Engine cranks SUPER fast, stumbles to life.

[kwseattle]

Hey guys,

So I recently had my battery replaced because one of the cells wouldn't hold a charge on my old one. It would drop down below 12v after less than a day. Before replacing the battery, the engine cranked at a comfortable sounding speed, and always fired really nicely (assuming the battery wasn't dead, which was often).

Now that I've got a fresh battery though, whenever I go to start my engine it cranks extremely fast and sounds like it's struggling to fire. It always starts, it just doesn't sound right.

Any ideas? I'm not sure if there's a voltage regulator somewhere on the way to the starter that prevents this.

[TobyB]

Hmm- the only thing that pops to mind here is low compression...

...and that wouldn't be from a new battery!

t

[EatsHondas]

I'm with Toby. It should only crank faster than normal if the compression is lower than expected (loose/no spark plugs, extreme engine wear, super tight valve lash, shredded head gasket, etc).

[yodman]

Oddly enough I have a similar issue. My engine does have about 260k on the bottom end, but the head and gasket are 50k old. Plugs are brand new.

Other times it will crank at a normal speed though. It's really weird. I feel like it's a fuel issue since I smell fuel in the bay after this happens.