First start of the season, well not really

by Dinomyte Mon May 21, 2018 7:21 am

Finally got around to starting the old girl yesterday, and what should happen after I disconnect the battery from the charger and get it in the car, I pump the gas twice, everything sounds good, and no starter, not a click, nothing dead silence as all the accessories are bypassed so the starter will engage. I let go of the key and all the accessories are there once again.

Anybody got ideas other than it's a bad starter?

Battery is good,
Starter was new all of three or four years ago when the engine was built, and she gets started about 2-3x a week in the summer
wiring to battery looks good too

Was thinking of shorting it or giving it a good wack with the hammer in case something is just sticking but then again I get absolutely no sound from it at all.

thanks for the thoughts

by Joe73 Mon May 21, 2018 9:17 am

Easy thing first. I'd load test the battery. Any auto zone or advance Auto will do it for free. If it load tests good, I'd use a voltmeter and check for at least 12 volts at the battery lug on the starter and the purple wire both with the key in the crank position.

by thatfnthing Mon May 21, 2018 9:54 am

It is possible for a battery to have enough juice for accessories but not crank the starter. Check the battery first. Do you have a spare you can test with? Or maybe an old-style (non-trickle) charger that you can hook up? You should be able to bump the starter with that.

by Dinomyte Mon May 21, 2018 9:32 pm

Thanks guys, I'll try those out Wednesday when I'm off, I was also going to take the starter in too, just so I don't make many trips the the PartSource store that does the testing.

by 77camino Mon May 21, 2018 9:53 pm

It’s not scientific, but my grandfather’s theory was to turn on the headlights before you try to start the car. While attempting to start the car, If the headlights go out the battery is bad and if they stay on it’s something else. It could be worth a try.

by REVINKEVIN / Mr. 600+HP Mon May 21, 2018 10:13 pm

Now that’s old school. I like that. After you try that, load test the battery.

by bracketchev1221 Tue May 22, 2018 1:00 pm

Give the starter a few taps. No noise could be stuck solenoid. Other possibility is bad ground.

by Iggy Tue May 22, 2018 1:03 pm

Check the connections at both the battery and starter. I had a 1972 Trans Am that would do the same thing to me, I found that a little corrosion at the connections would cause that problem - cleaned the connections and made sure everything was tight and it worked fine.

by Dinomyte Wed May 23, 2018 9:42 pm

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I especially like the turn the lights on and crank to see if it's the battery or the starter. That one took my back to high school shop class.

bracketchev1221 wrote:Give the starter a few taps. No noise could be stuck solenoid. Other possibility is bad ground.

You're the winner ! Stuck solenoid a couple of taps and another try at the key and she cranked happily.

Now the question is what to do about the fact that when I let go of the key after she's fired it seems that the starter takes a bit too long to disengage. You here the same sound a starter makes when somebody tries to engage it on an engine that is already running.

My guess is the solenoid is sticking and not releasing as quick as it should but not sure what I can do about it if anything other than a few more taps or a new starter.

by Joe73 Thu May 24, 2018 6:27 am

Grab a new solenoid at the store and swap it. After you unbolt it you give it a quarter turn and it comes off.

by Dinomyte Thu May 24, 2018 8:55 am

Thanks, I learned something new today! I'll get the starter off and take it with me.

by Joe73 Thu May 24, 2018 9:07 am

If you feel like it. When you get the solenoid off. Take the end cover with the bolts on it off. If you look underneath it, on the big stud, there's a disc there. Kind of like a ceramic or something. It is a contact for the solenoid. Take the disc out and if the other side is in better condition, flip it over and put it back together. That's usually the problem. Bad contact. You can even buy the disc at an alternator starter rebuilder if you have one nearby. Usually a buck or two.

by Dinomyte Fri May 25, 2018 9:20 am

Well got her out for a drive to the local cruise night yesterday, started the same with the starter not disengaging as quickly as it should, but when I went to leave the show it was a lot less "sticky". When I got home I tried her again and all seemed to work like it should.

I'm not thinking this means things are fixed but wondering if this is typical and only a matter of time before it happens again?

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