I have a 2005 CTT, ever since owning it (the last 6 months) the starter cranks slowly when first engaged and then speeds up. The car has always started fine, but with the cold weather on its way I’m concerned I might have a problem.

Before I purchased the vehicle I knew the coolant pipes had been changed, I am wondering if this slow cranking is symptomatic of a starter that has been previously flooded with coolant?

I know changing the starter is a pain, so I want to make sure that is the problem.

Cheers, Stu

 

I think it's more symptomatic of a low battery. All of the failed Cayenne starters I've seen made grinding noises or continued to stay engaged after the engine started. Not to say it isn't a bad starter, but I'd start by checking your battery output (voltage and cranking amps).

 

When I first got the car a changed the battery and it made little difference, however, I did notice some acid overflow in the battery box. I thought that this could due to overcharging so I measured the voltage, at 14.1V, which according to the service manual is within range.
How would I measure the cranking amps? Is it something that the durametric reads?
Thx, Stu

 

Personally I consider the battery to be a maintenance item, much like air filters. I don't like waiting until it leaves me stranded to replace it. Check the date code on the battery and if it's still the original replace it.

Load tester is not something most of us have access to, and then again I don't have a lot of faith in the ones at the battery stores. In the last 6 yrs I've had 2 vehicle batteries (not in Porsche's) that after giving me trouble were deemed OK by the battery shop. They continued to give me problems so I went ahead and replaced them. No more problems after that.

YMMV

 

Yeah, you'll need a load tester to check cranking amps. A good repair shop should have one. How long ago was it that you replaced the battery?

 

I changed the battery about 6 months ago (Intersate battery).

 

Oops.... it's that reading comprehension issue again...

 

Your reading comprehension may not be up to snuff today, but you made a very interesting observation about load testing batteries. I have had many batteries load tested that I thought were giving me trouble. Almost without exception they all passed and within a short period of time, had to be jumped, charged, or just flat out died and had to be replaced. A new battery would be trouble free for a number of years. I don't trust load testing very much.

 

On the other side of the spectrum, I had a battery test bad, charged it, and it lasted for years afterward.
But a 6-month old Interstate shouldn't be giving you issues.

 

But more than just installing the battery out of the box, the terminals should be cleaned and wiped with a light smear of corrosion inhibiting grease. Bare Lead oxidizes quickly and can add a lot of resistance to the connection.

 

I had the following occur yesterday: turned the key, the starter cranked then stopped/stalled, turned the key again and it started just fine. I'm going to check the battery leads and ground connections under the seat, seems like there's a poor connection somewhere in the circuit.
Thx, Stu

 

I've had those symptoms on/off for a few months and it ended up being a starter.

 

I am pretty sure its the starter too.

I have replaced with OEM battery for 2nd start issue and again after 1 year, dealer said it was the battery. Since the OEM was free first time around I didn't care.

I bought one of the gold 110 dollar "good" batteries at my local autozone, had them test to be sure, and swapped it in the car and took out the old OEM one.

I took it, OEM, to Autozone and they said the battery load tested fine for CCA and was at spec. Do you want to return the new one? I kept the OEM battery and charge it once in a while, wasnt worth the hassle for me to swap it back.

Either way with the OEM and the autozone special, same problem.

3 months later at dealer, getting oil change, the tell me hard start, you need a new battery. I said nope, I will just wait for the car not to start then, and maybe then, will I put in a new starter. Decided to just live with it.

Like you reads over 14 volts and charging meter reads high in the car.

I have been living with it for 3 years, only regret is when I had the engine out of the car to do the bell housing leak, I was too cheap to spend the extra 450 and get the starter done.

My 2004 touareg has the original battery and starts the car fine and is about 9 years old. About 100% better than the cayenne, pretty sure those batteries are sourced from the same place Porsche gets them.

 

I had these same symptoms with my wife's 2004 Cayenne S, until one day it just wouldn't start anymore. It was the starter. Tried replacing the key switch, battery, brake switch and relays. No joy.

There are some great DIYs on this site and RennTech on replacing the coolant pipes, follow this to get to the starter. I had mine rebuilt, for $87. I also swapped the coolant pipes while I had the intake off.

Be aware, this isn't for the weak at heart, but well WORTH the savings.

Good luck.

 

Mine does the same intermittently. Gonna live with it until it dies 100%. Id rather replace my fuel pump and smooth out the idle.....