s80 starter spins up, but pinion not engaging

[trekking]

Hi,

I have a 2000 s80 T6 with some startup issues:
After long pause the car usually starts, but if stopped and restarted it will typically not. I hear the click, the starter is spinning up, the pinion is inserted occasionally just to immediately retrieve (all this based on the sound).

I was already checking with a new battery, it did not solve the problem.
I have removed the starer, checked the pinion gear, and cleaned contacts. It did not solve the problem.

Are there other ideas, or should I buy a replacement starter? What I was surprised to see when testing the starter on the bench (directly connecting it to a battery) is that is was spinning up and moving the pinion gear even if I was powering it only through the small control connector. Is this normal? I thought it would need the high current connector to be connected as well!

Thanks,

[SuperHerman]

I just took my XC90's starter to the local rebuild shop. $100 and they rebuilt the starter which included new brushes and solenoid. I think your issue is in the solenoid. I was charged $30 for the solenoid as part of the rebuild price.