|
My guess is your Camry is politely warning you your starter is about to fail completely. A couple of spring loaded components inside the starter, called brushes, press against another component called the commutator to complete the electrical circuit that makes the starter motor spin when you shoot the juice down there via your ignition key. Brushes are made of graphite and eventually wear down to a point where they cannot complete the electrical circuit.
Cheap fix for a starter is to pull it out and replace the brushes yourself.
Seems to me like you are at the point where your brushes have worn to their limit and you have just been lucky that the starter works when hitting the key a few times. When metal components are cold, they contract. When they are hot, they expand. Thus, when your car sits overnight or a few hours, the engine and attached starter have cooled and the worn-out brushes have shrunk away just enough from the commutator to make your start a lucky one if it happens at all. When your normal operating temp engine has warmed up the starter enough to expand the components inside your starter, you are getting better contact, by virtue of expansion, between the all-important brushes and commutator, thus easier to start.
Of course, don't overlook the condition of your battery and the connections on your battery. The positive terminal on your battery has a direct line to your starter and is where your starter motor actually draws the juice to make the motor spin. Your battery is just as important to the starter motor's operation as are those little brushes inside it.
Hope I've helped.
|