johnette93 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 My 99 Legacy Outback (113k miles) is having sporadic starting issues that it will not replicate for my mechanic. Sometimes it will start right up, and other times it makes a delightful variety of noises but eventually starts. Here’s a sampling: The rrr rrr rrr, followed by silence Total silence A single click Sounding like it’s going to start and then cutting out before it does During any/all of these,the radio works. Sometimes I just get one of these, sometimes I will get all of them. Today I got all of them in the 7 tries it took me to get it started, which is the most it's ever taken. It used to only happen at the first start, if it was going to happen at all, but now it’s been happening on subsequent attempts later in the day. Temperature doesn’t seem to play a factor. It doesn't matter whether it's in gear or neutral. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 bad battery, .................or dirty battery cables?? Clean the battery cables, then re-attach to battery, see if it starts better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Yep, check the voltage drop at the Starter. Load Pro leads will help you out! http://brighterideas.com/portfolio/starter-voltage-drop/ Edited October 14, 2014 by lmdew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimaceNMike Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Sounds like the ignition switch. Mine had issues like that, had to turn the key about thirty times to get it to turn over. The rrr rrr doesn't sound like ignition switch though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadsubiedog Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I would start with the simple. check and clean both battery cables at both ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 And look at the starter contacts 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 1. battery 2. battery terminal/posts are corroded or loose 3. battery cables are corroded or compromised starter and ignition come to mind as said as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 All checked by a voltage drop check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 symptoms seem to point to 2 or more problems but, def. start with the electrical system. A 99 could have corroded cables and need starter contacts. If the car is an auto-trans, shifting to neutral would be a good test. If the car starts after whacking the starter with a chunk of 2x4 - that would sorta be 'diagnostic' for starter contacts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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