Car starting problems

Chris Holmes · 2024-01-19T12:53:22+00:00

Hi All,I posted the following in but fidn’t get muchresponse….There are some updates at the end…“I bought a 2006 2.2 D Toyota Corolla Verso in Nov 22…It didn’t like starting in the cold / damp. It could be started with theaid of a jump start pack, unless it was below 0 degrees Celsius, in whichcase the engine barely turned over.A jump start from a similar spec car would then start it.Replaced the battery, no difference.Fitted a supplementary earth cable from the battery to the engine (near thestarter) and it now starts without the jump start pack, but not thismorning (-7 degrees).I (and a tyre place) have tested the battery (when warm) and it is fine).So next step…..Replace starter??Or could I put the battery on charge for a few hours in the morning priorto trying to start (and thus nurse it through the small number of reallycold days between now & spring??Or test the battery on a cold morning (perhaps it really doesn’t like thecold??”I had the battery on a smart charger last night (still attached to the car)and this morning (7 degrees C) and it read “Ful”…I put the jump start pack on and the car started (a little reluctantly). I then drove for half an hour or so (dipped beam on, A/C on, but no heatedrear window or other power hungry stuff. Then switched off (lights off) for 5 minutes or so, and tried to start thecar without the jump start pack…It span over reasonably fast, but didn’t start. After about 5 seconds itstarted yo slow down. I put the jump start pack on, and thankfully it started (after turningrelatively slowly. I am going to swap the battery with the one in my wife’s (near identical)car and see if the fault stays with the car, or goes with the battery. However, I would’ve thought that if the alternator was working as itshould, it would’ve put enough back in the battery for starting a warmengine without any issues. Thoughts??

Jan 19, 2024 Last reply: 2 years ago 44 Replies

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Tim Lamb 2 years ago

I have never had a winding failure on a starter motor. Worn/jammed brushes yes. Tractors of my vintage have solenoids to engage the Bendix. Modern cars are rather different.

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The Natural Philosopher 2 years ago

I have. Using it to move a camper van into a parking spot with a motor that wouldn't start... :-)

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Thomas Prufer 2 years ago

Come to think of it: try when it won't start, and after a bit of cranking, to feel along the wiring path if there's a bit that's noticeably warm. That could be a/the spot of higher resistance.

Bit of a hit&miss method, but hey, no tools, no helper required.

Another method for reluctant starting is to hit the starter and/or starter solenoid...

Thomas Prufer

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