My Vette will start right up 50 times with no problem. Then one time I'll get in, turn the key and NOTHING. There is power to the rest of the car but nothing from the starter, no clicking, no slow turning, NOTHING. After about 20 minutes of staring under the hood and checking connections and scratching my head it'll start. It's not heat soak because the last time the car was parked at work for at least 4 hours. Besides, the starter is wrapped in heat shield. I need help. I'm losing confidence in taking my car out for a drive without leaving it running.

 

One thought is cables at the battery - use a flashlight to make sure they are completely connected. I had this same problem and the cables were tight but movement in the car moved the battery just a tad so they were not 100% fit.

 

I did have the same problem in my 78, it was a large harness plug where the starter extension harness plugs into the main harness. On mine the harness plug was located right by the rr corner of the passenger side head. I found the problem by accident as I lightly moved the plug while the car was running and I was adjusting the disributor (timing) and the engine cut out. Fixed it and never had the mysterious "dead starter" syndrom again[IMG][/IMG]. The harness plug was old, hard & cracked and the clips were no longer functional that held the two plug 1'2's together. Good luck.

 

Pardon my ignorance. What is "heat soak"? Once a while my car has a hard time starting when the car is warmed up. I let it sit for 20 mintues and it eventually starts up again. Is this a sympton of "heat soak"? Thanks.

 

It is a symptom of heat soak. When the starter heats up, stuff starts expanding in the starter due to the heat causing "issues". The use of headers can induce the issue due to close proximity to exhaust heat. I cured my issue with the use of a geared mini-starter as the heat shield I was using was not enough.

 

The copper-plated aluminum battery cables used in some years of C3s can cause problems like that due to internal corrosion.

Yep, that's it. The small GM gear-reduction starter was designed to reduce those problems.

 

Thats probably where your problem is. Open the connector up and take a look for burns, oxidation etc..
If it was battery connections or fuse links or any of that you would see indications in the lights etc.
It will either be that connectoe or Ign switch or Neutral switch.

 

crappy starter connection

disconnect battery
remove wire from starter
wire brush connections
rehook everything
drive on

 

I would tend to agree with sixfooter look at the neutral safety switch closely. My money is on that one. Is it an auto or stick?

 

Could be a ignition switch getting ready to go. Bad internal contacts?
Easy to check with 2 people. Do you have voltage to the solonoid when the key is turned?

 

You probably have a neutral-start-switch that is on the edge of it's adjustment. The next time it does this, grab the shifter with your right hand and turn the ignition key with your left and hold it [assuming it doesn't start]...then wiggle the shifter while in neutral (if manual shift) or Park (if auto). If it tries to start during the 'wiggling', it needs to be adjusted to the center of it's "make" zone. If it doesn't try to start....it's something else.

 

On my '73, if I put the tilt wheel in the far upright position, the ignition linkage won't make contact and it won't start. Bring it down one or two clicks and no problem.

DC

 

Sorry I haven't responded but I had some family issues yesterday that needed attention. Anyway, I'll try and address each response.
Battery Cables: Battery cables are secure. I do alot of work on the car and disconnect them pretty often. I make sure I have a tight connection.
Starter Harness: I'm betting thats where the problem lies. I put new connections on when I installed the new motor but the wiring itself looks pretty worn. Especially that fusible link. I'm not sure if it's intermittently working. I'll check the harness further up.
Gear Reduction Starter: I don't leave home without one. And it's wrapped in thermal shield.
Neutral Safety Switch: I have an aftermarket shifter and neutral safety switch. The switch is exposed so I can readily see the engagement and I tested it when the car was starting OK and it functioned properly. No start in gear, start in park and neutral.
Ignition Switch: I replaced that about 2 years ago. It works in ACC and run> I jiggled it around and got no results. Its a possibility but I don't think thats it.
Battery Wire: that's possible also. I cleaned and brushed it out at the connection end but I haven't inspected it further back.
Starter Connections: All clean and solid. I redid them all when I intalled the motor.

Thanks for the replies. I'll check some of those things out.

Ced

 

That safety switch is on the clutch pedal for a manual car. Wiggling the stick will do nothing.

 

If they're the originals and they're from a year when GM used the copper-plated aluminum crap, they could have internal corrosion that will cause intermittant problems. The near-exact repop Delco cables are 100% copper.

 

Couldn't it be a issue with the starter solenoid? I had similar issues before with several cars and tapping on the solenoid with a hammer solved the issue..

 

It could be a starter solinoid problem, usually they fail more frequent,
once they start to fail.

If you open a starter solinoid it is like a big copper washer,
about 1.5 Dia. this sorta rotates around from use, after enough wear it will start to Not make contact, thus the tapping of the hammer vibrates the contact and then transfers power,

you can actually remove that copper washer and flip it over,
and presto you have a new starter solinoid.
clean up the screw contacts, form the power wires.

69VETT

 

Its an auto.

 

The positive cablr is original I'm sure. I replaced the ground recently. Drilled the frame, scraped the paint off and bolted it to the frame. (1 gauge)

 

I thought that was the problem with the last starter. Thats why I replaced it. The solenoid would extend but not engage the ring gear and turn the motor over. I don't have that problem with this starter.

One thing I forgot to mention, when I have the "NOTHING" problem, I can see the voltmeter recede when I turn the key so I know there is a load on the system somewhere.