I have been reading about the starter contacts going bad. It seems that all of the related cases seemed to have just a click before finally starting.
Mine is a little different, it has progressively gotten slow about turning over, like a weak battery (but the battery is good), and then it will fire off. This morning, I turned the key and nothing. No dimming of the lights, nothing but the ABS and Brake light funtioning. I tapped on the starter with a wrench and it slowly turned the engine when I hit the key again, then finally fired up. Is this the starter or something else. I need to know before I buy a starter. Best I can tell, this is the original starter with 220K miles on it, so I am pretty sure it is time. I would buy just a kit, but I already pulled the starte and cannot get the brushing screws out to replace them.

Thanks
Chris

 

I would take a real good look at the battery cables first, they can get all corroded inside and cause slow cranking.

 

Thanks I will try that. I do have a crack in the insulation on the positive cable. Where can I get new cables?
Chris

 

Good auto parts stores like CarQuest and NAPA have heavy gauge battery cables. Just measure the length and get the heaviest ones you can. You can use a voltmeter to check voltage drop while cranking to confirm a bad cable. Put the positve lead on the positve battery terminal and the negatve lead on the starter terminal. Pull the wire off the shutoff solenoid and have someone crank the truck. The reading should not be over 0.2 volt. Do the same with the negative terminal, battery to block. Again, not over 0.2 volt.

 

As long as the starter is out, look for any electrical burns around the mounting area. Even tiny ones. Mine got progressivley worse from being a little unreliable, to wear it drained the battery every time you turn the key.

 

Well, I had the starter out, so I took it apart and the brushes and the contacts need to be replaced. It will cost about 80 bucks for parts, then I would have to wait most of the week for the parts to get here. This is my only vehicle now, so I elected to get the new starter from Advance. It is a reman. with a lifetime warranty for 139. Is that pretty good? Seems like the best thing to do right now. They will have it in the morning.,
Thanks
Chris

 

Hey, that's the one I put in last week! The motor assembly on mine was brand new, slightly different than the original. It looked OK to me except the drain hose was in upside-down. Didn't figure that was a big deal, if it drowns they gotta give me a new one anyway. It took them 3 days to get me mine, it had to come from Roanoke, VA. Did your cables check out OK?

 

The cables seem to be fine. I will probably replace them in the very near future. I have the bouncing intermittent speedometer needle to deal with now. I have been working to get this truck in tip top shape for the last 2-3 months. Seems for every one thing I fix, two more go wrong. The first nine months I had the truck I did basically nothing more than fuel and oil changes though, so I think once I fix all the little stuff, it will be a great truck, I hope so. I am committed to it for a long time now. I sold my beloved Toyota two weeks ago.
Chris

 

Make sure your batterys are actually good, both of them!!

Load test is the best way to make sure. A dead cell in one of the batterys will cause a drain and a slow start problem.

If you replace them do both.

Good Luck

Jason

 

I've found the the positive lead the bind the two batteries together will go bad. Here is a easy way to test your cables for condition...

You need a Digital Volt Meter - SET for 12V

Hook the Black or - Negative lead to the POS post of the battery. "Trust me it is safe!"

Now use the RED or + Positive lead to probe around looking at different junction going away from the battery on the POS + cables!

Now if the voltage is greater than 0.2 then the cable from the point back has a problem. Clean plugs, clips, Etc.. and retest.

If the voltage is less than 0.2 then that cable is still in good condition...

What your looking at in the DVM is the voltage drop as to travel from the battery.

NOTE: you can reverse the meter leads and do the ground side and retest as well. Hook the POS DVM lead to NEG on battery and use the NEG DVM to probe with on NEG system leads.

This test saved me a lot of money on a 1982 Honda Sabre Motorcycle that was having the same problem your talking about with the slow starter. In my case it was the grounds that werebad on the bike... So give it a shot!

 

Well, I replaced the starter. All is well now. The early Dodges, at least mine and my buddies 89, only have one battery. I found a local place to make some battery cables, so I am going to get that done. It starts great now.
Chris