Hi everyone, newb here. I have a 97 Montero (non-Sport) here in San Diego and I'm having a recurring issue that's giving me emissions problems, and I was wondering if anyone had any insight or advice. This is kind of a long post, if it's stupid or violates the board rules or etiquette let me know and I'll delete it.

About half the time the car starts without issue, especially first thing in the morning. If it doesn't start, it will do a few things:

1. Electrical comes on (lights, radio. windows work, etc). They'll pause when I put the key into start, but nothing happens under the hood.
   
2. Same as above but there's a single "click" from under the hood, like with a severely depleted battery (battery is brand new).
   
3. Same as above (both aboves) but the starter motor turns a few times, then turns off.
   
4. Same, but the motor turns over and dies.
   
5. Starts.

It starts right up when it gets to the last thing on the list, and will eventually start after sometimes dozens of attempts...it's literally NEVER not started, but it can take like I said dozens of tries.

The check engine light comes on once in a while, and I read a couple codes off of it. One was

P0115 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Malfunction

and the other was

P0300 Cylinder Misfire Detected Random Cylinder


Neither seem related to starting the car, but they may be related to emissions stuff. It's overdue for reg right now, and I took it Saturday to get smogged. It didn't even get to the tailpipe part because the diagnostic machine they attached said that several "monitors" weren't ready. The guy there said he can't even start the test. Luckily they didn't try and charge me.

Apparently it's set up whereby it has to be driven for a while every time the ECU gets reset, and it's possible my start-up problem is contributing to that.

My questions are:
Am I delusional thinking I can diagnose and fix this?
Should I take it to a mechanic, or just not bother and start looking for a new car?
Has anyone else had any issue like this? Any advice?

Again sorry for the long post and I sincerely appreciate anyone reading down this far.

 

test/diagnose starter, solenoid, grounds before getting too excited.

 

My guess that it would be the starter, sounds to me like the armature has a couple of dead spots on it.

 

Is it an auto or standard? If automatic make sure the shifter is pushed all the way up in park and or try starting in neutral when it acts up.

 

Could very possibly be the Neutral Safety Switch if its an automatic, as danz91crx has pointing out.

"This switch has now become a multifunction gear position sensor which provides feedback data to the body and engine computers, all related functions are then carried through the operating system. The neutral safety switch disables the starter operation when the vehicles transmission is not in neutral or park, and are equipped on automatic transmission vehicles only. A standard transmission car utilizes and clutch safety switch in place of the neutral safety switch which accomplishes the same objective. When a neutral safety switch fails it can cause the starter or reverse lights not to operate. Other complications can occur if a loose connection exists near the wiring connector, confirm this connection by removing the connector and reconnecting it."

Tip : If the starter is not working when the vehicle is in park, try pushing down on the brake pedal and putting the transmission in neutral, this will bypass the park circuit of the switch allowing the starter to operate if the park circuit has failed.
Tip: If a neutral safety switch becomes misadjusted, it can cause the switch to malfunction, confirm the adjustment of the switch.