I continue to bring my 68 convertible back from a 22 year nap in storage. I spent a month exorcizing brake demons and now I have starter issues. The car would start and run normally but last week just crapped itself. When I turn the key all I get is a small click and all power to the car dies (interior lights and key buzzer). I checked the battery terminals, checked all the major engine/frame ground cables, and charged the battery. No change. Then I pulled the starter and brought it to Advance Auto to be tested. It tested bad. I bought a rebuilt but asked AA to test the new one first. It tested OK. (NOTE - the test is a circuit test only. It doesn't spin the starter).

I put the new starter in and guess what... Same result!

Now I don't know if the old starter is bad or not. I didn't turn it in as a core. But it's clear the problem is somewhere else.

A couple questions:

1) Can anyone advise me a good way to test the starter out of the car? like with jumper cables? I know it can be done but I'm not sure of the wiring on the solenoid.

2) What else should I check to determine why I can't get the motor to turn over?

Thanks

 

Check to see if the starter is to close to headers. It may be picking up to much heat. Try one of the new Gear Reduction starters. They are smaller and much more powerful. AutoZone has a nice one I just bought and it fires my 72 right up. Good Luck !!! Marty

 

The fact that everything else goes out when you try to start it makes me think that the problem might be the selenoid. Did you change that with the new starter?

 

Thanks but headers aint it. A) I don't have headers and the stock exhaust isn't close, and it has the original heat shield. B) the 2nd starter didn't work so its never started to get hot.

CA-Legal-Vette - The new starter came with a solenoid, yes. That was my original thought too.

My Haynes manual suggests a fusible link. I haven't found it yet but I'm looking down that angle.

 

You can connect a pair of jumpers cables to the starter. Put the positive on the big battery connector. The neg on the case of the starter and the use a screw driver to jump the positive to the solenoid connection. I hope that your engine isn't siezed.
You may want to see if you can turn the engine with a socket on the front crankshaft bolt.

 

If you go this route, make sure you have some help with you. You want to be sure to hold on to the starter. The torque developed by the starter will cause the starter to jump around on the floor if you are by yourself. Connect the jump cables to your battery and then the positive on the solenoid. When you touch the ground to the starter housing it should spin the starter up.

If the electrical system is coming on when you turn the key on, and then goes dead when you turn the key to start the car, there must be a bad connection somewhere in your system. Clean all of your connections to ground. Especially the one that goes from the motor to the frame. Loosen the bolts and clean the connections and see if this helps.

 

I tried the jumper cable trick on the old starter and it worked fine. I pulled the new one and checked it. Also fine. I did it with the starter in the car and got nothing. It was tough to get the + cable on there without grounding sparks but I think I did OK. I got a few sparks when I tried to complete the circuit with the screwdriver but the starter didn't work at all. No click. No gear engagement. No rotation.

The engine isn't seized. I can move it. I didn't suspect that anyway. If the starter engaged but wouldn't turn, sure; but I'm not getting any engagement at all. The starter isn't getting a signal to go.

I don't have a 68 Assembly manual but I do have a 69. There are some changes. 69 shows a fusible link in a loop where the starter wires go into the taped harness. 68 doesn't have that. It does, however, have what looks like a fusible link in-line the 12 ga red wire that goes to the other side of the solenoid. I don't think thats an issue. I do know, however, that I have 12V at the main starter connection from the battery. However, I'd assume the yellow solenoid wire (the one that I used for the screwdriver jump) should get 12V when the key is turned to the full start position. I'm not.

I don't know if the 68 has a clutch safety switch. 69 does. But that doesn't seem right either. That wouldn't make the interior lights and door buzzer crap out.

Like I said, I've had the car running. In fact, I drove it when I first got the brakes finished. But on the maiden voyage it died a couple times (it needs tuning and a new quadrajet), but when I got home is when the starter problem popped up.

This Rip VanWinkle seems to have a hangover....

 

I recently had to put a new starter in my '72 vette. All it did was one click when I turned the key. I would definitely clean all the terminals. Battery ground cable etc. Also I had to put 3 shims in my starter, even though the old starter had no shims on it. You can try jumping the solenoid, and if the engine cranks, the solenoid is not good. Kathy