Recently when I go to start car, I have noticed a very slight delay for the starter to kick in when I turn the key to engage. Nothing huge but it feels weird. You turn key and expect starter to kick in instantaneously, but there is about 1-2 second lag, like it has to think about it.

My starter is almost new (Powermaster mini starter) as is the battery. Could the solonoid be pooched already? Or could it be in the ignition switch somewhere? I had a shorting problem a little while ago when the positive battery feed was shorting on the starter chassis, could that have fried things? Once it starts cranking there is no problem, but worried one day it will decide no too crank.

Your input is appreciated.

I'm not too sure on the subject of starters, but my guess is maybe the motor is getting hung up on something?

I had a shorting problem a little while ago when the positive battery feed was shorting on the starter chassis, could that have fried things?
Try a newer battery. When max load happens on a battery, the chemical reaction heats up the electrolyte and the plates become damaged and some electrolyte evaporates.

Now with a lower level of electrolye, the battery has less capacity, less chemical action to produce electricity. Damaged plates take awhile to build up (chemical action) to produce electrical current.

You could further troubleshoot and use an assistant and a clamp-on ammeter on the battery cable and view the current flowing to the starter. It should be almost instantaneous and the DVM across the battery posts at the same time, should not fall below 9.5 volts.

If the battery shows a good current flow and voltage holds up, then starter would be suspect.

i had same problem and found the starter wires were melted a bit from touching the header.
rerouted wires and put insulating tape on em.
problem went away!
it made it seem like when you release the key from start the starter starts turning.

Thanks for the replies. The battery is only 3 months old. Maybe too new? But I had the problem towards the end of last season and figured it was just the battery and hoped it would go away. It didn't. Maybe I will replace positive battery cable altogether. Otherwise, solonoid on 6 month old starter??? Is it possible to replace/rebuild the powermaster solonoids? Something a backyarder can do?

Okay, so I replaced the positive cable, made sure all connections are tight, battery is good. Still same problem, and seems to be getting worse. The 6 month old powermaster mini starter just doesn't do anything sometimes. I turn key and NOTHING, no click, no nothing. Try it a few times and suddenly full crank. So could it be solonoid? Could it be the ignition (key) switch? I am about to order new solonoid. Thought I would throw it out one last time. Thx in advance.

Okay, so I replaced the positive cable, made sure all connections are tight, battery is good. Still same problem, and seems to be getting worse. The 6 month old powermaster mini starter just doesn't do anything sometimes. I turn key and NOTHING, no click, no nothing. Try it a few times and suddenly full crank. So could it be solonoid? Could it be the ignition (key) switch? I am about to order new solonoid. Thought I would throw it out one last time. Thx in advance.

My guess is the key switch. Have you tried a push button starter (like when you would use it to turn the motor over when tuning it by yourself.)

Try bumping the solenoid with a screwdriver. If it starts with no hesitation, you might want to look at the Ignition switch and all the wiring in between.

Try bumping the solenoid with a screwdriver. If it starts with no hesitation, you might want to look at the Ignition switch and all the wiring in between.
Heres all the wiring in between......

To check the entire starter circuit, electricity flows from the battery to the junction block, to the 4 way splice, to the horn relay, to the bulkhead connector, to IGN switch, to neutral safety switch if automatic or clutch switch if stick shift, to the starter "S" terminal. Check all connections and switches along this path. You may have a bad connection or high resistance in a switch.

Try bumping the solenoid with a screwdriver. If it starts with no hesitation, you might want to look at the Ignition switch and all the wiring in between.

I recently had this same problem with mine. It wouldn't do it all of the time, only about 2 or 3 times a month (enough to aggravate you especially during a show/cruise). If I used a screwdriver and jumped the soleniod, it would start up right away. After replacing the ignition switch, nuetral safety switch, and new wiring from firewall to starter solenoid. After each component change it would work fine for a few tries then do it again. I thought about replacing the battery cables but decided to replace the battery (4 years old). I put a new Optima red top in and no problems yet (6 months later). I would recommend changing the battery first and then change the cables (if they are old). Hope this helps!

Wow. Okay. The battery is only 4 months old. The wiring under the hood is all new from firewall on. The car is an auto converted to stick. The connections in console seem good, but I will check them again. I am meaning to change the ignition switch (key) because key is paper thin and worn. Maybe I should just do this first anyway. I am also going to take that negative disconnect thing off the battery terminal. Here's the latest clue... this morning it was quite cold up here and I barely got the thing started; it seems to be worse when cold??? I had to turn key 10-15 times until it kicked in!

Does the battery have enough CCA's (Cold cranking amps)? If it is worse when it is cold, then you might want to get a bigger battery with around 800 CCA's. Try that first and see if that helps your problem.

I had this same problem on a Chevy work truck I have. It turned out to be a loose main cable connection to the starter. It looked tight but when I got under to get a good look it would pretty easy to move by hand. I put a wrench to it and all fixed. So I think you should look at all of your connections.

Jack