Sluggish starting

[maldotcom2]

Hey guys, noticed my VS is a little sluggish to start after being left for half an hour +. When i turn the key it sounds as though the battery is dying and struggling to power the starter motor. However the battery is less than 3 months old and is a century 450cca. It started great when i first put it in but it's slowly getting worse. It starts fine when it's jump started too.

So it's obviously a power issue, but i've measured the alternator output at 14V at idle and 12V at the terminals when turned off. I've also swapped the alternator and it's doing the same thing. It's a manual if that makes any difference. Possibly a bad connection somewhere stopping the battery charging properly?

[clazzza commy]

my vr does almost the same thing....iv always understood it as winter at its best.but also if your terminals are coroded or not connected properlly it will do this.try cleaning the terminals mate

[Berlinarator]

Can't be sure if it's a manual, but I had the same problem with my old VS (auto). Was the starter motor (the starters are a little different between auto/manual).

[hako]

Leave the car overnight and check the battery in the morning when it is cold and before you try and start - it should read 12.6 volts. iIf lower than 12.5v the battery is not fully charged. If it reads 12.0 volts it is more than half flat. Remember the decimal points counts a lot!
The starter may also be on it's last legs.

[Harvs82]

Yeah, my money would be on the starter motor being kaput... Had the same sort of issue with my VS Berlina many years ago, the problem was worse when the engine was hot, it would barely turn over. Basically the wiring to the starter motor had far too much resistance, and in turn was burning out as the starter was drawing too much current. I had a reconditioned unit installed for $180 with a 12 months warranty. It was amazing how quickly the engine turned over with the new unit!

[chrisdoesitbetter]

when you replaced the alternator was it a new unit? if it wasnt the brush and regulator unit could be faulty on both units. im pretty sure you can buy a new brush and regulator pack for about $40 thats for a vr so i would assume that a vs would be similiar... try that its cheaper than a new starter.

[maldotcom2]

The alternator was another second hand one, hako i'll try testing the battery, i didn't realise it would measure 12V when it's half flat. It could well be the starter is going, it was part of my manual kit. I hear VN-VP's have "manual" starter motors?

[KyleBrown92]

mines doing the same thing, has been for two weeks now.