I live in Europe, so please bear with me if my English is a little rusty.

Got my first Corvette about 3 months ago. The late C3’s with the big rear glass has been my dream car since I was about 9 years old. You hardly ever see them here, so it was a big moment for me.

There have been some issues with it, but so far I have managed to solve it by searching around this forum. So thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

But, about a week ago I got a starter problem that I have a hard time figuring out. When I turn the key to the starter position I can hear a loud click, but it does not turn over. In the beginning it worked if I turned the key back off and then tried again a few times, but the other day it was just clicking no matter how many times I tried.

First I checked that the battery is ok. Then I checked the voltage on the battery cable on the solenoid, and the ground to the starter. It all seemed ok, so I figured it was a defective starter. To get the car home I used the “old trick” of tapping the starter with a hammer, and that worked. Since that trick worked I was close to a 100% sure it was the starter.
Got a brand new one (with solenoid), installed it with the same shim that was on the old one. But the engine still wouldn’t turn over, just one loud click when I turn the key.

I then ran two temporary cables directly from the battery to the starter, both positive and ground. Attached the ground to the bracket that the original ground is connected to AND a clamp to the starter itself. Still the same…
With the temporary cables in place I ran another cable directly from the small connector marked S on the solenoid, the one that makes it click, and touched the other end to the positive terminal on the battery. I now had bypassed the whole starter system in the car, but still it was just clicking, no turning… And this with a brand new starter…

I then thought it might be the shim that was to thin so the starter gets stuck in some way. There were two new shims in the box with the starter, so I loosened the starter and put them in, first one with no result and then the other… Still just clicking, and I am running out of ideas.
Seems to me like the flywheel is stuck, but that does not make much sense considering that it helped to tap the old starter to make it start… Maybe I should try to turn the engine manually with a ratchet directly on the crankshaft pulley just to make sure…

Anybody experienced something like this before?


Ray

 

I would take the starter off and test that it is working .if all is good then the I would try and turn the motor over ,by turning the fly wheel .

 

#1 You might want to recharge your battery and put a load test on it to prove that it is good.
#2 Clean the four negative connections (from the battery cables to the frame) (and the frame to the engine) and both positive connections.

Jumpering from the battery positive on the solenoid to the 'S' terminal will make the starter turn if the solenoid is good.

Enjoy your new Corvette,
Pete.

 

Crank it with the headlights on. If they dim, battery is kaputt.

 

Pretty sure the headlights will dim on starting even if the battery is good. With that said, I have to agree the most likely culprit here is the battery. Make sure you have thoroughly eliminated that possibility before moving on.

And your English is excellent.

 

Thank you for your replies.

Easter is a big family holiday over here, but I managed to sneak away for a while to do some more troubleshooting.

The flywheel turns with no problem. The voltage on the battery is about 12.6 volts which tells me that none of the cells are completely defective, but they still might be bad.

So here’s the interesting part. I hooked the Corvette up to the daily driver with some jumper cables, but still just got that click when trying to start. As a last attempt I disconnected the battery and hooked the jumper cables back on to the corvette’s battery cables… And the thing turned over… This tells me that the battery cells are reacting very poorly to the heavy load of the starter.

Everything is still closed to Easter here, but first thing tomorrow I’m going to get a new battery.

I'll be happy if that solves it, but more than a little embarrassed since I’m supposed to be a “car guy” and know a defective battery when I run into one. Well, it’s a little comforting that the symptoms were quite different than what I am used to, but not much :-)

Thank you.
Ray

 

A short update.


Right after my last post I had to leave town urgently for work reasons. Just came back now, went out and got a new battery, but the car acts the same way.


Now I’m really running out of ideas. New starter, new battery. Starter hooked up directly to battery (both power and ground), crankshaft pulley is relatively easy to turn around manually (that should be the same as the flywheel, just on the other end of the crankshaft), but the engine will not turn over when I turn the key… Just klicks and the voltmeter dives down to almost 8 volts. That tells me that the starter is pulling a lot of current, but is not spinning. Maybe there is a small chance that the starter I bought also is defective…

 

Try using jumper cables directly by passing the solenoid.
We can go from there.
Left is battery cables, grounds, nuetral safety switch, and ignition switch.
81 also has starter interupt relay on alarm system.
Changed my ignition switch yesterday. 2 volt drop across it.

