Volvo RWD 200 Forum

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Slow cranking 200

What would cause slow cranking? The car is an '84 240 wagon with 350,000 miles, manual transmission.

Battery and alternator are less than two years old. I haven't checked voltages yet, but I am fairly sure that the alternator is charging.

Symptom is that on the first start of the day, the car cranks very s-l-o-w-l-y. Chug........chug.........chug.....chug....start. If I turn it off even just a couple of minutes later and restart, it cranks at normal speed.

I wonder if there could be a bad cell in the battery? I drove it three hours yesterday and after sitting over night it was back to its slow cranking again this morning. But, I made five or six stops during my drive yesterday, and it fired right up each and every time.

Or could the problem be mechanical? Starter needs to be replaced? Engine tough to turn over when it's cold due to wear - I'm not even sure that is possible, since usually engines get "loose" with age and high mileage.








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Slow cranking 200

first go to autozone or a clone and have them load test your battery
if that is ruled out
disconnect and clean all wire connections to the starter motor and battery
if that is ruled out
have someone else start the car while you rap the starter with a heavy object at the same moment it first starts to turn

i think you'll find your trouble somewhere in there

bad battery
tired starter
corrosion on the connections









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Slow cranking 200

I replaced the starter (ouch my back!) in 2010. Have driven the car maybe 25,000 miles since then.

I cleaned up the battery terminals this afternoon. Will see if it behaves differently in the morning.

While searching the web for this problem, I ran across a MG thread where the author stated that compression lower than 100 psi would make an engine difficult to start when cold. I hope that is not my problem. I had the head rebuilt and put on a new headgasket in 2001 at 225,000 miles. The car now has a bit more than 350,000 on it. Other than the head, the engine is original and has never been rebuilt.








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Slow cranking 200

Good morning, you probably had the old style starter and replaced it with the new style reduction gear starter. The new style is all you will find at the auto part stores and most are junk. Before you replace it, check bat. cables and bat. first. Good day, Pauli








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Slow cranking 200 1984

"The new style is all you will find at the auto part stores and most are junk."

I'm beginning to learn the truth in that statement. It supports the advice I've given in the past to find a local rebuilder, rather than giving away your tired but unabused cores to the Advanced Autos of the world.

The PMGR (Permanent Magnet Gear Reduction) starter is less tolerant of Ted's third step in what looks to me like an excellent troubleshooting plan. The mass-market rebuilders ignore and paint right over hammer dents, and it may take some time after testing for the broken magnet chunks to find their way into the planetary set.







Even the Genuine Bosch rebuilds are not without problems.








--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Is it my imagination, or do LED monitors attract fewer insects than the CCFL type?







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