New Starter?

[cmcfaul]

My car cranks slooowly but will crank forever if I hold the key and don't give if the right amount of gas (especially in the freezing temps we are seeing on the east coast). The batteries are about 2 years old and are the gel type (Sesquantion (SP?)).

Is this a sign of a warn starter (the original starter) or weak batteries? I am fairly confident the charging system is 100% as I replaced the alt. and regulator when I replaced the batteries. All connections are clean and tight.

I would not be apposed to upgrading to the newer, high torque starters as I have heard the are vastly superior to the original Bosh units. I also seem to remember that there was a good brand and a bad brand of these starters, yes / no?.

lastly, should I care about originally with the starter? The car is a one owner, almost mint, 73 911E. But will anyone really care if the starter is upgraded?

Thanks

Chris
73 911 E

[TEC69E]

Freezing temps certainly are not helping. But I would also suspect you have a low (charged) batteries. I doubt it's your starter . . . in my experience they either work or just don't. Try it when the temps warm up and charge up those batteries while your waiting.

Good luck,

[Flieger]

Even if the battery is "good", it will not deliver nearly as much power in freezing weather as it would on a nice summer day. The chemicals need heat energy to work together to get those electrons moving.

If you put an incandescant garage light (the handheld ones in the orange plastic cages) near the battery for a couple minutes and the car starts easier, then your battery is probably border-line (but still could be "in-spec").

Do not leave the light unattended.

[RSTarga]

check your ground straps too. I upgraded to the 1 1/2 hp starter off the newer cars and it made a big difference. Those tilton starters look nice too and are much lighter. I tend to agree though that your batteries are probably marginal.

[John912]

I'm a firm believer in adding a relay near starter to take load off the dash switch and related wiring. Not sure if Porsche did this by 73.

[cmcfaul]

Thanks for the replies.

I drove the car to work yesterday which is about an hour drive so the batteries were fully charged and a bit warmer out. Cranked a bit faster but still very slow. I am having a hard time believing that the batteries could be marginal. The two batteries seem to be overkill for that car and thus should have an easy and long life. The charging system is working to spec.

Over the summer, on a HOT day with a hot engine, I stalled and it just barley turned over enough to fire back up. I know the starter was heat soaked but is this another sign of a weak starter?

Thanks again,

Chris
73 911 E

[orange911]

I'm a firm believer in adding a relay near starter to take load off the dash switch and related wiring. Not sure if Porsche did this by 73.

I thought that was the purpose of having a "Start" position on the ignition, so the rest of the circuits were open.

[John912]

http://members.rennlist.com/911pcars/RemoteStarter.htm

The addition of an auxiliary switch in this article is not really needed unless you can’t find a replacement. However, by adding a relay near the starter you relieve the ignition switch of having to supply current through about four feet of wire to energize the starter solenoid. The ignition switch is now used only to energize the relay, which draws far less amps. This simple addition extends the life of the 40+ year old switch and provides full cranking voltage.

Using the attached diagram without the auxiliary switch leg, the yellow wire that normally goes to energize the starter is attached to position 86 of the new relay.

[cmcfaul]

I ended up buying the high torque starter from High performance on e-bay. A search on the Pelican board turned up all great comments. For $120 shipped, it's a no brainer.

Chris
73 911 E

[RS-GT]

Let us know the quality and sound of this e-bay 120$ starter, I'm thinking of buying one also !

Thanks
JD