69dodgesuperbee
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,
I desperately need your help. I have a 1969 Super Bee with a 383 and automatic transmission. About three years and 3,000 miles ago I pulled this car out of a barn, tore it down to the body shell, completely rewired it, installed all new electrical components, rebuilt the engine, transmission, all new rubber bushings, on and on. Everything on the car is new and 100% stock other than a Pertronix electronic ignition in the stock distributor and a Pertronix coil. It all works great except for one thing. Almost exactly a year ago and about 600 miles ago, it started to act like the battery was almost dead when you would turn the key. It happens randomly. You would hear the solenoid in the starter just rapidly clicking. Sometimes it will engage the motor after clicking for a fraction of a second and sometimes it will take up to six or more cycles of turning the key and just having it click. It does eventually start and has not left me stranded. For a while I would test the voltage of the battery before each start and it was never lower than 12.2 volts (after sitting a few weeks) and as high as a little above 13 volts. I have load tested the battery numerous times on three different battery load testers and it tests good every time. I have twice followed procedures outlined in some vintage Mopar videos on you tube for testing alternators and it tested good each time putting out 20+ volts. I have instated two modern electronic voltage regulators and have tried the original points style. I have tried two different ignition switches, five starters. I have checked the manufacturer of the starters to be sure they all didn't come from the same rebuilder. I have wrapped the started in header wrap to rule out heat from the exhaust. I have disconnected I believe all grounds, cleaned them and reconnected them. I have had the car to a shop several times to see if they could find anything. They were able to recreate the scenario (I am good friends with the mechanic and was there for all the tests and witnessed everything so if you have questions about what they did, I will be able to answer them) and did an amp draw on the battery cable. He concluded the starter was drawing way too much voltage (it buried the gauge) when it would make the clicking noise. When the car started fine, amp draw was normal. I'm viewing this as a last ditch effort because if I cannot trust the car to drive it, I will simply sell it. I really don't want to. I want to drive it more!!! Thanks for your help, Ken.
I desperately need your help. I have a 1969 Super Bee with a 383 and automatic transmission. About three years and 3,000 miles ago I pulled this car out of a barn, tore it down to the body shell, completely rewired it, installed all new electrical components, rebuilt the engine, transmission, all new rubber bushings, on and on. Everything on the car is new and 100% stock other than a Pertronix electronic ignition in the stock distributor and a Pertronix coil. It all works great except for one thing. Almost exactly a year ago and about 600 miles ago, it started to act like the battery was almost dead when you would turn the key. It happens randomly. You would hear the solenoid in the starter just rapidly clicking. Sometimes it will engage the motor after clicking for a fraction of a second and sometimes it will take up to six or more cycles of turning the key and just having it click. It does eventually start and has not left me stranded. For a while I would test the voltage of the battery before each start and it was never lower than 12.2 volts (after sitting a few weeks) and as high as a little above 13 volts. I have load tested the battery numerous times on three different battery load testers and it tests good every time. I have twice followed procedures outlined in some vintage Mopar videos on you tube for testing alternators and it tested good each time putting out 20+ volts. I have instated two modern electronic voltage regulators and have tried the original points style. I have tried two different ignition switches, five starters. I have checked the manufacturer of the starters to be sure they all didn't come from the same rebuilder. I have wrapped the started in header wrap to rule out heat from the exhaust. I have disconnected I believe all grounds, cleaned them and reconnected them. I have had the car to a shop several times to see if they could find anything. They were able to recreate the scenario (I am good friends with the mechanic and was there for all the tests and witnessed everything so if you have questions about what they did, I will be able to answer them) and did an amp draw on the battery cable. He concluded the starter was drawing way too much voltage (it buried the gauge) when it would make the clicking noise. When the car started fine, amp draw was normal. I'm viewing this as a last ditch effort because if I cannot trust the car to drive it, I will simply sell it. I really don't want to. I want to drive it more!!! Thanks for your help, Ken.
