Unreliable Starting

[funknut]

Been struggling with this off and on for a while now.

Car has been down for some upgrades/maintenance since last summer. Finally got it back on its wheels and now fighting a problem with starting. No electrical changes during that time, so I'm a little perplexed.

Car will start intermittently. It usually goes something like this:

- After car's been sitting for a while (an hour or more). Key on and start and it will crank over just fine. No apparent problems. Takes several cranks to fire, but it will start and idle just fine.
- If I turn off the car or it dies for whatever reason, 2nd or 3rd time I attempt to start I very often get either a rapid click at the starter, or sometimes nothing, not even a click at the solenoid.
- No matter what I seem to do, I can't seem to get it to crank over. Connected a jump pack, still no joy.

Newer Bosch battery, less than 18 mos old. I kept the battery disconnected and on a tender most of the time since last summer. Took the battery in and it tested bad, they sent me home with a new one that tested good. Still same issue.

Starter is a Powermaster mini starter. Similar vintage as the battery. Probably 15 mos old.

Looking for troubleshooting tips. At this point I think I need to rule out:

- starter relay (original)
- positive battery cable? (original)
- possibly starter itself?

Anything else I'm missing?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

Clay

 

[beanhead]

Had the same problem awhile back, turned out to be the positive cable connector at the battery...if you can, have someone turn the key while you (carefully!)bend/wiggle all the starting system wiring points...a good cheap place to start

 

[383man]

You need to do a voltage drop test on the complete starter system when the problem happens. Ron

 

[Dennis H]

Connections.

 

[burntorng70]

I had the same problem last month. New cables fixed it.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Yep, look at cables (both + & -) and also the terminals and how their connection is if they're the aftermarket type. I had a car with good cables but a loose + cable connection at the aftermarket battery terminal do the same thing.

 

[Mike67]

Some great suggestions, but not getting anything (@ solenoid) makes me wonder about your starting circuit.
If none of the other test work you may need to look and see if youre getting voltage every time to the solenoid, then work back, switch , bulkhead connector...also check your nuetral safety switch if applicable...

 

[oldbee]

All good suggestions; is mike67 correct that it won't crank over when jumping starter relay either? Then wiring from ign sw to everything at relay.

 

[funknut]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

I went over the cables and the positive one looks pretty beat up and may have a crack in the connector. I've ordered a new cable, and will check all the connections when I install it, hopefully this weekend.

If that doesn't work I'll try jumping the starter relay and work backwards from there.

Much appreciated.

 

[Daves69]

Clean and tighten up those bulkhead connections. Verify your chassis grounds.

 

[funknut]

Thanks for all the input.

Success!

I swapped out the starter solenoid and that seems to have solved the problem. I also cleaned and tightened all the chassis grounds, and did a good clean on the battery cable terminals.

The solenoid I ordered from summit ended up being the wrong one. I ordered one from Mancini and not only is it the correct one, but it looks a whole lot more well made.

I have a new positive battery cable that I'll be installing on an upcoming rainy weekend, but for now I'm out of the garage and enjoying my first cruise of the summer!

 

[Lionized]

Is your car the '68 Charger in your profile pic? If so, disconnect your battery ground and get underneath the dash to check/ensure the terminals of your ammeter gauge are tight. Lock-tite if possible.

 

[ckessel]

Typical old car electrical issues. Have a plan to replace wiring in the car plus add grounds in your future. Also plan on replacing switches, sensors, relays etc too. Nothing lasts forever and car parts break down eventually just like us humans.

 

[funknut]

Is your car the '68 Charger in your profile pic? If so, disconnect your battery ground and get underneath the dash to check/ensure the terminals of your ammeter gauge are tight. Lock-tite if possible.

Yep, that's my '68. Great tip, I'll add that to my list, thanks!

Typical old car electrical issues. Have a plan to replace wiring in the car plus add grounds in your future. Also plan on replacing switches, sensors, relays etc too. Nothing lasts forever and car parts break down eventually just like us humans.

Absolutely a great idea! I will be adding EFI in the future (hopefully this winter) and plan to do a full rewire then. Hopefully we can squeak by until then without too many more issues.

 

[ckessel]

Besides the year of my car, 65, and lots of added on/changed wiring over the years, my main wiring redo requirement wast that its going to be efi. Don't need to be having electrical issues that may take out expensive items. And on the switches, I had read some posts by a guy that had been chasing an electrolysis issue in the cooling system that took out two Ron Davis radiators, cha ching, plus numerous other items. The cause of the electrolysis was back feed through worn/defective ignition or hl switches of all things.

 

[Dennis H]

Besides the year of my car, 65, and lots of added on/changed wiring over the years, my main wiring redo requirement wast that its going to be efi. Don't need to be having electrical issues that may take out expensive items. And on the switches, I had read some posts by a guy that had been chasing an electrolysis issue in the cooling system that took out two Ron Davis radiators, cha ching, plus numerous other items. The cause of the electrolysis was back feed through worn/defective ignition or hl switches of all things.

Thanks for the reminder