biackbenz

About 5 or six times this summer I would turn. The key and get nothing. No clicking solenoid. No cranking. No noise of any kind. The voltmeter does show some voltage drop when the key is turned to start so something must be happening. New battery. Good cables. All battery connections and grounds have been removed polished and put back so I know I have good power and ground connections. Earlier this summer I installed a rebuilt starter because one of the mounting brackets was crazy ked. This starting issue has occurred with both the old starter and the new rebuilt.

Adding more info to make this a little more strange is I can duplicate the problem. If I turn the key to start, starter cranks but I for some stupid reason release the key before the engine is actually running, I now have the problem. Nothing. When I wait about an hour it will start up just fine.

If I fully start the engine and run for a minute or so and shut it off I can immediately restart it.

Previous owner removed the interlock cable so I can engage the starter regardless of which gear the transmission is in.

Is there some other relay or switch in the circuit that is tripping out?

As always TIA for any help.

So far when this has happened I have been by myself, not headed to a tee time or appointment and near a bar. But that luck will run out so I need to get this resolved!!!!!!!

71VetteLover

I had the exact same problem with my '71 this summer as it would always crank when it was cold but after 25 miles it wouldn't crank. If I let it sit for an hour to cool off it would crank again. I finally found the problem was a real bad connection where the neutral safety switch's two-wire pigtail plugged into the wiring harness (under my console). So I just cut the connectors off and butt-connected the purple wires together and that was the end of the problem.

Big2Bird

You bypassed the switch?

Matt81

I had identical issue summer in my 78. When you replaced your starter, did you put in a new solenoid as well? I put in a new solenoid and cleaned all the wires, haven't had it reoccur since.

Matt81

Another thought is the neutral or clutch safety switch. Have you checked those?

I also had the voltage drop, which lead me down the path of the solenoid. Figured it was trying to draw current but wasn't making a good connection. Keeping my fingers crossed for now!

71VetteLover

No, the neutral safety switch has a two-wire pigtail with a two-terminal male/female connector on the end that plugs into a male/female connector on the wiring harness. The brass terminals inside the connectors weren't making a good contact once they got warm so I cut the connectors off and butt connected the wires together.

Reaper19

Had that exact problem on my 81 this summer and also helped one of our club members on his C4 with that issue a couple weeks ago. I thought it was a bad battery or starter, solenoid etc. also, after walking through the electrical system with my multi-meter it turned out on both cars to be a dirty, rusty electrical connection at the frame and at the starter. I would recommend doing the same troubleshooting. Start at the battery and work your way to the starter, cleaning each connection point. After cleaning each connection put a dab of dielectric grease to help prevent future corrosion.

When you have a bad, corroded connection you cannot get enough amperage to the starter. You may even see the correct voltage, but the amperage is not high enough due to the bad connection in the system.

Blue73Shark

I had the same problem on my 73. Besides all of the other suggestions, what finally cured it was cleaning the connection where the negative battery cable connects to the frame. Make sure to clean (make shiny) the bolt threads when you do this.
Fran

biackbenz

Thanks for the ideas so far.

Everything is clean. I did a restoration of the frame - power washed it, wire brushed it wiped it down with paint prep and painted it. I made sure to remove the paint where each of the grounds connect to the frame. Also had the engine out and rebuilt including a solvent cleaning and paint. Again making sure I have me tell to metal ground contact. I also cleaned all the hot leads as well. Great suggestions but I'm sure I have that covered.

Forgot to state my Trans is a 4 speed manual. So I don't have a neutral switch. But there was a mechanism to insure the transmission is in reverse when starting. That has been removed. I never saw it but as I understand it, this mechanism was strictly mechanical with a cable between the transmission and a switch on the steering column. Am I correct that there was no electrical interlock associated with this?

I also think this interlock would prevent you from turning the key at all unless in reverse.

I assume the solenoid with the rebuilt starterstarter is new or checked out. But it could be defective. Is there a way to test the solenoid? The repair shop I bought it from is close by. I will stop there and see what they have to say.

But I think it is happening somewhere between the ignition key and the solenoid????

Still stumped and hopefully someone has more suggestions.

tehjrow

This probably doesn't apply but mine was doing the same thing. Turned out my battery cable had been spliced close to the starter and it fell apart. Voltage to the starter would drop to 3v when trying to start, wasn't even enough to make a sound.

Reaper19

Have you checked the Voltage and AMPS at the Starter connections with a multi-meter?

This are some checks you can make.

http://www.wikihow.com/Test-a-Starter-Solenoid

Not sure what your car is? There is also a relay for the security systems on C3's that could be causing the issue.

Just a few more items to check.

7T1vette

Every car should have a neutral safety switch. On manual trans cars, that switch is run thru the clutch so the clutch must be depressed to start the car. (On auto trans it connects through the trans shifter so it must be in Neutral or Park position to start.)

Possible causes of your problem:

Bad solenoid on the starter (but, since you are not even getting a 'click' when key is turned, I doubt it's the solenoid);

Bad battery pos or neg cable...usually near the terminal junctions. If you re-used the original battery cables, this is the MOST LIKELY cause of your problem.

Missing primary engine ground cable (from right frame to right motor mount/starter ground) Often folks don't even know one is REQUIRED.

Neutral start switch failure or mis-adjustment.

Ignition switch problem.

dochorsepower

I vote for solenoid. A rebuilt starter can still have a marginal solenoid. Best bet is to buy all new Delco.

pauldana

heat soak starter
get a Mallory gear reduction unit... problem gone, 10+ pound lighter

TimAT

Still no mention of what year the car is. GM started using an extension harness in 75(?). The connections thru that are notorious for getting hot and melting the connector body. And it goes downhill from there.

I found one of those GM gear reduction starters on Amazon for $60. Cranks my 496 like a champ. It's probably full of plastic gears and it may not last forever, but it might last too. We'll see.

terry82

on my 1982 ,there is a plug in connection behind the passenger side engine head.these connections go bad.

Big2Bird

I have seen that first hand.

biackbenz

Sorry, forgot to tell you that this car is a 1978 with L82 and a 4 speed. Will look at the above.

kansas123

Years ago, a short in the dash somewhere caused a fusible link to burn out, killing all power. When the mechanic found the problem, he replaced the link with something that 'looks like' a double fuse (modern one made of plastic), that had two spade fittings. Sometimes, my car would not start either, no noise coming from anywhere when trying with the key. I found this summer that it was the connection where the fusible link was replaced. If I fiddled with the wires connected to the spades this device, the car would start. I would love to have the fusible link back instead of whatever that is....I must search.... This fusible link was locate right near the horn relay, don't know if 78's had a horn relay.....