 

Have tried some of that.

Neutral safety switch seems to be working. If I put the car in Drive or Reverse there is no click when I turn the key. It only make that loud clicking sound if it’s in Part or Neutral.

I disconnected the horns, set the alarm of. I can hear the horn relay clicking and when I try to start nothing happens. I turn the alarm off and the loud click is back when I try to start. That indicates to me that the starter interrupt is working.

As you probably know, the wire from the ignition switch to the solenoid passes through a black connector on the right side of the engine bay, not too far above the starter.
Since the solenoid seems to be connecting when I turn the key, I assume the ignition switch is ok, but just to be sure I fed 12 volts directly to the starter pin in that connector. Same loud click as when I turn the key.

I tried a jumper cable directly from battery to the starter, bypassing the solenoid. I had another jumper cable hooked up between the negative battery terminal and the starter housing.
The starter did not turn, but it was pulling a lot of current (indicated by some sparking when I made the connection etc.). In my opinion, that should make the starter turn no matter what is wrong with any switches or relays, as long as it gets enough juice, and the battery is new.

 

Had a starter binding once. Tested fine on the bench but just a click when in the car. Loosend the bolts a little and it worked. Had to spend some time getting the shims just right before bolting up tight.
​​​​​​​Good luck.

 

Just because it's a "new" starter does not mean it's a good starter ,sounds like you may have got a bad starter.I would take it out and bench test like they said .

 

 

it does appear to be a dead spot on the starter.

Could also be a corroded cable. Make sure the cables are tight on both ends - no corrosion where the ground attaches, take off the ground cable from the battery when you tighten the starter cable nuts..

Try banging on the starter with a 5# rubber hammer - the brushes can also get stuck.. cheap rebuilds do that.

 

Every time i buy a new starter, i have them put the new starter on the test stand before i leave the store. I have went home with to many bad starters.

 

It seems to me that it is the only possibility I am left with. When the problem first occurred I gave the old starter a few bangs with a rubber hammer, and that worked just to get is started that once.


I guess the new starter must be a cheap rebuild, was about 125 USD. Getting parts for American cars is a challenge here, and shipping cost from the states is murder…



But if I was to order it from the states, do you have any suggestion from where I should order it? I placed a 5-600 dollar order with Eckler’s in January, they charged me but haven’t shipped anything yet. So I don’t think I’ll be ordering from them anymore. I know this is a little of topic, but it’s very hard for me sitting here in Europe to know who is serious and who is not on a different continent.

 

You don't say where you are in Europe but my suggestion would be to get in touch with a local Corvette club and follow advice from there as to where to source parts locally before having to resort to shipping from the States. Parts such as the starter are not specific to the Vette so you should be able to source them in Europe or the UK (is the UK part of Europe any more with Brexit)?
Did you actually try to run the starter on the bench before you fitted it to the engine? If you can't warranty replace the starter and it fails the bench test start why not pull it apart and see if its something obvious such as a stuck or dislodged brush? There are plenty of instructions on the web to guide you in testing the starter.

 

I'm in Norway.

I did run it on the bench first, and it seemed to be working fine.

Guess I'll try tapping it with a rubber hammer next, and if that works I guess I'm pulling it apart.

 

If it worked fine on the bench, it's Not the starter.

 

Hi again,


Test the motor:
Move the battery positive from the top solenoid terminal and touch it to the BOTTOM solenoid terminal.
If the motor is good it will turn on.
Try a few starts and stops to eliminate a dead spot.

Reconnect the battery positive to the TOP solenoid terminal and apply 12 volts to the solenoid "S: terminal.
If the starter turns on the solenoid is good.

Still not working when installed in the car then check the "S" terminal wiring, the NSS and/or the ignition switch connections.

 

My 1985 will not start when hot / warm. The starter is a cheap box store rebuild. They have a "lifetime warrantee" which means take it off and they give you another one. They last about 6 months.

Today I went for a gear reduction starter. It turns over faster and is easier to start.

Summit racing and Jegs both have them, cost $150 USA.

Sometimes starters will turn off the car, but under load cannot turn over the engine due to the load.

Another alternative is to find an electric motor rebuilder - he can check and test the unit.

Best of luck.