Well my car wouldn't start and had noticed prior to this that it was getting harder to turn the engine over while trying to start so I tested my battery and had 12 volts and everything elseworked so I changed my starter today and voila just clicks with the new starter.Engine ran fine when parked before this,Could my engine be seized.This a 76 with the solenoid right on the starter.I have even tried boosting for exta power and no luck?

 

Check and double check the battery connections, and the power and ground cables under the car. Make sure the ground is solid and the power cable at the starter is not corroded up past the terminal.

Here's a ground cable I found in a Vette I worked on.

 

Thanks Durango Boy, to check the ground I guess I could just hook up a battery cable from the negative post right to the frame, this should tell me if is a ground or not.

 

Well ijust tested from starter post to my engine block and got 12 volts. and all I get is that annoying click click click....wtf.

 

If only one strand of that cable is still good you'll get 12V. But when you try to start the car the load would be too great for that tiny strand and not enough power would get through. Get under the car and visually inspect the connections. Look for solid metal to metal connections with no corrosion or broken wires.

 

The ground wire bolts to the frame under the car by the battery box. It is out in the elements and subject to corrosion you can't see. Unbolt it from the frame and clean the area.

 

check the fuseable link as well as the above suggestions

 

I believe that if the fuesable link has blown, then the system will be completly dead. No clicking when you turn the key.

 

You really need to have your battery load checked, and honestly replace your battery cables.
I had no end of issues with my '69 and starting, and solved it by running new battery cables and getting a new battery. Now it spins like a champ no matter what, even when it used to 'heat soak' (if you believe in that sort of thing)

Durango Boy is right, It's nearly impossible to visually inspect a 30+ year old cable and verify it's integrity unless you can measure it under load.

 

My 68 427 used to eat a starter once a year. I got one of those hi torque mini starters (from Summit). It was soooooo easy (light) to install. No more starter problems. Just what happened to me...

 

Update I didi a load test on my battery and it is no good, I checked my battery charger with built in battery and it was also no good, what are the freakin odds that it would go but say it was fully charged ,my battery would go and my starter be bad. Anyways I will get a new battery and let you know the update.

Thx

 

Another consideration for your battery is CCA - Cold Cranking Amps and you need more CCA in colder climates - and CA Cranking Amps. In my 70 I have 650CCA and 850CA - which is good for a 8 cylinder engine. You have to have more of both amps with a bigger engine. Don't just buy the least expensive battery as it will not work as well. Also, lots of good suggestions here but, take a flashlight and check the cables at the battery - they may look good and be stiff but may not be making full contact. From my jr mechanic experience that click means you are just not getting enough juice. PS-do fill out your profile.

 

Good stuff here. Clicking when you turn the key is almost always not enough juice. If the battery is beat, get a good battery from Sears or NAPA and make sure it is fully charged. (I wouldn't put a WalMart battery in my Corvette) When I install a new battery, I like to take my multimeter, set it for Ohms, and touch the battery post and the visible part of the copper wire after the clamp. This is to make sure I got really good contact between the post and the clamp, and that the clamp is making good connection to the wire. When I get the connection right, there is usually no more than a tenth of an ohm or two there, if you have 4-5 ohms, it is surprising how much that will cut down the amperage to the starter. I would also do what DB and others have suggested, the negative cable runs from your battery, right through the body and bolts to the frame below the battery box. This is easy to see and reach when you are laying on the ground. I would unscrew the bolt, clean the area and re-install the cable. Then, I would perform the same continuity test, holding one lead on the copper visible at the connector, and the other lead touching the frame. Again, you should get no more than a tenth of an ohm or two, or you are not making good contact. If you want more thouroughness, there is another fat black ground wire that goes from the starter to the frame, it would not be a bad idea to take both ends of this off, clean the connections, reconnect and test the continuity in the same manner. After this, if you still have problems, I will be confident that it is not your battery or the main connections to it and the starter motor.

I just went through a thing last year with intermittent starting problems, until the starter died in my garage. I would turn the key and hear a "click........clack", then nothing. Turned out to be the neutral safety switch.

Good luck!

 

As PKguitar said check the ground strap from the starter to the frame. When I first got my car that strap was on the left from the frame then connected to the oil pan -not where it should have been - refer to the AIM for your year to see where it should go.
One more thing, and not knowing what year you have, check the rubber boot at the alternator - I pulled that boot back to find the wire was frayed and thus not fully charging the battery. While you're at it - check all electrical connections for tightness, and make sure screws/bolts etc are tightened properly. PS: If you ever hear a loud screeching sound from the right hand side of the car when you're going extremely fast just pull to the side of the road and let her out. Then proceed on your journey.

 

One other little thing. Helped me out one day when mine was doing the same thing. An old mechanic told me to feel the cables coming from the battery. If you have a bad ground one of the cables will be hot to the touch. My ground cable was hot to the touch when trying to crank the starter. Replaced the cable and all was well again.

 

The fusible link sometimes doesn't get melted all the way through, and is "hanging-on by a thread."

This happened to me, and after inspecting all the battery cables, grounds, etc. noticed the fusible link above the starter was a bit "crispy."

Sure enough it was fried (due to an errant slip of the wrench when working on the alternator...). Also, check the FL connections as they're typically very worn or corroded if original or shoddily replaced.

 

I am con fused by the ground wire from starter to the frame comment.Is my starter not grounded through the boltsz. I have the strap at the back but I am sure that is just for support.

 

Yes the starter is grounded through the engine but the engine is grounded through the frame, which is grounded to the battery. They all have to have solid connections to work properly.

 

Maybe it is a year difference. Both my '69 and '70 had/have a thick black grounding cable from the starter motor itself to the frame. On both cars, there are two black wires that attach to the starter motor housing, a fat one that goes to the frame and a thin black wire which is a ground from the blower motor, and presumably, also using the fat black cable to ground to the frame. The starter motor housing is clearly electrically connected to the block since it is bolted to it, but I am not sure I would rely on the block for a ground on a Corvette without the ground strap because then you would be dependent on a ground through the motor mounts. I think of my block as grounded to the frame because the starter motor is bolted to it and the starter motor is grounded to the frame with that fat cable. The set-up on a '76 might be different.

 

On my 76 it must be different because the starter has not got an electrical ground only done mechanically through the mounting bolts.I have a boat with a 454 and it is identical to my vette with no electrical ground wire.