scoober101

Hey, got an 02 WRX Bugeye.
Have noticed recently it seems to take too long to fire up the engine when turning the key. A while ago, one or two winds from the starter motor and it starts. But recently the starter motor turns over 5 or 6 times before starting.

Whats the most common cause of this?

Battery?
Starter motor?
Spark plugs?

Someone told me once that a more powerful battery cures that problem and the engine would start on the 1st try. Is this bull-poo? My 02 bug is starting to sound like a beat up old rust bucket when starting. I dont want to be sat there gripping the wheel saying "come on baby, start. You can do it, come on..." etc.

Sc101.

PeteBrant

Are there any other symptoms once you have got it started? Is it running rough? Is there any stuttering on acceleration? You would expect some problems when driving if the ignition chain had a weak link.

stevebennett

had a similar problem the other day but i put it down to doing short runs and not allowing the battery to charge properly between stops.

scoober101

No nothing, once she's started, everything seems ok. Mine hardly ever does short runs, its driven to work in the morning and driven home in the evening. So it sits there all day doing nothing.

Sc101.

PeteBrant

I suppose to test the theory you could jump start it one morning and see if it improves matters - or get your hands on one of those AA booster jobs. Potentially you have a 4 year old battery in the car - It is conceivably running out of steam.

scoober101

Thanks for the advice, how would jump starting potentially improve things? Good point about the battery, its actually a Halfords battery so I cant imagine a garage would use a Halfords battery if it was found to be dying. The cars had one previous owner but I'm not sure when that battery was installed. How do you test a battery? Theres no indicators or anything on it.

Regards, Sc101.

PeteBrant

Well I just meant to see if jumping made starting easier while it was hooked up - not improve things overall

You need a load tester to test a car bettery, if you can borrow one then might be worth while - they are about £40 odd to buy though.

scoober101

Gotcha about the jump starting idea, may give that a go at the weekend. Might pop into Halfords on the way home and ask about the battery, see if they can stick a tester on it.

Cheers Pete.

PeteBrant

No worries.

I think kwik-fit offer a battery testing service - no idea how much it costs, though, and don't know if thier machines are set to "permanent fail" - Be nice to get it tested by someone who doesn't have a vested interest in you buying a new one