perlfather

After not having driven the car for a ~ 1 week there is no engine turnover when turning the key to the start position. After a few off-on turns of the key the starter engages and the car starts quickly. Once warmed up or when driven frequently there is never an issue - only when the car has not been driven a few days. I am wondering is it the starter solenoid or the starter switch (behind the key lock). Anybody experienced a similar intermittent problem?

FeralComprehension

These cars are old, all those are legit suspects.

See also the wiring at the starter- known issue.

Silvertarga

Clean battery connects at battery and chassis ground, clean starter motor connectionsand ground strap at transmission (probably best to replace that)

Sounds like corrosion is keeping good contact from being made until you "burn it off" by turning ignition switch

I had same problem and did what you are doing until the yellow wire to starter solenoid had to be replaced, it had intermittent contact/internal break

CarPartsDiscount.com

It could really be a number of things. You might want to do some troubleshooting with a Power Probe to see what you find.

here are some common items that could be the cause

(i didnt see what year you had so these listings might be slightly off)

https://www.carpartsdiscount.com/cat...html?3594=2839
https://www.carpartsdiscount.com/cat...html?3594=1025

Again, these are just some of the possible suspects. Before you start throwing money at it trying to find the problem. I would recommend getting a Power Probe and start working from one end of the wiring to the other end. If you have not used a a Power Probe before I highly recommend getting one. It makes such a difference when diagnosing electrical issues.

perlfather

Bingo! I started with the easiest part - clean battery terminals thoroughly, retighten terminals and voila - problem solved. Car now starts without any delay. Thanks