legacycentral bbs

Some times when I goto start the car it doesn't even crank the starter.

When it does this, I can always start it by undoing the starter plug on the starter and attaching my home made 8gauge cable and then directly starting it off the battery.

Whats the best way for me to trace it all the way back.

Like I said it is intermittent but at least 3 times a week. Totally random, can happen when the car is dead cold or if I just stop at a gas station after long driving.

Totally weird.

Did you check your starter contacts?

They appear to be fine.

It's not likely to be the ignition switch. The contacts inside the starter can be bad. It's a pretty common problem with aged Subarus. The contacts get worn down from the amount of starting cycles. The stock Subaru starters are also rebuildable with new contact points vs. a reman starter from the autoparts store.

Mine had the EXACT same problem. It ended up being the ignition switch from a botched security system install.

Most likely will be the starter contacts, though.