Slow cranking

[Ollie]

So... basically cant't get my engine started as the starter motor does not seem able to turn fast enough for the engine to catch. There may be other problems associated with the engine catching but but I thought I'd go through a process of elimination.

So far I have replaced the earth strap on the battery and also the gearbox as well as cleaning the contact areas. I've then tried a bigger battery (from my Audi A6) which improved things cranking very slightly but not significantly.

Next up I'm going to add a relay although this will probably improve the starter solenoid more than the starter motor.

After this the next step seems to be a replacement starter motor unless anyone has any bright ideas? I'll probably go for a hi-torq version if I go down this route.

Many thanks for any assistance or pearls of wisdom in advance!

Ollie

[bjmullan]

You have certainly done the right thing regarding the earth straps. The fact that the bigger battery didn't make a great difference would suggest the starter is your problem. Might be worth taking it off a running directly from a battery.

[SeanP]

Have you tried cranking the engine over with the plugs out just to see if the starter can turn the engine over faster?

That would confirm the starter motor is having issues

Definitely add the starter relay. You could also try using the yellow wire by the rectifier to 12V with the ignition on to see if its an ignition switch fault, (procedure is in the orange book if my memory serves me right)