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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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Hello all I am having a problem with my engine cranking. After I first rebuilt it it cranked over fine but I had been having problems with it starting so it was being cranked a lot finally it got to where it would not crank over very fast. I have charged the battery just changed out the starter cause the brushes were getting bad. Just a couple days ago when I was cranking the engine trying to get it started
I didn't realize that the connections at starter silinod were loose so it had started to melt the insulation around the wire cause it got so hot. I have since cleaned all connections and made sure all were tight I have tried replacing the starter silinod and still it will not crank one revolution. When those wires got hot could it have burned them up to where not much voltage can go through? Also after reign to get it to start with nothing but it clicking the wire was already getting warm. I am not sure what else to do other than change the positive wire as after it got hot it never wanted to crank over. Thoughts and advice would be helpfull.
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By miker - 10 Years Ago
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So, the starter is new, and the battery is charged (did you have it load tested?).
Is the timing so far off its firing so soon it stops it?
Did the main wires-battery to solenoid-solenoid to starter- ground to starter, all get hot, or only at one loose connection.
I've not seen it happen on a car, but overheated crimp connectors can expand, making them loose when they cool. Or the fine strand wire might have been damaged inside the crimp.
What's it crank like with the coil lead pulled, or the plugs out. And it's always possible you got a bad solenoid or starter, even though they're new.
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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The starter was tested at the parts store. I have not tried cranking it with the plugs out. For the most part it just clicks. As for the wires when I noticed the wires were loose I checked all the wires and all were hot but the battery to the silinod was the hottest. Once I tightened them up the positive from the battery to the silinod is still getting hot. I am gonna replace all the cables in it just to mark that off of things to check cause the is the only part left in the system that has not been changed.
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By Pete 55Tbird - 10 Years Ago
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Try this. Turn on your headlights and try to crank it. If the lights stay bright your battery is OK and the problem is downstream from it. Pete
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By miker - 10 Years Ago
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Ray, just start with the one bad cable. If it failed, there shouldn't have been enough amperage flow to damage the rest of them.
Pete, that's a great idea.
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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Well got up this morning and put all new cables on cause it needed done anyways. Once again all it did was start to rotate and than it just clicks. After a few times I noticed a higher pitched whine that wasn't there earlier. Than I saw that the starter was smoking. So that means I am getting power to the starter. My confusion is I saw the starter being test run at the parts store to
See the differance between the old and the new one. So what would cause it to start smoking? Is the drive gear possibly jammed? Like I said it rotates a little bit at first.
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By Larry Short - 10 Years Ago
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Ray,
I've had problems with the starter on one of my race cars doing similar things. I changed starters, wires and solenoids. turned out to be I wasn't using a
heavy enough battery cable to starter. Changed the cable and no more problems. Don't know if this is your problem but it's a cheap thing to try. Good Luck.
Larry Short
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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Well it started fine right after I rebuilt the engine but due to so much cranking the starter wore out. So I put a new starter on it. The new positive cable I put on was 4 gauge wire. But what would cause the new starter to start smoking? Could the drive gear be causing a problem? Does it kick out like a bendex gear. If so could that not be kicking out.
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By Steve - 10 Years Ago
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At this point, I would remove the spark plugs and try turning the engine over by hand using the crank pulley bolt.
It should turn quite freely. Then use the starter to do the same thing. This way you are eliminating some mechanical cause for the problem.
If it turns freely by hand with the plugs out, but drags with the starter, then the most probable cause is the starter and connections. Even though the parts store tested it, the stater could be bad....
Do the load test with the lights on too as was suggested.
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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Ok I will try that. I am restoring the truck so the lights do not work. However I may take the battery in and have it load tested.
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By Steve - 10 Years Ago
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Good. Verify a strong battery....
