Starter Booster, I hate to revisit this topic, but... Options

[black914]

I have found this topic through a search but my question remains unanswered! I went down to the Queen City yesterday to do a repair on my son's 924S. The trip is essentially 85 miles of 65 miles per hour non-stop driving. When I arrived and rested for about thrity minutes, we decided to go get something to eat first, got in the 914, turned the ignition switch and no turnover. The fuel pump was operating but the starter was not getting the signal. I let it cool for a while, attempted to crank it again and it fired right away. We ran a few errands and made about three stops requiring the engine to be turned off and restarted and I encountered no problems. Went home later in the day around 6:30PM, traveled the miles at 65 steady for about one hour, stopped to get a cola, got back in, attempted to crank it, but again, nothing. Fortunately a good samaritan help me push it off and I got it cranked okay. I got home safely.

I notice that Bosch has encountered this problem before and they have offered a starter booster kit that cures the hot starter problem by boosting the voltage to the starter. My 914 has a remanufactured starter (don't know the age because it was installed by the previous owner).

Would this cure my problem? Apparently it has been a problem in the past or Bosch would not have offered a cure.

Comments?

[914GT]

I don't know about the hammer idea, but I know there have been times I wanted to take a hammer to the whole damn car. When they designed these cars, or after the bean counters got done analyzing where to cut costs, they did not have a lot of margin built in. The electrical system is a known problem area due to the small wire gauge causing excessive voltage drops. The starter circuit up through the ignition switch is a good example. When everything is in good condition it will work in most parts of the country. But with wear and tear on the ignition switch, oxidized grounds, a worn starter, and high temperatures what little operating margin you had disappears. I had a hot-start problem with my V8 on a 110 deg. day even with a new ignition switch, new IMI starter, and a fresh battery. I took care of it my wrapping the exhaust pipes to reduce heat transfer to the starter motor, and installed the relay for good measure. The relay eliminated the 3 V drop I was seeing to the starter solenoid, and it makes sure the solenoid engages well even on the hottest days here in Arizona. The whole idea is to improve the car's reliability as much as possible.