Turn the key and hear a ping but no cranking...

[rspi]

A guy I met has a '95 850 that is having a real hard time starting. When he turns the key it pings but the starter does not crank the car. He will try about 30 to 40 times before it will finally engage the starter and fire up. Once it starts he can drive all day long, untill he turns it back off, then the same thing all over again.

[applcor]

It most likely needs a new starter, sounds as if the solenoid is engaging, but the starter is worn out and will not spin the engine over. Might check the starter relay first though, but the ping probably indicates the relay ok. One way to tell would be to isolate the location of the ping. If it is coming from under the manifold, then it is the starter.

[misha]

The reason for that is bad bendix.It's the part of the starter and it is replaceable part.Mine failed few years ago and my mechanic replaced it for me.Bendix is made by Bosch and i bought it directly from them.

...Or,you can just replace the whole starter with a working one from junkyard.

[applcor]

Junkyard bones are often good. That is what I did on my sons' 850 that had the same symptoms, cost me $20 and 1/2 an hour.

[rspi]

Thanks for the input. I told him that I thought the starter was probably bad and he said it was only about 4 months old. The ping does come from the starter area. Then he took a adjustable jaw wrench and reached down past the manifold and jumped the starter. I had never seen anything like it. He hit the contacts and the starter spin like a sip motor, didn't crank the motor but the starter sure spun.

Let me have him change it and see what happens. I started thinking it was something to do with the battery cable.

[misha]

...I told him that I thought the starter was probably bad and he said it was only about 4 months old.

If it is 4 months old it should be covered with a 1 or 2 years warranty.

[rspi]

He doesn't know where the paperwork is but he's going to try to take it back anyway.