Now What?? Starter won't crank..
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Now What?? Starter won't crank..
After waiting a week to get the "Delco" HEI module for my 81, I slapped it in, and turned the key.... Nothing. The dome lights came on, the power antenna went up, the heater fan came on, with the key in the "on" position, but when I go to start, nothing.
I think my battery's charged, I stuck my charger on it until it said charged. I get 12.54 volts across the terminals, and like I said, all the accessories run.
I even hooked up my remote crank switch to bypass the key, and when I press the button, the starter does not crank, but the battery light comes on and my headlight buzzer (I think) buzzes weakly.
I also tried jumping it from my truck, with no success.
It was cranking over just fine a few days ago, but I haven't touched it since, cuz I was waiting for the module.
I'm leaning towards a bad battery, I think I'll get it checked tomorrow. I seriously doubt the starter or solenoid crapped out just from sitting idle.
Anything else I should check??
Thanks!
Dan
I think my battery's charged, I stuck my charger on it until it said charged. I get 12.54 volts across the terminals, and like I said, all the accessories run.
I even hooked up my remote crank switch to bypass the key, and when I press the button, the starter does not crank, but the battery light comes on and my headlight buzzer (I think) buzzes weakly.
I also tried jumping it from my truck, with no success.
It was cranking over just fine a few days ago, but I haven't touched it since, cuz I was waiting for the module.
I'm leaning towards a bad battery, I think I'll get it checked tomorrow. I seriously doubt the starter or solenoid crapped out just from sitting idle.
Anything else I should check??
Thanks!
Dan
#2
If she didn't want to go when you used your truck to jump start I would lean towards it being something other than your battery.
Remote cranck switch? Not sure how this is wired into the circuit but is there any chance this is interfering?
As a general rule check all your wiring - all connections should be tight and free of dirt & oxidation. Use sandpaper or a file to clean them up if you have to.
If you don't even get a click from the solenoid when you turn the key the solenoid is either not getting +12V or it is very weak. You might get away with cleaning & lubing it inside but it may need to be replaced.
If the solenoid clicks but the starter doesn't turn over it could be that inside the solenoid the contacts to send power to the starter motor are dirty. This can be fixed without too much difficulty by pulling the solenoid assembly apart and cleaning it up inside.
Good Luck let us know how it turns out
Remote cranck switch? Not sure how this is wired into the circuit but is there any chance this is interfering?
As a general rule check all your wiring - all connections should be tight and free of dirt & oxidation. Use sandpaper or a file to clean them up if you have to.
If you don't even get a click from the solenoid when you turn the key the solenoid is either not getting +12V or it is very weak. You might get away with cleaning & lubing it inside but it may need to be replaced.
If the solenoid clicks but the starter doesn't turn over it could be that inside the solenoid the contacts to send power to the starter motor are dirty. This can be fixed without too much difficulty by pulling the solenoid assembly apart and cleaning it up inside.
Good Luck let us know how it turns out
#3
Team Owner
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Test/check your new module. It sounds to me everything was working before you replaced the module.
#4
Racer
Thread Starter
Narrowed down a bit??
I thought of the module being bad too, so I unplugged everything from it, and took the cap & rotor off. Still wouldn't crank.
Interestingly enough, last night I finally found the starter checking flowchart in my service manual, and it suggested trying to crank with the headlights on, and see if they dim when it cranks. So last night I tried it, and the second time I turned the key, the engine started cranking! Unfortunately, it was 11:45, and I couldn't do any more.
So this morning, I checked it, it cranked, I reassembled the distributor, it cranked (slowly), hooked up the battery charger to top it off, and plugged in the wires to the distributor.
Now, my charger has an "Engine Start/Boost" mode, that supposedly helps to start cars with weak batteries, so I switched to that, and turned the key... Nothing.
I'm thinking that my charger is screwing me when I try that, so next time I get it to crank (tried the headlight thing again to no avail), I'm not going to use the Engine start mode.
