slow starter

[Red88]

When it's cold outside (which doesn't happen often), and I need to be somewhere soon, the starter cranks REALLY slow, then progressively speeds up, and takes like five seconds to start the car (we'll call my car Steve). If I turn it off right away and try to turn it on again, nothing happens, all the lights in the check panel go on, but no noise of a starter or anything. If I heat Steve up, turn Steve off, Steve will start back up perfectly fine, very quickly. Does Steve not like getting up in the morning, 'cause it's cold? Or is He sick?

[jlevie]

There are a few possibilities here:

1) There's a poor connection in the primary power circuit between the battery and the starter or a poor ground.
2) You have a weak battery
3) There's parasitic draw that is running down the battery while the car is parked
3) The starter needs to be replaced.
4) The alternator is weak and isn't fully charging the battery

Start by cleaning and tightening the primary power connections. The ground strap between the body and the engine is a common source of problems. Then have the battery load tested, which many auto parts houses will do for free. And while there have the alternator tested. If that fails to solve the problem, move on to the other possibilities.

[SpecM]

Battery ouput (CCA) is always reduced in cold weather, and the internal friction of the starter/engine in increaced.

clean/tighen ALL electrical connections (at the battery, and the juntion box, ground strap)