Won't start till third turn of the key.

[crl]

2000 D2 TD5 Auto. Trying to start in the morning and after work when the truck has been standing for hours turning the key I hear a "click", trying again I hear it, on the third attempt the engine starts. When it does start the starter motor does not sound like it is laboring as it would with low battery voltage.

On the second attempt I normally look at the warning lights on the dash that illuminate on start up and they dim considerably like the battery voltage IS low.

If I turn the engine off and start it a short time afterwards it starts first go like nothing is wrong.

Could it be the battery voltage is a bit low but the first two attempts to start get the chemical reaction in the battery going which brings the voltage up enough to get the engine started?

The truck recently had to ford water about .6 m deep to get home, (we've had a bit of rain up here) and the problem started after that. I thought maybe some connections somewhere might have got a bit of damp in them, does this sound feasible?

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

crl

[Ioan]

Hi there,

I had the exact problem some time ago in another car and it was the ignition switch that corroded inside. I took it apart, cleaned the contact cams and put it back together...everything was fine after.
I imagine there was no water that got into the vehicle? if it did, you should check the switch.
Next thing, I will take the starter out and spray it with W40 or some other degreaser...or just make sure that there is no corrosion inside...
My bet is that the water got into the starter and corroded the electro clutch mechanism that pushes the cog onto the flywheel teeth.
Start with looking at the starter. You shouldn't look for other short circuits as the power to the starter comes straight from the battery with no fuse and only its clutch is activated through your ignition switch.

Hope it helps
Regards

[KevinNY]

I had a similar problem recently, it turned out to be a corroded battery cable.