My starter recently went from starting my 77 Type 2 quickly (though with occasional stuttering hesitation) to cranking a few times before it catches. Since that time the bus occasionally refuses to start altogether. When I bought it in Canada last April, it cranked immediately even in the low teens, but before the recent trouble began it was starting slightly more slowly so I think the recent trouble is probably a natural aging starter issue. My mother has been driving it during this time (she finds the seats are easier on her arthritis than those in her Lumina - an interesting new reason to drive an ACVW), so all I know about the problem is second hand. She says that when it doesn't start, the engine doesn't even turn over; when it does start, it starts just as it's been starting recently, with a couple of cranks and then a sturdy (but sometimes hesitant) start. The problem has occurred in both colder and warmer weather over the past few weeks, so it doesn't seem to be temperature related. The problem has begun since the installation of a new alternator and a new (to me) computer a few weeks ago, and the bus hasn't had the same power it had before the new computer - I've been planning to return it to the shop with complaints as soon as I can get my squareback running again (I know it has a starter problem). So does it read as though a new starter will solve my starting problems or do dying starters not tend to bounce so between working and failing?
Thanks,
mez