starter issues
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 47
Likes: 1
From: rising sun maryland
starter issues
battery volts are up but starter clicks. rebuilt the solenoid but still clicks only have 30,ooo miles on it. 96 lt1. looking at battery cables now. looks like they both travel alone the firewall. cant tell where the negative goes to. does anyone know where it grounds to?
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Does your car have a year? If so which one! All C4's are not made exactly alike and no one here is clairvoyant.
Your neg battery cable grounds to the left side of the engine block.
If you repeatedly hit crank and finally the starter cranks the engine, then you have bad contacts inside the starter. At the end of the starter solenoid stroke, two large copper conductors are forced together to switch 12v to the starter motor. These contacts get pitted and blackened to the point where they won't pass enough current to the starter motor. Repeated solenoid strokes can break through the bad condition of the contacts to allow a crank.
Measure the battery voltage with the starter solenoid pulled in, it shouldn't drop very much. During cranking the battery voltage should not fall below 9.0 volts or the battery is discharged, cable connections are poor (clean them), or the battery is at the end of its life. Batteries are discharged at 12.0 volts no load and fully charged at 12.9 volts or higher and linear in between.
Your neg battery cable grounds to the left side of the engine block.
If you repeatedly hit crank and finally the starter cranks the engine, then you have bad contacts inside the starter. At the end of the starter solenoid stroke, two large copper conductors are forced together to switch 12v to the starter motor. These contacts get pitted and blackened to the point where they won't pass enough current to the starter motor. Repeated solenoid strokes can break through the bad condition of the contacts to allow a crank.
Measure the battery voltage with the starter solenoid pulled in, it shouldn't drop very much. During cranking the battery voltage should not fall below 9.0 volts or the battery is discharged, cable connections are poor (clean them), or the battery is at the end of its life. Batteries are discharged at 12.0 volts no load and fully charged at 12.9 volts or higher and linear in between.
Last edited by jfb; Jun 26, 2011 at 01:06 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,620
Likes: 206
From: Orlando FL
You can also do a quick check by turning on the headlights and checking the brightness. Then turn the key and if they don’t dim, chances are the battery cables are OK.
Try tapping the solenoid with a hammer and have someone hold the key. If it spins quick then you probably found the problem. If that’s the case, get a starter with a lifetime guarantee.
I quit rebuilding solenoids years ago. Because I always had to do the job twice. It never saved me money and now I just get a starter.
Try tapping the solenoid with a hammer and have someone hold the key. If it spins quick then you probably found the problem. If that’s the case, get a starter with a lifetime guarantee.
I quit rebuilding solenoids years ago. Because I always had to do the job twice. It never saved me money and now I just get a starter.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 47
Likes: 1
From: rising sun maryland
the copper contact's is what came in the rebuild kit. that is the only thing i replaced. i still need to know where the neg. battery cable ground's to. can't seem to follow it. it crosses over the back of the motor to the passenger side somewhere.....
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 838
Likes: 2
From: Louisville Ky
i have never located mine either on 91, but that is the last thing to suspect if everything else works. right? grounds that have been disturbed, under dash, etc, or that are in the elements can corrode. copper lugs that are tight are not that common, my experience.
joe
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 47
Likes: 1
From: rising sun maryland
i bought my car new in 97, i have never done anything to it but a water pump, it only has 30,000 miles and has never sat outside of the garage. never touched any wiring under the dash or elsewhere. just loses voltage when cranking.
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