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Early Friday morning, I go to pull the corvette (1958) out of the garage so that I can clean it up....the garage that is. I figured since I had it out, I'd just drive it around the block...all is good. I get back home, park it on the driveway and there it sits until about 10pm. I go to pull the car back into the garage...turn the key and I get one "click" as if the starter god a 1-second pulse and then nothing. The same kind of symptom when the connection to the battery isn't good.
I have the driver's door slightly ajar cause I'm just going to pull it in about 10 feet and so the courtesy light is on. Each time I turn the key to start the car the light goes out...like it's a dead battery and the starter is taking all the current.
While it is sitting, I try the headlights...nothing....they don't come on....yet again the courtesy light is on.
I tried to jump the car.....and tried starting it again...nothing....mind you the jumper cables were on the battery cables (starter and ground - not just on the batter).
I remove the jumper cables going to my truck to jump I it and tapped them together...and got a petty good spark....did this a few times....so it doesn't seem like it's the battery.
I haven't dived into the schematic as it's late...in the meantime, thought I'd throw this problem out to anyone interested.
Suckie thing is all this tonight (Saturday) i'm having a big reveal party....and I can't get the thing started???? Of all the times for this.
Put a multimeter across the battery - it should read 12.6V or so....leave it on while cranking....if the voltage doesn't drop to about 8V-9V you have a bad connection or corrosion somewhere; if it drops lower your battery may have a defective cell.
There is a large copper "washer" behind the large screw on the starter solenoid and sometimes they get crapped up or worn....an old trick is to remove the solenoid and "flip" the washer around to provide a new contact area and then reinstall the solenoid.
If THAT doesn't get it going you could have a defective starter "drive"...this is what engages the starter into the flywheel...
Part #2 in this picture...they can be bought separately...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 08-04-2018 at 05:47 AM.
You have a battery issue. Bad battery or connection at the battery or ground. I bet if yiu disconnect the battery and jump to the cables it will start. 90 per cent chance bad battery.. Any chance you left the key on all day and the battery is so weak it won't even jump because it's using too much of the jump battery to try to recharge itself?
That battery is so low that it is preventing the power supplied through the jumper cables from doing its job. Disconnect the battery, use the jumpers to start the car to drive it into the garage. Charge the battery overnight with a regular plug-in charger and see if it returns to service, If not, it's new battery time.
It's California time and I haven't woken up. First thing I did was see if I got any bites on the Forum. I'll check the battery, however these things puzzle me if it is the battery...
1. When I short the jumper cables, they spark.
2. When I go to run on the headlights, they don't even come on dim
3. The courtesy light is on.
4. It started right up when I first pulled it out of the garage.
5. When I went to go start it...there as a split second click of the starter....then nothing....as if there was a bad connect to the battery. This might be why the courtesy light is on....as it is LED and doesn't need that good of connection....but no headlights??
I can understand the battery being really low and not starting the car, but I would thing at least the headlights would come on..especially when I put the jumper cables on the batter from my truck.
It seems to me that it might be a connect from the batter to the car as Frank mentioned. My bet is on Frank. But we shall see.
Of all days this has to happen. I'm having like 50 people over tonight for a reveal of the car, and there will be other corvettes here, and I can't get it started??
Last edited by jusplainwacky; 08-04-2018 at 10:22 AM.
Got it fixed....it was the connection to the battery. Just puzzled me that when I went to go jumper the car using two different jumper cables...nothing.
WHEW....I was dreading the worst like some short in the electrical system.
It didn't jump start because the fault was the connection of the cable to the battery terminal. Clamping a jumper to a loose cable isn't going make contact with the battery post any better. Man, that was just plain WHACKY!!
Glad you got it fixed.
It didn't jump start because the fault was the connection of the cable to the battery terminal. Clamping a jumper to a loose cable isn't going make contact with the battery post any better. Man, that was just plain WHACKY!!
Glad you got it fixed.
Hmmm....perhaps I am misunderstanding you...but I could have removed the battery and just connected the jumper cables to the truck and it should have started.
08-04-2018, 05:29 AM
58 - Electrical issue - any guess?
