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Starter runs for a long time before engine starts

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Old 06-11-21, 06:15 PM
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Ab175
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Default Starter runs for a long time before engine starts

In the morning on cold starts or after the car had been sitting for 4 or 5 hours the starter has to run for like 3 or 4 seconds for the engine to start, but when the engine has been running and is restarted relatively soon after being shut off it fires up in about a second. I know it's not a bad battery since it was replaced about a month ago and I didn't see this issue get any better. My car is still under the power train warranty so I am trying to figure it out before then, if anyone had any ideas please let me know.
Old 06-11-21, 07:08 PM
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CAHWY128
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Dirty fuel injectors? I always run top cylinder lubricant in my cars. I had Tacoma that was fuel injected And would take forever to start. It had 90K miles when I bought it and after running a bunch of of Lucas oil gas treatment and Marvels Mystery oil through it, it started firing right up. Just a guess.
Old 06-11-21, 08:53 PM
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05RollaXRS
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Most likely, your battery is getting weak. I had the same issue. I got an AG-H6-RS Lithium Ion battery and it spins the starter motor ridiculously fast. You can see in the video below. Here is a video I made.

Old 06-11-21, 09:47 PM
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Ab175
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Originally Posted by 05RollaXRS
Most likely, your battery is getting weak. I had the same issue. I got an AG-H6-RS Lithium Ion battery and it spins the starter motor ridiculously fast. You can see in the video below. Here is a video I made.

Lexus RCF - Antigravity lightweight battery cold crank - YouTube

The battery was replaced a month ago with another OEM one. Seems unlikely that it would be failing again so soon.
Old 06-11-21, 09:51 PM
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Ab175
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I will try and post a video tmrw once I get a chance to do a cold start.
Old 06-12-21, 03:11 AM
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How many cca does the new battery put out?

Hit me up on telegram I have a spare Ansel cca tester I bought on accident I'll just give it to you if we can meet up over the weekend
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Old 06-12-21, 06:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Ab175
The battery was replaced a month ago with another OEM one. Seems unlikely that it would be failing again so soon.
Just for your information, there are such things as faulty units. I knew a guy who bought a new battery, put it in his car and it didn't work at all. From what he said, his old battery was even better. He tried charging it numerous times and the battery still wouldn't hold any sort of charge.

Just a little idea to toy around with.
Old 06-12-21, 08:31 AM
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Ab175
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Originally Posted by Yri
Just for your information, there are such things as faulty units. I knew a guy who bought a new battery, put it in his car and it didn't work at all. From what he said, his old battery was even better. He tried charging it numerous times and the battery still wouldn't hold any sort of charge.

Just a little idea to toy around with.
You are 100% correct that it could be a faulty battery, I will test the battery this weekend and figure it out. I was just saying that I felt that it was unlikely, but, I could be wrong.
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Old 06-12-21, 07:06 PM
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Ab175
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So, I went to the dealership today, they tested the battery - it passed so I can cross that off the list. They diagnosed it as a heavily corroded negative terminal, I checked myself and it does indeed have quite a bit of corrosion on it so I will have it replaced, then we will see.
Old 06-12-21, 08:13 PM
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Or, you could try taking a wire brush to it and see about getting most of the corrosion off. Unless that terminal is genuinely eaten away, I doubt it needs to be replaced. Give the ol' wire brush trick a shot, and if that doesn't work, replace the terminal.
Old 06-12-21, 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Yri
Or, you could try taking a wire brush to it and see about getting most of the corrosion off. Unless that terminal is genuinely eaten away, I doubt it needs to be replaced. Give the ol' wire brush trick a shot, and if that doesn't work, replace the terminal.
I had some success with my old Camry with sand paper. For me, it was the connection between the terminal and the connector to the neg terminal that was the culprit. Replacing just the terminal wasn't enough (prolly didn't even need to replace it, but it was like $5), I had to sand down the terminal where it hooks up to the connector.
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Old 06-13-21, 10:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Ab175
So, I went to the dealership today, they tested the battery - it passed so I can cross that off the list. They diagnosed it as a heavily corroded negative terminal, I checked myself and it does indeed have quite a bit of corrosion on it so I will have it replaced, then we will see.
After cleaning the terminals it maybe worthwhile to put on some battery terminal grease to prevent them from corroding again.
Old 06-14-21, 09:22 AM
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Ab175
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Originally Posted by CAHWY128
Dirty fuel injectors? I always run top cylinder lubricant in my cars. I had Tacoma that was fuel injected And would take forever to start. It had 90K miles when I bought it and after running a bunch of of Lucas oil gas treatment and Marvels Mystery oil through it, it started firing right up. Just a guess.
Ok after consulting another mechanic, either dirty or faulty fuel injectors seem to be a possible culprit. I will run some cleaner through and see, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that fixes it.
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Old 06-14-21, 10:30 AM
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For some reason, I have a hard time believing that your injectors would be that clogged. There comes a point where if it would take that long to start, the injectors wouldn't be giving enough fuel and you'd end up with a lean code, or you'd at least be down on power a lot. It is a possibility, but I doubt it unless if your car has 100k+ miles on it.

Anyhow, quality cleaner is always a good idea every once and a while. I recommend Amsoil's P.I. Performance Improver. Has always worked for me and there are even some videos on it, showing that it works.
Old 06-14-21, 07:00 PM
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Ab175
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Completely cleaned the battery terminals of corrosion. Another day of really long cranks and the engine struggling to start. I'm starting to get pretty nervous that the car is going to not start and Strand me somewhere and I'm getting really annoyed with the dealership for not properly diagnosing the issue. It feels like they are avoiding honoring the power train warranty. Indy mechanic says that it is almost certainly a fuel system problem, with either the fuel pump not holding pressure to the fuel rail, or leaky fuel injectors getting stuck open and flooding the cylinders after the engine is shut off. Not completely sure how to proceed honestly.


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