XtremeTuning

Hopefully someone here can help me diagnose a possible electrical issue. The car is an '88 coupe but its highly modified. The engine is a high compression 400ci running an Accel DFI Gen7 fuel management system.

I was out driving the car and it seemed to be bogging down pretty badly at higher RPM's. I pulled over and the car died. Started it up and it allowed me to limp about a mile before dying again. Tried starting it up a few more times and the starter just clicked... like the voltage was too low.

Got the car back to the house and charged the battery. Starter just clicks... the gear engages the flexplate but does not try to spin it... even with a battery charger on (+15.5V)... it just clicks.

One other weird thing... with the battery charged and the key in acc, the fuel pump runs constantly and the injectors continue to click on and off. You can here the constant clicking of the relays from the Gen 7 for the fuel pump and injectors.

The starter is a new high torque mini-starter designed for high compression engines. The battery is a few years but seems to hold 12+ volts. I even took the newer battery out of my Callaway to test it and it did the same thing (maybe not a battery issue).

Is the battery bad? Is the starter or starter relay a problem? Accel Gen 7 at fault?

Thanks,

-JRW

oldpro

just a thought . since you said the pump is running. I am wondering if the motor isn't hydro locked. pull all your plugs and see if the motor spins over.

knikula

kinda sounds like a bad ground... do the headlights go dim when you try to crank it?

Hot Rod Roy

If your injectors are clicking with the key in acc, your EFI is pumping fuel into your engine with the engine not running!! TILT!!! How do you spell HYDROLOCK?

WW7

:..That's what it sounds like to me also...Don't try starting it, you could bend or break something in the motor if it is hydrolocked...Do like mentioned above and pull a few plugs to check for gas in the cylinders.....It sounds like something in your fuel management system is malfuntioning..If you had a stock system I would say check your ecm because it may be bad...On your Accel system I don't know.....WW

Hot Rod Roy

XtremeTuning

I just wanted to post an update. Thanks for all of the replies.

The battery that was in the car was a 650 CCA Group 75 Interstate Battery from 2006. Even though it was reading 12.6V prior to cranking... it wasn't strong enough to start the car.... even while on the charger in starting mode.

I took a year old 700 CCA battery from my Callaway and it started right up.

The motor is high compression (12.5:1) and has a high torque mini-starter so I really need to have a strong battery.

What is the highest CCA battery available in a Group 75 case?

Thanks,

-JRW

Hot Rod Roy

I have an Interstate group 78 battery in my '84, which has 800 CCA. The diagonal brace that is above the battery had to be notched a little, and the end tabs at the base needed to be modified, but it does fit. The connections and the hold-down clamp are the same as the group 75 battery.

XtremeTuning

This will be the final update to this thread.

I purchased a 700CCA Group 75 battery and she started up right away. The relays clicking and starter issues were simply due to a weak battery... even with a charger attached. The new battery has a 5 year warranty!

The Group 78 batteries are a little bit bigger, but I can see how they would fit. The body panel that comes off to service the battery is no longer removable on my car due to some body mods so I'm not sure I would have been able to get it in.

The car started and ran, but still seems to have some issues... probably related to the tuning. I think it has been running rich and now seems to almost 'flood' itself under hard throttle. I will create a new post about the tuning.

Thanks,

-JRW