Any ideas on why the charger would do that? I don't understand what it could be killing to make it not crank.
Thanks for the ideas, I'm still listening!
Dan
Interestingly enough, last night I finally found the starter checking flowchart in my service manual, and it suggested trying to crank with the headlights on, and see if they dim when it cranks. So last night I tried it, and the second time I turned the key, the engine started cranking! Unfortunately, it was 11:45, and I couldn't do any more.
So this morning, I checked it, it cranked, I reassembled the distributor, it cranked (slowly), hooked up the battery charger to top it off, and plugged in the wires to the distributor.
Now, my charger has an "Engine Start/Boost" mode, that supposedly helps to start cars with weak batteries, so I switched to that, and turned the key... Nothing.
I'm thinking that my charger is screwing me when I try that, so next time I get it to crank (tried the headlight thing again to no avail), I'm not going to use the Engine start mode.
Any ideas on why the charger would do that? I don't understand what it could be killing to make it not crank.
Thanks for the ideas, I'm still listening!
Dan
#5
Drifting
Member Since: Nov 2003
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St. Jude Donor '04 & '05
I don't think it's the charger itself. Sounds more like an intermittant connection to me. Perhaps when your putting the clips on the terminals is affecting an intermittant connection. Check/clean the battery cable connections and also the ground connection to the chassis.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
#6
Burning Brakes
Another thing you might want to try is check the voltage on the battery when you are attempting to start the car. You may have a bad battery. That happened on my daily driver.
It does sound more like a bad connection.
It does sound more like a bad connection.
#7
Racer
Thread Starter
Yeah, I didn't think to check voltage while *trying* to crank. I'll do that tonight before I drag the battery over to have it checked.
I'll start looking around at connections too. There are some pretty scary wires near the starter (non-switched 12V with 2" of bare copper showing!!) gotta get that fixed too, before it melts my car, house, dog, etc...
It still baffles me that this morning, it cranked 2 minutes before I hooked the wires to the distributor and the charger to the battery, then stopped again.
I'll update later.
Thanks!!
Dan
I'll start looking around at connections too. There are some pretty scary wires near the starter (non-switched 12V with 2" of bare copper showing!!) gotta get that fixed too, before it melts my car, house, dog, etc...
It still baffles me that this morning, it cranked 2 minutes before I hooked the wires to the distributor and the charger to the battery, then stopped again.
I'll update later.
Thanks!!
Dan
#8
Racer
Thread Starter
Battery Battery Battery
... was dead dead dead.
So I pulled the battery out & checked all the cells with my specific gravity battery checker, and 4 of the 6 cells said dead, and 2 were very low. I was able to charge it up & get the engine going before the battery died again, and it (the new HEI module) seems to work pretty well.
The battery is an everstart from Wal-mart with a 2 year warranty, the delivery date was June of 03, so It's getting pretty old. (Was in it when I bought the car)
So now after its done raining, I'll wander over to walmart & see if they'll give me some money back & I can go get a real battery.
Any suggestions on brand?? I'm thinking die hard or if I can squeeze it out of the CFO, an optima would be nice...
Thanks!
Dan
So I pulled the battery out & checked all the cells with my specific gravity battery checker, and 4 of the 6 cells said dead, and 2 were very low. I was able to charge it up & get the engine going before the battery died again, and it (the new HEI module) seems to work pretty well.
The battery is an everstart from Wal-mart with a 2 year warranty, the delivery date was June of 03, so It's getting pretty old. (Was in it when I bought the car)
So now after its done raining, I'll wander over to walmart & see if they'll give me some money back & I can go get a real battery.
Any suggestions on brand?? I'm thinking die hard or if I can squeeze it out of the CFO, an optima would be nice...
Thanks!
Dan
#10
Melting Slicks
Originally Posted by Easy Mike
Test/check your new module. It sounds to me everything was working before you replaced the module.
Fred