Slow starter motor

[steves944]

Not sure if my starter motor has gone a bit slow. The engine used to start first turn of the key but now it seems to churn over 4 or 5 times before catching.
Battery is good and shows good power on a tester.
Any thoughts?
Steve

 

[Hilux]

I have found from my time on this forum that the concensus is that they all tend to turn over like a Series 1 Landrover however if it is very slow then try cleaning all the contacts and earth leads and (better still) replace the braided ones.

If not it could be the starter bushes or armature wearing down.

 

[SteveSJS]

Paul's spot on - check all your earth's and main leads - take them off brush them down, clean them meticulously and copperslip them back together.
Most important of all is the state of any braided earth lads - they can look OK but aren't.
A good friend and auto electrician saved me a fortune by doing this on my behalf. I was looking potentially at a new alternator and starter, I should make sure you're sitting down before you look up the price of the former.
It made the very good single malt I bought him very cheap in comparison....

 

[Hilux]

On my Mk 1 Golf (works for any car that relies on the starter earthing via the car body/engine etc) I made up a dedicated lead and returned it direct to the negative terminal on the battery.

Now the starter is so eager it nearly turns the whole car over [8D]