Starter problem
 

I was hoping someone could help me. I have an 83 944 that I recently did a motor rebuild on. When I tried to start the car the starter turned very slowly than stopped. I tried charging the (new) battery for a while before trying again. When I tried to start the car the starter smoked and went bad. I replaced the starter but the problem has remained.
The starter turns very slow than stops.
I have a new battery and starter and the cables look fine.
Can anybody help me with this problem?

Wait, has the engine been started before?

No, the engine has not been fired up yet. I was just trying to turn it over a few times to get oil pressure.

It's not the starter. Something is wrong in the engine. How much did you rebuild?

It was a complete rebuild. Had to get a new crank and all. Motor turns over just fine when I put a socket and wrench on the front pulley.
I remember this problem from before (back when the car was running). I am thinking it might have something to do with the electrical.
Any Ideas?

the electrical to the starter motor is just fine IF it's burning up the starter.

If you have cheap after market clamp on the cable fittings at the battery these could be causing considerable resistance as they corrode badly.

Take the spark plugs out and see if the starter can crank it.

I removed the spark plugs but no change.

Get that starter bench tested ...

If you can turn the engine by hand the starter should have no problem turning it over.............

Got the starter to spin up once. But now it went back to its slow rotation. This sounds like some kind of grounding problem.
I replaced both the battery leads.
I bypassed the ignition and got the same symptoms.
I don't know what it could be.

Have you had the battery tested? sounds like it might be a bit weak, even if it has enough volts. Or you can watch voltage at the battery while someone else is attemptinf to fire it up to see how much the voltage drops.

The battery is good. I even tried jump-starting and got the same results. Everything has been changed out (wires, starter, battery) but it still will not spin up.
Starter was bench tested.
Could this problem be with the main grounding on the car?
Does anybody have any ideas?

There is supposed to be two or more heavy woven ground wires from the back of the block to the chassis.

Please add your year and model to your signiture.

I found the problem. My grounding from the motor to frame went bad. Fixed it right up with a new ground wire.
Thanks for the help.
:)

Grounds! Why is it always the grounds!