I have been working on the intermittent no start issue on my 78 L82 4 speed. Rebuilt starter and new battery last year. All cables are clean connections clean, 12.5 volts at starter. To keep from being stranded I installed a remote start button so when it does not start I open the hood press the button and it starts right up. The PO had jumped out the clutch switch and there is no cable from the steering column to the transmission. Yes it is possible to engage the starter with the key switch with the clutch and transmission engaged. I don't do that of course.

Yesterday it happened again. I opened the hood, pressed my handy remote button. Starter engaged about two seconds and wnt dead. I have to push start it to get it running.

Still have 12.5 at battery connection. Everything else works lights horn heater radio etc so that tells me the fuseable links are good.
Is it possible that I blew the solenoid? Is there a way to test a solenoid.

I am working with it this morning. Any help or ideas greatly appreciated..

As far as the intermittent problem I think I have a bad start switch at the steering column but my remote would bypass that and I don't think it contributes to my current total non start.

 

Age of the solenoid? Contacts inside the unit get a little wonky sometimes. And I have seen even the small post for the wire hook ups work loose from age.

 

Suggest you read through this thread: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-when-hot.html

Voltage dropping is how you diagnose the CAUSE of no start / no crank. Its a very worthwhile technique to learn if you are going to work on auto electrical systems.

That or take it to a qualified auto electrician.

 

Thanks UP. The starter is a rhebuilt unit about a year old. Well maybe two. Maybe 5000 miles. Because the car sits a lot it often takes a lot of cranking to get fuel to the carb so I guess that could be a cause for a solenoid and or starter to fail prematurely?

If I can determine that the starter is the problem I think I will replace it with a new style high torque. But I hope it's something less expensive!

 

Rebuilt does not bode well to me. Rebuilt often means that they TRY to fix whatever was wrong with it initially MAYBE have it corrected, hit it with a coat paint, throw it in a new box, and send it off to the next victim.

We we used to have a place near our farm when I was a kid run by an old guy that did nothing but rebuild alternators/starters. Unfortunately the inrush of offshore cheap rebuilt crap in the 80’s took a lot of his automotive business away (folks looked just at the sticker price not the quality etc). For awhile he still rebuilt AG and construction units but finally retired in the mid 90’s when the business wasn’t profitable anymore and he was tired of doing it. After that we had to get our units from the dealer and had nothing but issues. We went through 3 guaranteed and supposedly tested “reman” starters from the local CaseIH dealer with the first two being DOA. The starter wasn’t cheap to begin with for a reman and you killed a day pulling the junk one out and making the 60 mile round trip to the dealer to get another piece of rebuilt junk. New units unfortunately weren’t available at that time due to the CaseIH sale/merger. And don’t even get me started on the Chinese voltage regulators for the generator equipped tractors.

So the point of my little rant there is unless it was rebuilt by a local alternator/starter shop with good components I would have some real questions about it.

 

Are you getting an audible 'click' from the starter solenoid when it fails to crank? If so, you know you're definitely getting power to trigger the solenoid. If not, I'd attach a gator clip on a wire to the trigger terminal, and check for voltage while hitting your remote start. At least it would rule out the starter if there's not always power getting to the trigger terminal fpr some reason.

 

If it has a 1 yr warranty they only fix what is wrong with tit at that time/why it was replaced, if you get the lifetime warranty they replace all internal parts.. or atleast that what they told us. Could it be possible you damaged your push button running that much amperage through it but, thats not the original cause of the problem. Start at the basics make sure your cables are tight and not corroded as that can prevent it from starting but still show 12.5 volts. When you check for corrosion check the cable also it can move inside under the insulation and you may think cleaning the exposed part is good enough. Make sure the posts you tightened are tight but not over tightened and broken.

 

When spending time sitting, surface rust on solenoid plunger and the bore it is in can cause extra drag requiring more amps to pull it down. But it is most likely the wire that fires the solenoid getting weak. Take a piece of wire. Attach to S terminal. Feed it in thru right door. Touch batt + terminal with other end.

 

Holy Cannoli, I tested the voltage drop on the main power supply and it dropped to 4.3! The battery was connected to a tender while I am testing and still it dropped like a rock. I put a full charger on it for about 30 minutes and the car fires right up. Drove to the Interstate store three blocks away and they tested the battery as shot. I thought I bought it last year but that was for a different car. This battery is 4 1/2 years old. I would think it should last longer than that but they don't.

Now the interesting part is I tested my remote start button and that does not work. Put a new switch in and it does not work either. Quitting time so tomorrow I will check all the wiring and see what comes up.

I think I am still going to try my hand at voltage drop testing on the key switch circuit. If I have a drop across the start switch now is the time to replace it before summer. I will post more results hopefully tomorrow.

Daymnnn I thought that battery was new!

 

4.5 years is average/reasonable.

 

plus 4.5 years is 6 months dormant 3 or 4 times. batteries like to be used.