Daughters 2006 Dodge ram 1500 2Wd 4 door 3.7L automatic.
Late winter 2018 she had slow /no crank issue. She replaced the battery. Didn't help.

Then she contacted me.
Alternator had died (tested on parts house test bench), I replaced it.
Still had a slow crank condition (engine turns over very slow or not at all when cranking, like the batt voltage is low) I tested and got good voltage at the starter under load.
I replaced the starter... fixed the problem. Yea!

But...

Now the starter seems to be hanging when engaging... does this... see video she sent me below.
But ONLY in cold weather. It did it some last spring but worked perfectly all summer. Now with cold weather it is doing it again, sometimes takes 3 or 4 tries before it cranks. The old one never did this. I find no separate relay, all in the starter I believe.

Before I just pull and replace the starter or maybe clean, inspect the flywheel teeth and lube the gear and shaft I thought I might ask for thoughts from the collective here.

Sorry about the background noise... sounds like a truck was driving by. The problem is the "crunch" sound at about 7 seconds in.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/8F2xqyl0pfc


UPDATE:
So I looked everything over again with your suggestions in mind and all looked good. Pulled off the starter, VERY easy to do, two easily accessible bolts, one plug on wire and the Battery cable, didn't even have to jack up the truck. Starter looked good, including the gear teeth on the starter and flywheel but yet it was still hanging and stalling out when trying to crank when cold.
I took it back to Advance Auto and laid it on the counter intending to order a New, not rebuilt one. Counter guy picks it up, looks at the label and puts it back down. I START to try and explain what it is doing but before I could do that he just walks off! He does come back, with a new one... says there you go. Still within the one year replacement warrantee, didn't even test the old one. No charge, no questions ask, except to see my ID and pulled up the original purchase on his computer to print a no charge ticket.

The new one is working perfect... even when well below freezing.

Thanks ALL!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cparktd,

First off, check all cables and connections. If this were my car, I’d undo and clean all connections.

There is an initial high resistance. It’s possible that the starter solenoid is not fully engaging on first try.

IS this a new OEM starter....or some rebuilt Advanced auto parts/pep boys starter? If it's the latter, I'd probably think it's the starter.....

"Look up on Google or Youtube "voltage drop test".

Rebuilt starters have a short life in my experience. If it's a rebuilt that is.

Solenoid is sticking. Not making the starter engage before spinning.

Sounds a bit like a drive engagement problem, but it sounded good on the second go or once it fully engaged. I'd try higher voltage, such as with jumper cables and see if it worked flawlessly then. It could be that the solenoid doesn't pull the drive fully into the ring gear when the voltage is lowered due to temps.

Maybe battery cables have a bad connection, you can bypass them with jumper cables and see if it does better and to locate weak current transfer location.

quote:

Originally posted by Shifferbrains:
First off, check all cables and connections. If this were my car, I’d undo and clean all connections.
There is an initial high resistance. It’s possible that the starter solenoid is not fully engaging on first try.

quote:

Originally posted by Mikito:
"Look up on Google or Youtube "voltage drop test".

Done last time and no problems found but I will do again.

*

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
IS this a new OEM starter....or some rebuilt Advanced auto parts/pep boys starter? If it's the latter, I'd probably think it's the starter.....

quote:

Originally posted by MattW:
Rebuilt starters have a short life in my experience. If it's a rebuilt that is.

This is a rebuilt from Advance Auto. I am pretty sure i did not buy the one with an extended or lifetime warranty but she says she has the receipt. I expect it would work just fine on their tester anyway…

Check the grounds too. Not just the battery connection, the other end and chassis to the engine.

quote:

This is a rebuilt from Advance Auto.

A faulty rebuilt starter from a discount chain? Say it ain't so! That's what it sounds like to me. (Obviously you want to eliminate other causes first.) Even from NAPA, a brand you pay extra for, I don't have great luck with reman starters or alternators. And don't get me started on power steering pumps.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Check the grounds too. Not just the battery connection, the other end and chassis to the engine.

Quickie test for the ground: take one end of a jumper cable (the black/negative one for simplicity's sake), hook it to the negative battery post, hook the other end of the same cable to a good solid part of the engine, and see what happens. (Ignore the other cable.)

I would bet it’s a bad starter. See if they’ll refund your money, then go buy a NEW OEM starter, if you can find one. It’s been my experience that most rebuilts are for shit, even the “lifetime warranty” ones.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I would bet it’s a bad starter. See if they’ll refund your money, then go buy a NEW OEM starter, if you can find one. It’s been my experience that most rebuilts are for shit, even the “lifetime warranty” ones.

I'm willing to bet that they get tons of starters from junkyards and such and they simply test them and if they work on the bench, they spray paint them, and call them rebuilt!

Or, if they fail, they replace the one part that's broken and then throw it in the box with the old springs and windings still in it etc.

I've gotten to where I buy no parts from Advanced auto or any of those and just always buy OEM parts.

My guess:

Either the starter relay has worn down, or an improper signal is being received by the multiplexer, or the switch in the column has worn out.

I'll go out on a stretch and ask has the instrument cluster ever been replaced or is the truck started with the fan on the high setting often?

What really sucks is if the part is difficult to replace. Some starters are located under or behind intake or exhaust manifolds, for example.

UPDATE in OP