(Non) starting problem

[Mattel]

Hi All,

Firstly, let me apologise for not being around much or helping out. Unfortunately, I have had a very trying year. Anyway, up to now the car has been running extremely well. But now I have a starting issue.

Since I have had my weber installed I have always had a bit of an issue with it starting. Always needed a lot of the manual choke action in cold weather and a bit of warming up compared to the old Autochoke unit. I recently (2 months back) got a new battery which has worked well till now as the old one was not holding a charge and I only use the car twice a week on average and everything since then has been dandy.

But today I was out but my friend who is familiar with my car, borrowed the car while I was at work but could not get it started so when I got home I though A/ he's flooded the carb and drained the battery trying to start or B/I've left an interior light etc. So after getting jump started by a sweet young lass in a RAV4 (battery is tucked into the firewall BTW!) I got it started and drove around for 30mins to charge up. Coming home I parked the car and thought - yep, all good now. So it should start up first time now but all I get is click when I turn the key, I try again a few mins later and get a weary, slow turnover but not enough to get it started. Alternator light is not on, all well once jumpstarted and battery seems to be holding a good charge (lights bright etc.).

I'm thinking it may be starter motor perhaps? Coil? It's just not getting enough charge to the starter and feels a lot like before I got the new battery in it. I might go get the new battery checked just to make sure it's OK.

Any ideas would be great. thanks guys

[danzo]

Sounds like a classic case of not getting enough current to the starter motor - which causes it to click and not fully engage. I would say you have a bad battery. I know you got a new one recently, but it sounds like it's had a rough life. Sometimes even new batteries are substandard when you buy them - they may sit on shelves for long periods of time, maybe it has a defect, etc. Make sure your battery/starter contacts are clean, and if that doesn't solve it I would take it back to where you bought it and have it tested, then go from there. Good luck.

[Highlander]

You've probably done this already, but check the ground strap to the engine, make sure that there isn't gunk wicked up underneath of it causing a high resistance situation. Bad grounds are fairly common when a car isn't driven much (like my Sprites).

[Mattel]

Thanks Guys, I'll try these 2 today before the temp reaches 104° like 2 days ago - I'm working on the street.

[Mattel]

Cleaned up all terminals and retightened, took the 2 month old battery in for checking and it was flat after 30mins driving it still would not start, am putting it on trickle charging overnight, probably would be the battery I guess will charge it up and see if it is some kind of electrical leaching or not. thanks

[teranfirbt]

Any car this old I recommend completely replacing all of the major battery cables with new 4 gauge cable, especially the starter motor and alternator to battery positive. I also run a 4 gauge cable straight from - to both the engine and the chassis.

[tercelwill]

sounds like battery to me. but on the other hand 30 mins of driving won't fully charge the battery. did you trickle charge the new battery completely before installing it? its always a good idea i have destroyed a brand new battery because i figured the alternator would take care of it. the alt can push alot of voltage very fast and can warp the plates. you can also burn up the alternator with a perpetualy weak battery.

I would test the alt output while your at it. if you don't have a multimeter just test if the rear bearing is magnetized if it is its good.

My guess is that the trickle charge will do the trick though

[ARCHINSTL]

What gauge OE cables do our cars have? I looked at AutoZone's replacement battery cables for ours and they were 2-gauge - isn't that heavier than the 4-gauge you recommend? I am clueless with 'lectrical stuff.
Tom M.

[teranfirbt]

It is heavier. I use 4 gauge mostly because I have about 30 feet of it that I bought a few years ago... 2 gauge will work fine but is overkill.

[danzo]

Back when copper was cheap, I bought about 20 feet of welding cable I used to relocate a battery to my truck on a Saturn I used to own. Not the wire feed stuff, but what stick welders use for their probe/ground clamps. Worked great, very cheap (about $1/ft at the time for 4 gauge), and it comes in various sizes/resistances. I still have the cable and use sections of it all the time for ground straps and positive cables.

Mattell - did you trace the problem yet?

[ARCHINSTL]

OK to giggle here, but bear with me...
I must presume that our OE cables are smaller than 4-gauge - right?
So installing thicker 4-gauge will help the electron guys move along faster and make room for more of them - right?
This will give improved performance of the electrical thingies - right?
I would think this would be a recommended improvement for Winter-time - right?
While I was born after electricity was discovered, my 'lectrical knowledge comes from Dick & Jane Discover Electricity...
Tom M.

[teranfirbt]

You've got it right, although the biggest improvement comes from just replacing old, most likely corroded wire. Unless you're running some seriously huge audio, 4 gauge is ultimately a little overkill for a Terc, but is well worth it. During the recent cold snap in the Pac NW I had a few friends who had dead cars, but my Terc started right up every time.

[ctp13]

OK I have the exact problem But my Battery seems ok the Volt while running is 14.4 But sometimes I just get a Click but repeated trying starts the car.

I believe the Start solenoid is bad. I checked the wires the ground but sometimes - no start.

So I bought a starter heck mine is likely 25 years old .

I'll get back when it's in and I find out if it's something I missed.

But while buying the starter I find I need a new Radiator. AUG.

Chuck

[Mattel]

Hmmm... I hooked up the battery overnight to the mains and put it back in. Since then I have driven about 30kms and it has started everytime without a problem. So either I had a bad battery connection. (the earth from starter to block was seriously oily at the block end) or I have some sort of electrical parasitic loss. When I had the problem last time it was a bit like today 100° and I had been driving around with the AC on full - we shall see tomorrow if the same problem persists under similar conditions (as long as it gets me to the airport!).

Feliz Navidad! to all. Thanks for your help

[ctp13]

Sorry for the delay

I got the radiator in and took out the starter when I took the wire off for the start solenoid ( called Magnetic switch in manual) I found it was very corroded and it seems that having it under the starter allows anything that lands on the starter to flow around the round the round starter and drip onto the wires/connector .

If you have starting probs I would look there first I'm sure my starter is good and the corrosion was the cause.

Good luck

Chuck