[pimpin passat]

My car is being sluggish to start but always starting. It been happening for about a month now. Am I just tempting faith and need to replace the starter? It sounds like it gasps for air or something. Have a watch on youtube and please throw me suggestions on what it could be, thanks!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKA1jHGTC3s

 

[chipsofsix]

oh man close the door next time lol beeping is so loud.

it could be that your battery is going and not keeping a full charge, check that before you go spend a few $$ on a starter. Usually if the starter is going it wont want to turn over and sometime it will work perfect and other time you might have to hit the solenoid with a hammer to get it to work ( thats when you know you have to replace it lol)

 

[NEWMAN'SOWN]

^ This. It sounds like your battery is on its last legs. How old is your current battery? If it is relatively new, make sure you don't have anything draining it out, such as faulty radio wiring, a door light left on, etc.

 

[pimpin passat]

Should I check the battery with a multi-meter to see if its staying charged? It is a newer Bosch battery that I bought last summer. I just want to start ruling out options. Thanks guys

 

[NEWMAN'SOWN]

Should I check the battery with a multi-meter to see if its staying charged? It is a newer Bosch battery that I bought last summer. I just want to start ruling out options. Thanks guys

Check the battery to make sure it isn't defective. I don't reccomend Bosch batteries at all. I currrently have one on the 5.5, and I had to replace three of them in the first two days of owning them. Also make sure your posts are clean. Buy a post cleaner, and scrub the terminals to ensure that you are getting a good clean surface to mate to. If that doesn't solve the problem, then it definetly sounds like you are headed towards needing a new starter. Hopefully you don't need to do that though.

 

[dbrick]

Should I check the battery with a multi-meter to see if its staying charged?

No, you need to check the battery under load; merely connecting a multimeter won't do that. The idea is to see what happens to battery voltage while it's subject to a heavy current draw. A bad battery can easily show acceptible voltage when not under load, but drop way too low when a load is applied.

 

[PZ]

Check the battery to make sure it isn't defective. I don't reccomend Bosch batteries at all. I currrently have one on the 5.5, and I had to replace three of them in the first two days of owning them. Also make sure your posts are clean. Buy a post cleaner, and scrub the terminals to ensure that you are getting a good clean surface to mate to. If that doesn't solve the problem, then it definetly sounds like you are headed towards needing a new starter. Hopefully you don't need to do that though.

Good advice. Many "dead" batteries are merely a bad connection. That's one of the reasons most repair shops will add cleaning or replacing the clamps to a battery replacement.

 

[Steve in Chicago]

Some of the auto parts store chains will do a battery load test & charge for free. Check with the local Advanced Auto or AutoZone.

You can meter the battery with the car running to see what sort of charging voltages the alternator is producing.

 

[pimpin passat]

thanks

thanks for all of your help. It was the battery, time to rip and replace