for the last couple weeks my van has been temperamental. About one of five times it won't want to turn over when I'm starting it. It sounds like a low battery but I've tested both voltage and cranking power during one of the no start situations and the battery is fine. The cooldown time doesn't seem to matter much. I've had trouble anywhere from five minutes to 5 hours cooldown. I've never had trouble after it's sat overnight but that could just be random luck.

When it happens I get a slow single crank, pause, crank, pause, etc. Jumping the battery fixes the issue and the engine starts but even then its sluggish to turn over. like I said though.. battery is fine.

So far my bandaid is to rev the engine before shutting it off. I'm not sure why it works but it's been starting every time since I began revving it. Can anyone think of why revving before shutting off would make the engine easier to turn over on the next start? Otherwise my only guess is that I'm giving the battery just enough extra juice to crank the engine.

Thanks all

 

First guess: Battery and ground circuit connections to the starter.
Find the negative ground cable where it bolts to the block and clean it. jim

 

I would start by checking and cleaning all battery & starter cables ( at the battery, solenoid, starter & engine block ) . Make sure all connections are clean and tight.

If that doesn't make a difference then I would jump the solenoid and see if it turns over any better. If it does I would replace the starter solenoid. They are pretty cheap. I usually carry a spare in my vehicles. If there is a starting issue, there is a good chance it's a solenoid issue.

If jumping the solenoid doesn't make a difference then your starter might be going bad.