Engine won't start (no crank) until after 3-4 key turns?

[Cooper67]

All-

I'm new to this community and hopefully, I can get some help and advice on here. I've got a 2014 Forester 2.5i Limited with 88,500k miles on the clock. This vehicle has been a solid car for my wife when she bought it in 2014. Never had serious issues or mechanical problems except for replacing a couple of bearings, which I know are not reliable on this vehicle.

She said that in the last couple of weeks, she would put the key into the ignition and turn to start the car, the car would not crank until after about three and sometimes four turns before the starter engages and actually fires up the engine. She said that during the initial turns on the keys, all the indicator lights on the instrument cluster would light up like normal but no crank until after multiple tries. I had the battery tested under load and it's putting out normal voltage at 12.65V and it's a fairly new battery. I decided to drive her car and so far, no issues at all after 4 days. Car drives like a champ! Go figure I've looked on here to search for similar symptoms and have not run across this. So, if you have an idea of what this problem(s) could be, I'd love to hear from you. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

 

[Ecmbuster]

This Forester has a model year and trim level?

 

[Cooper67]

This Forester has a model year and trim level?

2014 Forester 2.5i Limited with 88,500k miles

 

[Ecmbuster]

And the engine is?
Automatic or Standard Transmission?

 

[Cooper67]

2014 Forester 2.5i Limited with 88,500k miles

Automatic

 

[Ecmbuster]

A network scan would provide faults as an aid.
The illustration indicates the starter at the bottom of the page.
Check all the battery negative ground points and any ground straps from the body to the Engine / Transmission.
The white wire at the stater is the power source that engages the starter. Monitor that circuit at the starter with an LED to test bulb.
No activity indicates a defective circuit before the starter, activity and non rotation indicates a defective starter.
You're welcome.

 

[Cooper67]

A network scan would provide faults as an aid.
The illustration indicates the starter at the bottom of the page.
Check all the battery negative ground points and any ground straps from the body to the Engine / Transmission.
The white wire at the stater is the power source that engages the starter. Monitor that circuit at the starter with an LED to test bulb.
No activity indicates a defective circuit before the starter, activity and non rotation indicates a defective starter.
You're welcome.

Wow! That's quite a schematic layout Ecmbuster! Thank you, I will take this with me to a friend who has better knowledge of how to test the starter this weekend. This will help him out