[davidon]

Turn key and engine doesn't even turn once. Worked fine the day before although when cold it would start and die until warmed up. Took about 5 tries to get it to not die. Checked battery, starter (bench tested, works fine). Put new positive cable on. What is next suspect?

 

[dane]

How did you check the battery? A weak battery is probably the number 1 cause. After that insure that all connections in the circuit are clean and tight. A bit of corrosion on a battery post can kill cranking power even with a good battery.

 

[davidon]

How did you check the battery? A weak battery is probably the number 1 cause. After that insure that all connections in the circuit are clean and tight. A bit of corrosion on a battery post can kill cranking power even with a good battery.

Voltmeter. Will do a voltage drop test next. Any idea about the other ongoing problem (Takes multiple starts/dies before it seems to idle properly.)

 

[dane]

Voltage doesn't tell you much about a battery. Hook up your volt meter and turn the key to start and see what the voltage does. Or, take the battery to an auto parts store and have them load test it.

How old is your machine?
First, make sure your air filters are clean so the engine isn't starved for air. Next, I suspect a fuel problem for it dying several times after starting. An an air leak in the fuel system is my first guess. Also check for bad high pressure pump and/or injectors but that gets expensive fast so make sure you rule out a simple air leak before getting out the credit card.

 

[davidon]

Voltage doesn't tell you much about a battery. Hook up your volt meter and turn the key to start and see what the voltage does. Or, take the battery to an auto parts store and have them load test it.

How old is your machine?
First, make sure your air filters are clean so the engine isn't starved for air. Next, I suspect a fuel problem for him or it dying several times after starting. An an air leak in the fuel system is my first guess. Also check for bad high pressure pump and/or injectors but that gets expensive fast so make sure you rule out a simple air leak before getting out the credit card.

 

[davidon]

2003 I think. Will do a smoke test and go from there after I deal with the starting problem. Thanks

 

[200mph]

Once you confirm battery is good. A voltage drop test along the power conductors is a very effective way of determining losses in the conductors. Anything over 0.2 volts should be investigated. When doing this test make note of where the test probes are positioned as it can help with pinpointing the root cause.

How to (voltage drop) test a starter motor circuit - YouTube

 

[davidon]

Wow, I'm a dummy...turns out it was the battery. i switched out old for a newish spare I had for something else and it started. Now have to tackle the other problem. Will start with new air filters. Thanks for the replies guys.