Hey all,
Over the last few months I’ve been having an intermittent problem starting the rover. About 50% of the time when I go to fire her up instead of cranking over I just hear a winding noise from what I assume is the starter. It seems like it’s just not engaging and spinning freely. Typically wait a couple seconds until the spinning sound stops and try it again over and over until it starts. Most of the time it takes between 2-4 attempts but today it took somewhere around 30. I’ve looked around online and through the forums but can’t seem to find a post about this issue.

Here’s a video of the sound. It started on the second try this time.

 

Is the battery fully charged?
Are the battery connections tight?
Are the starter cables tightly secured?

 

Research your bendix. It sounds like its spinning but not coming out.

 

Not any obvious symptoms of low voltage or poor connection.

I believe Shane is right, the starter gear on these trucks mechanically engages the flywheel as a result of the spinning motion. My guess is that either the gear is all gunked up preventing it from engaging or the starter doesn't have enough juice to engage the gear. When I get the chance ill pull the starter off and see what's really going on and report back.