Porblems starting a 1993 Dodge Intrepid (PLEASE READ)

How old is the battery? have you tried to jump it from a known good vehicle/battery? Were there any other symptoms of the problem (alternator idiot light?)

When you said it always cranked a few times before starting, if the cranking was strong and continuous, then this sounds to me like an unrelated problem, possibly due to fuel delivery (dirty fuel filter, weak fuel pump, or leaking regulator) or maybe fouled spark plugs (when was it last tuned?) to me.

If the alternator and belt (not slipping) are good, then I'd clean up the battery terminals with a battery/wire brush and replace the battery or at least take it somewhere to have them check it out under load.

Good luck!

Bob

I agree...starter issue. Unless that battery cable simply had a loose connection, drew more current through resistance from a bad connection under load, or some such thing, and that caused the charring. That isn;t likely though.

Try starting with the headlights ON...If they dim dramatically when cranking, it is more and more a starter problem, drawing excessive current.

Hmmm - I disagree. Almost *any* problem that causes starting problems will cause the lights to dim when attempting cranking. For example: a bad connection or a weak battery (either due to weak battery or alternator not charging battery) will cause the lights to dim on cranking. I'm not saying a bad starter can't cause that too, and in fact, the OP's problem may be a bad starter, but the lights dimming is hardly a discriminator to narrow it down to a problem starter.

Before I went to the trouble and expense of replacing the starter, I would whip out a mutlimeter and check for voltage drops (i.e., a bad connection), and while you're at it, check the voltage coming out of the battery itself while cranking and while not cranking to check battery health and charge condition.

A current draw measurement would show if the starter was pulling too much current, but most people don't have the equipment necessary to do that. But I would at least rule out a bad connection before replacing the starter using a multimeter.

I wonder if an auto parts store can do a current draw check on the starter?

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

I disagree. Here's a short list of starting problems not accompanied by dimming lights when attempting to crank:

-Faulty battery cable-to-starter connection

-Faulty starter motor ground

-Faulty solenoid contacts in starter

-Dead segment in starter armature

-Faulty contacts in starter relay

-Faulty ignition switch contacts

-Faulty starter relay trigger ground

-Blown fusible link in starter circuit

-Stern

Perhaps I overstated my case. How about if I said that the more common/likely problems that could cause the symptoms that have been described would not be starter related? Perhaps you would agree that lights dimming at attempted startup would indicate a bad starter with less than a 50% probability, certainly not anywhere near 100% as was implied?

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Yep, I'd surely go along with that.

-Stern