I have 115k miles. About every 4-6 weeks I try to start car. First turn-nothing; 2nd turn it growls; finally on 3rd it turns over. No more problems. The battery is only 2 years old with. Any thoughts as to what is happening? I don't want to take to a shop as it likely will not replicate the problem. Thanks.

 

Is it really cold there or left out side, the battery might be getting tired.
My experience in the olden days when I was in IOWA, two years would put a hurt on the car battery.
Sears or a few indy repair shops should have a good load tester.
After you start it and run it, it should be fresh to start again that day?
$100 will eliminate the battery question.

 

One thing that comes to mind is a weak spot on the starter motor windings. After your first try it rotates enough to start past the bad spot, 2nd time pushes it a bit further, and 3rd time you're back to a good spot. In this scenario the starter only stops on the weak spot occasionally causing the issue.

 

Start by cleaning/tightening your battery cables, inspect the ground connection and the cable to the starter. Sounds to me like you're not getting all the amps you need to crank fast and once the engine turns over a turn the fuel/spark starts to assist. Could be a weak battery or your not getting a full charge or have a slow drain so you may want to probe around with your VOM. As a quick test, try a cold start with a boost just to see if the starter behaves the same way.

 

That is an interesting eval. It happened again today...probably first time in 3-4 weeks. Do you think it will get worse or just another oddity of this Volvo?

 

Thank you pkrface. That is an interesting eval. It happened agin today...first time in 3-4 weeks. Do you think it will get worse or just remain as another oddity of this Volvo?

 

Not sure about windings getting weak (a winding is just insulated wire - which can short making the motor permanently weak) - but digging into PK's thought, there are contact brushes that can get worn where they don't make a good connection. That could explain why the motor picks up speed the 2nd/3rd try (effectively the first few tries cleans off the contacts a bit or warms them up to make a better connection). If we assume the starter motor is the problem, you should see the same behavior whether you use a jump start or not, and you'd probably see dash lights dim, and the battery cable would probably get warm due to all the current draw. So to try to sort out between a new battery or a new starter, try using a jump start next time for the first crank. then feel the battery cable to see if it gets warm or hot.

 

Seems like you have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what is wrong but have not replaced anything??

Have you removed the starter and looked at it?
It's essentially a 10 year old car with 2 years old battery and 10 years on the starter.


I'm not big on fixing starters and alternators. Remanufactured are usually fine. Many auto parts guys warranty them. And can bench test them.




A quick google check says three auto parts stores have direct replacements for the starter for $100-150. New BOSCH fro $200.


Would it be cost effective. It would be an easy replacement