Nomad09

Last weekend I fired up the 77 after its long winter nap, took it for a run to make sure everything was a-ok.Went to start it last night and nothing, battery was full charge. Today I figured I would have a better look, and after I taped the starter/solenoid with a hammer, I get clicking now. But it won't turn over. I guess I have to pull the starter, but looking for advice on other things to look at as well. This may or may not be related, but last summer I was suffering from a parasitic draw in that the battery would be dead every couple of days, I didn't get a chance to fix it last year.

toobroketoretire

Okay, I'm going to share some VERY valuable facts with you. Delco Remy says 95% of ALL electrical problems are a result of a bad connection. You say your battery is fully charged but how do you know that? I suggest pulling the battery cables off your battery and use one of those inexpensive wire brushes to clean the inside of the terminals and the posts of the battery down to shiny lead. Then before reassembly coat the connections with NoCo to prevent oxidation. Its the lead oxide (dark lead) that prevents current from flowing.

Also I recommend replacing the lousy OEM aluminum engine-to-frame ground cable because after about 20-25 years the insides of the aluminum eyes get corroded to the point in which current won't flow. The cable looks fine and dandy on the outside but its the inside that kills it. Just an ordinary 4-gauge copper cable with copper eyes will do and everyone stocks them for about $5 to $6.

Nomad09

I tested the battery, even after a 5 second draw it was still testing as good. The battery was new last year and I don't store it in the car over the long cold winter. I never thought of checking the ground cable, but that would make sense all those yea snof heat and vibration could cause problems with the ground.