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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Ok I took spark plugs out and tried to turn by hand it was very hard. Which I don't understand cause I had it runny fairly good a couple weeks ago before my radiator got a leak in it. I did see fuel on the spark plugs which I did suspect cause when you choked it the compression rose. (It would crank fine than it had to work really hard to overcome it) I was able to crank it over by hand pretty easy though. What would cause it to get so tight. Anyways after rotating it by hand 3-4 revaluations I used the starter and it cranked for a bit before the battery got weak. I swear I just had it charged up and it lost its charge. Walmart batteries are so cheap it was brand new too. I had a bit of fuel spit out but not a huge amount. As I have stated before it is a rebuilt carb with new needle and seat.
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By charliemccraney - 10 Years Ago
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If it is difficult to turn by hand with the plugs out, then something is binding.
Since the starter is questionable, even though it is new, remove it to see if the starter is stuck and to see if the engine turns easily without the starter in place.
And since you've been doing a lot of cranking at low rpm, it might be wise to pull the distributor and turn the oil pump manually to ensure that the bearings are lubed.
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By chiggerfarmer - 10 Years Ago
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The starter drive depends on centrifugal force from the engine starting to disengage itself from the flywheel. If the starter has been engaged and the engine did not start, sometimes turning the engine by hand will also turn the starter. This may account for the extra effort to turn it by hand. I think you still have a high resistance somewhere, or a starter problem. Check all ground connections. If you mentioned it was 6 or 12 volt, I missed it. A 4ga battery cable is nowhere nearly large enough for 6 volts. Also, starter spin tests that do not load the starter do not prove much.
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By Steve - 10 Years Ago
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If the starter is still engaged as may be the case as suggested, you will hear it as your turn the crank.
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By miker - 10 Years Ago
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If the starter was smoking, it's going to have to come out anyway. That will clear the solenoid. I like The idea of preluding the motor, again. Then see how hard it is to turn. Even with the plugs out, there's a lot of friction from the valve train. If it turns easy, good. If not, you can loosen the valves, get the pushrods out, and have only the bearing and ring friction. That might help isolate the problem.
You also mention the engine not cranking, and "clicking". I'm guessing you mean the solenoid is clicking. That's a low voltage indication. That puts us back to the battery-solenoid wire, or the grounds. Or a battery that won't pass a load test.
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By Noob - 10 Years Ago
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No prescription here, but a "similar" experience... restoring a 62 Lincoln with a big ole 430 in it... reputably rebuilt... would crank abit and then stuff would start melting, smoking, groaning... never got the motor started. Changed out stock ground/hot cables to 0 ga... that should do it. Nope. Turns out, I had not properly cleaned the paint/primer from the ground strap mounting areas, and the high amps were just raising hell. Remedied, but the kicker was that I had been cranking a new motor at low rpm's for so long diagnosing the problem, and of course dumping so much fuel into the intake, I had washed the cylinders, diluted the oil, and worn the rings. My motor builder was, let's say, very disappointed in me. Live and learn... now back to your normally scheduled programming.
Cheers... Brian
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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I took the starter back in and it is weak so I will get it tomorrow and try it out.
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By Rusty_S85 - 10 Years Ago
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You can try getting a 6v starter. That's what I was given when I took my 12v starter in to be rebuilt. Was told its too much to rebuild it cost wise but he custom orders new starters with 6v field coils (I figure he just ment he ordered 6v starters) but he said a 6v starter will turn these engines over faster than a 12v starter would. I have to agree as I cant let up off the key fast enough before the engine is running. Only thing I don't like is the "Zing" as the bendix is thrown out once the engine starts running.
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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One other question the ground strap from the driver side head to the firewall would that be tied in to the starting circuit as a ground cause the insulation is all worn off and it's fairly corroded. So I might replace that tomorrow as well if it's a ground for the starter.
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By Rusty_S85 - 10 Years Ago
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The only ground for the starter is the negative battery cable. That is why the negative cable is bolted directly to the block. All grounds between body and engine is to connect the body grounds to the engine and thus to the negative battery cable.
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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Well I finally got it figared out. I went through 3 starters before I got one good one. But it cranks good and fast now.
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By RayCarter18 - 10 Years Ago
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Well I finally got it figared out. I went through 3 starters before I got one good one. But it cranks good and fast now.
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