havin trouble starting when cold sometimes

[Norco]

(by cold i mean when car has sat for many hours or a day) last week when i tried starting car, it was having trouble and sounded like it wanted to start but didnt till retried couple times, problem gettin worse and now its clicking at first but after about 7 tries it finally starts and starts fine, but then i notice couple times after it has started the rpms go up and down from idle like 500-1000 back and forth each second, if i step on it to like 3k rpm then let go, it then idle normal around the 600-700 or whatever normal idle is or i can just wait like 30 seconds and it clears up, 80k KM's on car, my mom says maybe altenator lol from cars she owned in the past, starter was changed at 62k, battery was changed couple months ago(with a old battery but was only used for a year), at first couple friends maybe a spark plug cause it choked before when tryin to start but now its more like dead first few tries, car runs fine when actually driving it seems so yeah i dunno any info would be great, will take it in soon but nice to know some info when ya take it in so dont look like a noob heh, alternator prolly has been thru a lot from sound system in car, after car been drivin around it starts perfect if u turn it off and start again usually, no lights on dash are on, other than service veachile soon during day but im sure thats cause my dayl lights and my highbeam doesnt work on my drivers side, cause the light on dash isnt on thru the night

[4kQuad]

Ok here is what I get from what you said.

The starter will make the motor spin, but maybe a little slow. Then after that it started clicking when you try to start it.

What that means is ( most likely ) the battery is dying or the alt like your mom said is dying. The click is a sure sign not enough power is getting to the starter. So the solenoid is clicking.

You can kind of test what I say by leaving the drivers door open when you try to start the car. I bet the Dome light gets dim as you turn the keyand you hear the clicking sound. If yes, the battery is low on power, be it dying or the alt is not resupplying power to the battery.

If you do nothing in a few days the car will do nothing when you turn the key. It is also possible that the starter it's self is going bad. So I would have the eletrical system tested, if it's good the starter is most likely dying.

The car starter is the biggest power drawing thing on a car, it needs good clean connections to get the power it needs.

[Norco]

well a lot worse now, after bunch of attempts when i go to start car it doesnt even turn over, i just get a winding squeel type sound, hard to explain, but am able to start it after many attemps lol, kinda broke so cant get it looked at yet heh, im hoping its just starter, after many attempts finally tries to turn over and starts, and it seems when car has been running or still hot, it starts first try, only if car been sittin for long time does it have hell of a time starting, shoulda took power mechanics in school but i was lazy and took carpentry hah

[4kQuad]

See if this sounds right.

starter turns the motor over 2 or 3 rumps, then seems to break free and makes a WINGgggggggggggg sound. Then turn the key and another rump or two then WINGggggg sound.

The bindex spring in the starter is going if that sounds like what your are hearing.

The spring engauages the gear into the fly wheel, spins the motor a couple times then the spring lets the gear slip out of the fly wheel. So the little gear just spins like crazy allowing the starter to spin at it's max speed, making the WINGgggg sound.

[Norco]

yeah i think its that kinda sound, its not the motor anyway that making the noise, guy i bought car from had the starter changed at 62,000 KM but he said there was one part of the starter they could reuse cause it ws still good some kinda coil i think, 81,000 KM on car now so maybe that went, when attempting i dont even get any rumps from motor anymore unless i try dozen times heh

nice sound effect tho WWWINNNNNGGRRR lol

[mikem220153]

The coil you mentioned is the solenoid that 4K is talking about. Most starters come complete the the solenoid. Using the old solenoid on a new starter is kind of like stripping the paint from and old car and putting it on your new one.