Have you tried jumping the solenoid on the starter. It could be just a bad starter but you need to prove it out first.

 

If shaking it causes it to sometimes work then maybe you have a bad ground. Check your electrical grounds for a good solid connection and no rust/corrosion. I'm sure someone more knowledged than I can tell you where the points to check are. Or just follow the negative cable and see where it goes.

 

I can do that, I did a DIY Grounding kit on my Evo IX and it did wonders. I will crawl under it tomorrow and look at the starter to see if anything is loose.

 

I doubt it is the starter and if it is I have a brand new which came with the vehicle.

Why do you suppose it came with a spare starter?

 

Why do you suppose it came with a spare starter?

IDK, it was in the rear foot-well with a inspection tag on it. I brought it to Advanced Autoparts to test it and they said it was fine, I believe refurbished.

 

Do you know how to use a dvom.....

......Philip

 

Have you checked out Ack's Facts on your grounds ?

common-failures

 

What transmission is in this - auto or manual?
And when the car does not start (before you start banging the doors) do all your dash lights work with the key on?
When it doesn't start, have you tried jumping the starter with 12v to see if the starter spins.
My bet is on an intermittent wiring problem.....some insulation missing on a wire somewhere, and shorting out on the metal of the car.

 

It's a 3 Speed Auto., all dash lights, Heater, everything turns on as it should. Jump the starter? I guess hook up my batter charger directly to the starter?

How to use a dvom meter? No clue.

FireCkrEd, I'll check now, thanks!

 

Neutral safety switch? My 3 speed auto had starting issues too. got a safety switch out of a junk yard... 3 bolts plug and go. That's all it took

 

Ill look into that, but I think it's simply the ignition switch being worn out. It makes perfect connection on RUN but is finicky at start.

 

Welp, I'm stumped. I checked the starter and it appears to be original so that makes it 20 years old. Bang on it and it starts right up from nothing.

 

Welp it is time -
time to replace this starter unless you enjoy banging it or know how to fix this one.

 

Yeah it's just the starter. I tested the battery today and it's fine. I checked the wiring it looks fine. So next is a starter swap.

 

STRANGE UPDATE!!!! 01/30/2014.


So I've been dealing with intermittent starting for a couple of months now. Simply slamming the door to get it to start and it works about 80% of the time or makes me wait another 5 mins to get it started. It's been extremely cold here in the North East so I've noticed that even when it does start it really struggles. One day it would try to start after slamming my door but was like a dead battery. I got a quick jump from a good Samaritan and I made it home. i disconnected the battery, charged it with my charger over night, hooked everything back up, now it starts every time, without fail, very fast and no issues what so ever.


I am so confused as I had the battery tested before and it was fine, but it slowly died this past month, maybe the battery terminal connectors got loose? I will add those little caps to make the battery grab better to the terminals as I have to tighten the caps all the way just to get a decent grip. I hope it isn't my alternator.

So fixed for now, no more door slamming. And BTW this things rules in the snow, even in 2wd, it just laughs and plods on.

 

... It's been extremely cold here in the North East so I've noticed that even when it does start it really struggles. ...

Cold weather really has a negative effect on car batteries. Batteries also have a service life of as little as three years. Deep discharging a battery (by leaving your lights on, or something like that) will cause the battery to last even less. Some cars are just hard on the battery. Granted, in my experience, TracKicks are fairly easy on batteries and should last around 5 years.

How old is your battery and do you have any idea of the batteries quality?

If your charging system is up to snuff, you should consider replacing your battery for reliability.

 

Do yourself a favor and get a digital multi-meter and do some voltage drop tests on the starter cable, ground cable and alternator....google voltage drop and you will get a plethora of instruction on how to do it.