everything was shiny and happy looking, I put it all back together.

The car started right up.

Is it possibly a coincidence? Sure. I still think there's a chance that my solenoid has a flat spot in its rotation, and luck would have it that I'm on the "other side" right now. But hey, who knows? The free solutions are my favorite.

I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,
LG