Hi, all.

I've had the car for about 7 months now and it's been great. One thing I did notice back in late spring-early summer was it would crank longer (starter spin) than usual every now and then, when I'd leave the car for a few hours after a drive. Never in the morning, or sitting for long periods of time.

It seemed like it first started after I replaced the plugs (I think I got the Autolites iridium in there). On the very first start after the plugs were changed, it spun the starter for a while. I actually couldn't get it to start and had to crank it second time, and it started perfectly. I just brushed it off then.

Fast forward a few months and I get a cel for some evap (small leak?) code. I tighten the gas cap and reset the code and it never comes back. The car starts fine after short rests again... I was like, great. Well, it's starting to cool down here now, and the car is starting to do this again lol I get somewhere, let the car sit for a few hours and get a long crank. Never in the morning.

I've been thinking it was the fuel pump, and I do want to cycle the key on-off a few times to test the theory, but wanted to check in with you first. The battery is fine - it's cranking like it should.

Thanks!

 

How old is the battery?

Did you test the individual cells to make sure they accept a full charge?

All six battery cells should test as shown below



I just replaced my four year old battery because all six cells would not come up to a full charge with winter coming



Telcoman

 

I had this issue on both my cars and one ended up being fuel delivery/battery and the other was the starter.

I'd double check the battery voltage off, with load, and while running. It should be about 12.6 sitting there and around 13V-14V with the car running. You'd also want the battery load tested as well as the current CCA reading. My Audi had about half the rated CCA left in the battery and it was causing a hard start problem even though voltages all checked out. There was a fuel delivery problem with the Audi that was due to a secondary fuel pump in the gas tank.

My G had issues starting as well and I also thought it was the fuel pump, but it ended up being the starter. The bendix gear was all jacked up and that fixed my problem.

Start with the basics fuel, air, spark, timing (ignition), timing (crank/cam), exhaust, and, compression. Then narrow down that list.

Fuel - Kinda hard to test right away with the G. Listen for the fuel pump to prime
Air - Check air filter
Spark - See if the spark plugs fire
Timing (Ignition) - Camshaft, possibly crankshaft sensor (does the RPM needle jump every time you crank), or intermittent coil pack/harness.
Timing (Crank/cam) - Something catastrophic last resort
Exhaust - Highly unlikely
Compression - Again, I'd put this last on your list.

Some cars the coolant temperature sensor can cause all kinds of problems as well. I'm not sure if the G operates that way as well.

 

Thanks, guys. I highly doubt it's the batt - it doesn't have that weak/tired crank to it. I can definitely tell the starter is spinning just fine. I'm thinking it's fuel, but could also be something with the spark. Wish these were a bit easier to remove to test lol Might dive in over the weekend.

 

Check for a pending cam/crank position sensor code, they can also cause slow start issues.

 

Well, the battery went kaput today. Hopped in and it wouldn't start... Took to AZ and they tested it negative, so I talked them into a new battery (this one was still fresh - 03/16). I'm very surprised that this (almost new) battery went bad so quickly. I'll update if long cranks come back again. Appreciate your input!

 

Always check the manufacture date on a battery, I've seen supposedly new ones on the shelves that were made 2 years prior.

 

I had this issue before. It went away after changing the battery

 

Mine has a slower turnover than in the past, like the battery voltage is low, but it's not. Connections are clean from battery to starter. It always starts, but it's just slower than in the past. Any ideas?

 

Test the individual cells with a battery hydrometer



If all the cells are not holding a full charge that will result in a slower turnover because the battery cannot supply the maximum current to the starter.

All six cells in my OEM battery were only indicating a half charge even after long drives.
I replaced the battery in November.

Telcoman

 

Might be a cam or crank sensor going bad. I just replaced my first cam sensor failure at 137K miles, initial signs of trouble were slower and longer crank times well before it popped a code.

 

Replaced all cam sensors last year.

 

I second the opinion of fuel delivery.
Turn the key on, let the fuel pump fully prime, turn the key off and back on again, let the fuel pump fully prime, then try to start.
See if the starting behavior is different after that.

 

Weird stuff is happening. I'm now getting slower than usual crank times after the car has set for a bit. No problems overnight, but if I leave it for about 2 hours or so, it's noticeable. Ordered and received a fuel pump, but my hunch this could be a starter issue, though it doesn't explain longer crank times, unless the starter wasn't catching the flywheel then. Could also be timing, but I'm not familiar enough with this engine to diagnose this at this point. Just noticed the posts above mentioned slower crank times as well and cam sensor. Could give this a shot also.

 

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