I have a 1982 C3 that has 2 problems. One is that the battery discharges while it's sitting. I have not had a chance to look for the issue causing the battery drain. When I hook up the battery, it starts right away. If I drive it for 30-40 minutes and shut it off, when I turn the key the dash lights go on but nothing happens. I've tried putting the car in neutral in case it's the neutral switch, but it still won't turn over. If I let the car sit for an hour or more, it will start up right away. Any thoughts on what I might look at to solve the starting problem?

 

I have had the same issue with my 78. It is something in the starter circuit. I can drive 15 minutes and an hour later when I go to start it it does nothing. There is some draw on the meter but nothing. But it is very intermittent. I installed a switch in the engine compartment connected to the starter. When this happens I put the key switch in run open the hood and press my button and it starts. Next I cleaned the contacts on the start switch located on the steering column. I'm not sure yet that this cleaning cured the issue. I do have a heat shield on the starter.

other threads about this. Some have replaced the starter with a new high torque unit and some swear the issue is voltage drop across the battery cable feeding the starter.

Of course the first thing to do is clean all the ground connections and battery terminals.

 

replace the starter what you are experiencing is a "Hot" starter when heated up by the engine it causes the field in the starter to expand in the housing , stoping the armature from turning , when it cools off it frees up and it turns again. as far as the drain condition of the battery , the best way to check for a drains is as follows : remove the battery cables from the battery and and get a volt meter set it for a short , or audible tone when the leads are put together.place the leads on the positive and neg cables. remove the fuse for the interior lights and clock /courtesy fuse as well, then remove the two pin plug on the top of the alternator. if there is no problem you should not see any short between the two leads. if there is a drain it will show up now, check power to antenna ( hot at all times ) clock, cig lighter and also check the key buzzer/ headlamp reminder unit mounted on the right Side of the fuse box . should not be warm to the touch if so remove it , and recheck your meter for a short , my 78 had the same problem and solved it this way. good luck

 

Thank you for your ideas. I'll check for the short problem in a few days. I never thought about the starter getting hit. It makes sense. I've see heat shields for starters. Would this help?

 

It was the key switch contacts that caused the same issue in my vette. When you turn the key it moves a rod on the top of the steering column that closes the contacts that are in a block on the column under the dash. The contacts were worn so I replaced the switch block, no more starting problems after that. You could equally have an internal issue in the starter, easy to check just jump the contacts at the starter next time it happens if it starts its its in the key switch circuit.

 

I had the same problems before with the stock starter, changed to a high torque and the problems were sorted for awhile until they returned. I managed to check the voltage whilst someone cranked the motor over. The volts across the starter solenoid had dropped to 8.5 volts. Even though the battery was putting out 12.5 volts. This is due to old cable and a build up of resistance due to the heat. IMHO.

I had 12.5 V on the main cable to the solenoid just not the switch side which wasn’t enough to operate the solenoid.

 

Thanks for your replies. Your ideas are very helpful. I think I'm going to start by checking on the starter issue first. I'll share my results with the group once I'm able to check out the starter.

 

Thanks for your ideas. A new issue has started. When I shut off the car and remove the key, the alarm that lets you know the key is in the ignition (when the door is open) goes off. It continues to sound even when I remove the key. When I hook up the battery after the car sits for a few days, the alarm goes off again (with the key out of the ignition). Do I need to replace the ignition or should I just put some lubricant in it? Could this issue be related to the starting issue?