hi people,just recently my 99 uk turbo isnt behaving normally,it has the genuine subaru original cat1 alarm and immob,now and then u turn the key and there is nothing(all ignition lights up as normal) this can happen 3 or 4 times and then it starts,it seems like there is no power going to starter motor,this can be quite embarasing at the petrol station with cars waiting behind to refuel lol,is it likely to be the starter motor? its been on the car sinse new,or dodgy conection? battery maybe? anyone ever came across this? its getting a bit enoying now,at first i thought it was just a coincidence down to damp or something but as it does it now and then it does seem like its a fault somewhere..... pls help,thanks.

 

Pull the starter motor out and run a test on it, wire it direct to a 12v just make sure the damn thing is clamped in a vice.

 

You can prob leave the motor in situ... just run a length of wire direct from the +ve batt post to the narrow ign wire terminal on the starter (normally have to remove a bulbous rubber insulating cap to access the terminal...)





But first, make sure those spark plugs are healthy! ...

 

does it not seem like an immob problem/connection then? are these symptoms saying starter motor?oh and plugs are fine the thing is if i do a test its bound to work fine,the problem is only occuring say 1 in a hundred starts! is it most likely to be starter motor? do they normally give up the ghost at 140k?thanks for the comments so far,any more would be great

 

It's still worth doing as if, on the off chance, it DOESN'T spin, then you can most certainly rule out any ign switch/immob issues, and condemn the starter or the solenoid.

If it does spin - and like you say it prob will - then back to square one of course.

But it'll only take 5 minutes, so worth doing...

 

Wife's did this a couple of times and was annoying. Stripped the starter to find the solenoid was going rusty and sticking in the bore. Rubbed it all down and applied a THIN film of light machine oil (not engine oil) and all has been well for the last couple of years (between blown engines anyway LOL)

Hope yours is a similarly simple fix.

 

thanks for that,think ill look round for a cheap working starter motor.